Please find today on common-woman some notes that were scribbled down on March 30, 2020 while listening to an online interview with Rabbi Jonathon Sacks. The world was experiencing new challenges of Covid-19. We did not yet know what life would look like in 2020.
Rabbi Sacks began with these ideas, which are paraphrased:
“We can make things better. It takes a great deal of courage to have hope. Have hope together.
We need to be a part of a “we” society.
We of humanity
We of collaborative nations
We of growth of a community spirit.
Coping Strategies:
Faith helps. Read the book of Psalms.
Faith that God is with you. Place your life in His hands.
Principles:
Focus on what you can control
Keep your mind active
Never lose you sense of humor
Think of the group you are a member of, even if you can’t physically be in their company.
Think of the Bigger Picture” --Jonathon Sacks
Rabbi Sacks ended with the following prayer:
“God on High
Please be with us all in this hour of trial. Heal those who are sick. Give strength to those who give them comfort. Be with those heroes and heroines who manage our medical systems: the doctors, the nurses, the medical auxiliaries. Give strength to all those who sustain our essential services: who stock our supermarkets, who dispense the medicines we need. Extend to us Your love. Remove from us all hate. Let us be joined in this time of trial, in our sense of belonging to one another. And help us, when all of this is over, to build a better, more just and safer world.” –Rabbi Jonathon Sacks
Rabbi Sacks passed away 7 November 2020. His encouragement lives on.
Thank you for the gift of being yourself. You make a difference in this world.
We have come a far way together. We still have a far way to go together. Prayers for each and all of us as we continue to live and learn in 2021 and beyond.
Safe travels and a pleasant journey. We are in it together.
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