Dear all,
We are living in a time when many people are expressing fears and anxieties. COVID-19 has swept into our lives, disrupting so much that usually anchors us. This is affecting our work, our families, our leisure activities, and our souls.
It’s ok to be afraid. Were it not for our fear, we would live recklessly in the face of a very serious situation.
It’s ok to be anxious. Were it not for our anxiety, we wouldn’t take the precautions that are necessary to stay healthy.
Whenever we reach the end of a book of Torah, we come to a big space in the text (pictured above). It is customary to say to words, “Chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek/ Be strong, be strong, and we will strengthen one another.”
My friend and colleague, Rabbi David Wilfond, taught me that is a way of saying that our words in Torah are like stepping stones. But when those words seem to end, we need support to reach the next section.
These are the same words of support I give to you now, and that I hope we can give to one another. Without the stepping stones in life we are used to, we need to be strong – and to offer strength to others.
We will get to firm ground again. This moment in time will pass. And we hold each other’s hearts within our own.
Sending you love, strength, and prayers for health.
With love and Shalom,
Rabbi Zach Shapiro
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