דער מענטש טראַכט און גאָט לאַכט. Der mentsh trakht un got lakht.
This summer was carefully planned in our household. Robert was headed to Europe and Israel for the trip of a lifetime with NFTY and his Eisner camp friends. Sam was combining exciting summer internships with travel and time with friends. Olga and I were headed to Israel for some quality learning time at Shalom Hartman institute, and we even planned to have a mini reunion with some of our fellow classmates from a Jewish leadership program, on this 25th anniversary of our graduation. Then there was time working at Camp, and of course, an opportunity to take a deep breath, regroup, and prepare for the next academic year at our Hebrew school, High Holy Days, and an exciting year of programs at TE.
Alas, none of these plans can happen. We are, of course, not alone in our reality of dramatically shifting our expectations this summer — the entire country, the entire world — have had to rapidly change and cancel plans. As the old Yiddish saying goes, “Man plans and God laughs”; or as my father likes to say, “Want to make God laugh? Tell Him your plans.” Of course, the realities of this pandemic are no laughing matter – the staggering numbers of illness and death continue to grow and shock us. We know a little more about the disease than we did back in March, but many questions remain unanswered, and we continue to listen to the advice of epidemiologists and other medical professionals on how best to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and all the vulnerable in our society as safe as possible from the brutal effects of Covid-19. We continue to encourage people to practice physical distancing as much as possible, to wear masks in public (especially when inside) to prevent the further spread of the infection while scientists are working on a vaccine and treatments. A special blessing for wearing a mask and saving lives is circulating on the Jewish internet, reminding us that it is indeed a true mitzvah, to keep each other safe.
So what should be our lesson from this year? Should we stop making plans? Should we become so cautious that we no longer travel or plan exciting gatherings with family and friends? For the time being, yes, that seems to be the case – we should put a hold on many of our exciting plans. But should we stop being aspirational about our lives, and stop making “God laugh”?
I don’t believe that’s a good lesson to take away from all of this. Judaism constantly reminds us to be a little less self-assured; not to ignore the fragility of life, of our health, of our safety and security. Not to fall into despair — far from it — but instead to approach life, and especially all of our plans, with a little more humility. Traditionally observant Jews often say be’ezrat haShem (“God willing”). For some, perhaps, this phrase does mean that they accept God’s control in every aspect of their lives, but I think the more appropriate reading of this phrase is to say that as we plan, we should remember that not all plans can come to fruition. And if some of our plans, no matter how big or small, cannot happen, perhaps we can take a deep breath and remind ourselves that sometimes things don’t work out the way we planned them – and that’s okay, too.
I will not get to do many of the wonderful things I hoped to be able to experience this summer. I’m a little sad, but that’s okay. Next year at TE will look a little different than in the past – but, as we have been discovering over the last few months, a little different is not all that bad! More people have been attending Shabbat services every week; more people have been coming to Torah study; Religious school saw amazing attendance every week we were online. Would I choose to do it that way? No, of course not – I miss seeing all of you in person, hugging people, sharing food… But I take comfort in knowing that we met this challenge as a community – and will continue to do so in this coming year. Thank you for being part of this journey.
Stay healthy and safe!