Page 3 - The Jewish Voice - April '20

The Jewish Voice, Page 3

From the rabbis

Five Lessons from the “Don’t sweat the small stuff” is what they always told us, but 5. We can change the world
Coronavirus today, even a tiny sneeze is like shouting “fire” in a crowded The tiny Coronavirus has brought the world to its knees,
movie theater. It was just a single sneeze in Wuhan that set sowing fear, anxiety, and panic across the mightiest nations and
By Rabbi Dovid Vigler off the catastrophic sequence of events that has held the whole economic empires. In Jewish philosophy, negativity is darkness
It was just a few weeks ago world hostage, until we can figure our way out of this crisis. and positivity is light. Just as light overpowers darkness, the
that we suddenly heard about Our sages tell us that our soul might have been sent to this power of good is far greater than that of evil. If such a tiny
the Coronavirus, spreading world just to perform a single mitzvah — a Divine command entity can change the world negatively, how much more so
like wildfire, from a little- upon this earth. The popular song puts it this way: “For seventy can small things change the world for good.
known corner of China called or eighty years, a soul may wear and tear, just to do a favor for We are not here by mistake. We were sent here on a mission.
Wuhan. Within days, stocks another!” Like a humble sneeze that went heretofore unnoticed, Generally speaking, that mission is to learn Torah and do
tumbled and soared, borders a single mitzvah can literally change the world. In the words mitzvos. But it’s not all or nothing. Even a single mitzvah can
were closed, industries have of Maimonides: “A person should always see his next mitzvah change the world! It doesn’t matter how large or how small.
ground to a halt, and chaos as the one that will tip the scales between merit and sin to the And like Corona, even a single person can change the
has loomed in every corner good, for him personally as well as for all of humanity!” course of humanity.
of the globe. 3. Tiny invisible things are more powerful than anything Believe in yourself. You were born to be great!
As we hope for a successful vaccine and pray for those else Wishing you a month of small things making great impact!
infected, we’d like to take a few moments to share with you For thousands of years we have believed in empirical Rabbi Dovid Vigler is spiritual leader at Chabad of Palm
some of the awesome reflections that come to mind from this evidence only. “Seeing is believing” they told us, otherwise Beach Gardens and host of the Jewish Schmooze Radio Show.
staggering phenomenon. Our sages tell us that everything that it’s nothing more than a fairytale and a fantasy. But Corona Email him at gardensrabbi@gmail.com.
happens is by Divine providence. Everything we experience has shown us that the opposite is true. Never in our lifetimes
and encounter must therefore teach us a life lesson. Here are have we seen the world screech to a halt like in the past month. A Healthy View of the World
five lessons that we’ve put together. We hope you find them What rockets, tanks, and super weapons couldn’t do, was done
meaningful: by the invisible germ. By Rabbi Paul Arberman
1. We are all connected Coronavirus inspires us to be aware of the limitations of The long history of
Though few of us have even heard of Wuhan, China, our vision. Just because we can’t see something, doesn’t mean the Jewish people dealing
within hours their problem became our problem. Whether the that it doesn’t exist. And just like the virus can be seen only by with societal upheaval and
source was a business traveler, a tourist, or someone else, the certain people and under special conditions (scientists under a serious challenges does
Coronavirus spread like wildfire, infecting thousands of people microscope), G-dliness and spirituality are able to be sensed not mean that we can take
in over 90 countries across the globe! by certain people and under specific conditions. Don’t throw the coronavirus covid 19
Indeed the Torah tells us that “kol yisrael arevim zeh lazeh” out the baby with the bathwater. lightly. But it does give us
(“all of Israel are responsible for each other”). This ancient 4. Cleaning habits some ability to put things
truth has suddenly fallen into sharp focus in recent days. It Who would have thought that out of the blue, the whole into perspective and to be
takes just one Bernie Madoff to take us all down and just one world has learned from the rabbis who don’t shake hands with thankful for so many of the
Albert Einstein to make us all shine! whom they are not supposed to! blessings we enjoy.
It might have been hard to understand the idea that we are Indeed we’ve come to realize that we are profoundly The Modeh Ani prayer we recite upon arising each
all one years ago, but today we have a perfect analogy. If we influenced by our environment, and we have to take great morning means not only “Thank You, God” for returning my
think of the passengers on an airplane, if one of them has a precaution in not exposing ourselves to that which is bad for soul to me; it means also, “I confess, O God,” that without
hole under his seat, it is everyone’s problem. We are all on this us. Corona teaches us to be careful to surround ourselves with You I would never wake up alive.
earth as part of one closely connected army, empowered with positive role models because we become like our friends. If The Hebrew term for gratitude is hakarat hatov, which
a mission by G-d. When one of us is in trouble, we all are. someone doesn’t feel right for your soul, you’re probably better means, literally, “recognizing the good.” Practicing
2. The power of one sneeze off keeping them at arm’s length. It’s nothing personal, just
We often think that it’s only the big things that matter. hygiene. From the Rabbis on page 4

We remember

a community founder

Cynnie S. List z”l

For many decades, Cynnie was a
compassionate leader, devoted donor
and deeply engaged participant with
Jewish Federation, Friedman Commission
for Jewish Education and Temple Israel.
Her sharp mind, warm smile and generous
heart made her an impactful and
irreplaceable leader for our community.

Cynnie was the matriarch of one of Jewish
Palm Beach’s most dedicated families.
She and her late husband, Robert ,
z”l
had the vision and philanthropic drive to
foresee a community that is now one of
the most thriving in North America.
Today, Cynnie’s children and
grandchildren continue their legacy.

May Cynnie’s memory be for a blessing
and an expression of the incredible
impact she made throughout her life.

list_cynnie_mem_1025x8.indd 1 3/11/20 11:22 AM