The following thoughts come from Michal Shneur, who lives in Shomria, a religious kibbutz in the south:
"Lockdown again, confusion again, feeding everyone non-stop again, juggling again – and feeling that I am not with them enough, and not working hard enough, and that everything is approximate at best. And again ZOOM cameras that make it impossible to shout out loud even in your own home.
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov offers us an amazing coping strategy: *'We should not put anything in front of our eyes except this day and this moment. When we want to truly submit to Hashem, it seems to be a heavy burden that is impossible to bear, but if we think that all we have is today – it will not be a burden at all*.'
Rebbe Nachman teaches us to think small. About today only. For years I would make resolutions on Rosh Hashanah for the entire year, and I kept them with difficulty until Sukkot. Yet now for two whole weeks I have managed to keep my cell phone turned off whenever I am at home with my chidlren. How? By not making any declarations or promises. Every day I tell myself: just today I'm turning off my phone, just today.
So now we have another lockdown, and just the thought of long weeks at home is totally exhausting. But it's possible to get up each morning and repeat: the lockdown is just for today, just for today they are at home, just for today we will attempt to cope.
As Rebbe Nachman explains: *'We have nothing in the world except this day and this moment, because tomorrow is a completely different world.'* After a crazy year like this, we truly have no idea what tomorrow will bring, so let's try to get through today.
And here's wishing that everyone will have good day!
• Translation by Yehoshua Siskin