Dear Friends
Sometimes, we are only as 'stuck' as we allow ourselves to be. What does that mean?
While looking at the news I want to say to my friends in the frozen north: stay safe and warm! With a blizzard raging outside, cars are 'stuck' all over the place; kids are 'stuck' at home -- it's a mess!
We might be 'stuck' in a job we don't love, or in a mediocre relationship, or be faced with a situation or challenge we wish would just go away.
We could all be 'stuck' in different ways. Like snow, most personal disappointments in isolation seem rather small, certainly manageable, at least tolerable; it's the accumulation that wears us down. Snow is the same: any handful is powerless against us-it's the buildup that neutralizes us and could freeze us to inaction.
Judaism teaches that everything (yes, everything) we experience is presented to us as an opportunity to take a lesson in our life's mission of serving our Maker.
So how do we prepare for it, overcome it (get unstuck) and grow from it? The first step is information. The weathermen told us it was coming-they told us to get home early, stock up on food and stay off the roads. The experts, generations of Torah scholars, the Rebbe, they warn us about the ferocity of life during these times and the toll it takes on the unprepared. Arrogantly, some think themselves stronger than nature, able to defy its might and thus take no precautions. It's really a lot easier, like the proverbial Boy Scouts, to be prepared: experience should tell us that at times we need just a little more ammunition than what we can supply ourselves. We need to listen, to take advice, and to stock up no just physically but emotionally; Those stories about not fooling around with Mother Nature may not be just myths.
We must be attentive and appreciate the value of planning ahead, by understanding the consequences of our behavior today. We must ready our supplies, invest in mitzvot now so that we can enjoy the benefits as the blizzards strike.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Fishel & Ettie Zaklos