2020 has been a crazy year. We have been challenged in ways that we never could have imagined. Many of us have experienced the tragic loss of loved ones, the loss of job security, health, & well being. I cry with you.
When the pandemic first began, there was a sense that we would emerge from quarantine with a deeper appreciation for the gift of life and one another. We were encouraged to utilize our time productively & remember that it is sometimes ok not to be ok.
The pandemic has brought out the best and worst of humanity. We have seen people put their lives on the line and others take advantage when that line was blurred. Wave after wave we have struggled to rise above the clamor often feeling like nothing we do will make a difference. Yet after all is said and done, I believe that we will be stronger and more empathetic human beings forged by the tempest within this crucible. The pandemic has crossed the ethnic, religious, & political divide and reminded us that we are one family, on a tiny lonely planet, in a vast dark universe.
The Torah teaches us in the double parsha (chapter) of Tazria and Metzora that when a person speaks ill of another there is the possibility that they may be afflicted by Tzoraas (a type of plague) and forced to isolate themselves. The hope is that one will ultimately emerge with a deeper appreciation of their community.
Quarantine has forced us to make a Cheshbon Ha-Nefesh (an accounting of our lives). It has brought families together and reminded us what we are fighting for. It has forced us to be emotionally self reliant in order to take responsibility for ourselves, others & all of humanity
The Lubivitcher Rebbe states that Tazria and Metzora are the Parhsas of geulah (redemption). At the end of days after we have seen the futility of isms we will be forced to look inward & upward and in the loneliness of quarantine & social distancing embrace our common ground. In this darkness and isolation we will ultimately find the hidden love and light of creation.
I'm excited to share with you my second music video, “Human Becoming”, which celebrates the beauty of imperfection and expresses the hope that we will one day experience transcendence.
Wishing everyone a beautiful 2021. May this year see the end to suffering and the beginning of an era of peace & prosperity...
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