English Blog

You’ve tried hard to make our lives miserable. 

First, you forced us to stop greeting each other with handshakes, hugs, kisses and even fist bumps, and you know how much we absolutely love greeting one another.

Then you forced us to cancel (or minimize) our Purim celebrations, knowing full well how much joy and exuberance Purim brings us.

You’ve forced us to cancel our Pesach plans, (which we’ve already put so much money into,) a time when we usually gather with our extended families and friends for an infusion of joy that lasts well into the rest of the year.

You forced us to cancel all travel and most day-to-day outings and isolate ourselves at home.  

You even precluded us from attending weddings, engagements, bar and bat mitzvahs and other celebrations, and you know how much we love to celebrate and say l’chaim!

But this week, you took it too far. You forced us to close our shuls—G-d’s home! This is the center of our Judaism and the place we communicate with G-d. It’s where we set ourselves aside and focus solely on Him. I cannot remember a single Shabbat in my life that I intentionally stayed home from shul. Having to send out the message to my congregation that there will be no shul, cholent, or Kiddush for the foreseeable future broke my heart.

But let me tell you, Satan, you failed miserably at your mission. Instead of separating us, your social distancing has brought us so much closer together. In our isolation, we have increased our concern for one another. Through social media, our Torah classes are reaching larger and more attuned audiences than ever. 

Our hearts are filled with love for one another; our spirit can never be broken. Our souls are fired up.

So now, it’s time to acknowledge that you have failed miserably. We will appeal to your boss, our dear Father in Heaven, to fire you. You’ve tried hard, I’ll give you that, but success is out of reach. It’s time to call it quits, end this plague and tell your boss to send Moshiach, as we have certainly earned.

This week, when we read the parshah at home alone, without our Torah scrolls, we will read about the mitzvah to build the Mishkan, a sanctuary for G-d. We may not be in our shuls, our sanctuaries, but we have built sanctuaries in our hearts with a light that can never be extinguished.

You lose, Satan, you lose. We are the eternal winners.

I know we’re at war because the entire world is in a state of elevated panic and anxiety.

I know we’re at war because dozens of airports and airlines across the world have shuttered.

I know we’re at war because the stock market is wildly fluctuating, dipping frighteningly.

I know we’re at war because my kids’ schools (and many others) have all been cancelled indefinitely.

I know we’re at war because streets and subways are empty.

I know we’re at war because people are quarantined at home.

But for the first time in history of wars… I cannot see, touch, feel, smell, hear, or taste my enemy. All I know is its name: Coronavirus. It’s a brand new kind of war.

I don’t know who my enemy is, so I will endeavor to remain six feet away from every human being on the planet, just in case.

I don’t know where my enemy is, so I will stay away from every institution just in case.

I don’t know when my enemy will attack, so I must remain alert at all times.

I don’t know what my enemy is, so I’ll make sure to wash my hands obsessively at every opportunity.

I don’t understand why this enemy is attacking, so I’ll beseech G-d to vanquish this invisible monster.

But as new as this war is, it’s actually a war as old as time.

As Jews, we’ve been engaged in this kind of war since the dawn of civilization. You see, we are in perpetual battle with the forces of evil; another enemy we cannot see, touch, feel, smell, hear, or taste. We know only its name: the yetzer hara, the evil inclination.

We don’t know who the enemy is, so we try to make sure that our own immediate 6 feet surrounding is a place of holiness and purity.

We don’t know where that enemy is either, so we hang out in shul to pray and study Torah where we know we will be safe.

We don’t know when the enemy will attack, so we remain on high alert all day, starting with morning prayers, ending with the evening Shema.

We don’t know what this enemy is, so we make sure to wash our hands obsessively when we wake up in the morning, before eating bread, and after using the restroom.

And certainly, we can’t understand why the enemy strikes, so we pray devotedly to G-d, beseeching him to remove all evil from the world and bring Moshiach.

So let’s fight both wars simultaneously!

Let’s check in on the vulnerable and isolated. If you have elderly friends, relatives, or neighbors (or people who are otherwise isolated and susceptible), please check in on them. Offer to do their grocery and pharmacy shopping, or to drive them to appointments for which they would otherwise rely on public transport. Think creatively.  

And let us pray to our dear Father in heaven for all those who are suffering from Coronavirus and other illnesses. May we know only health and healing.