The ability to live with uncertainty and to act hopefully in the face of it is the source of miracles. View the study sheet here. Watch the recording here.
One thing we can be sure of, especially during these times, is uncertainty. When will this pandemic crisis be over? Will my favorite restaurant still be around? How many people is it safe to be around for the holidays? What will work look like a year from now? Oh, and one more thing we can be sure of: When the crisis is over, the life we get back to will not be the one it was before.
We seek to live in peace of mind and certainty. Our brains are wired to search out patterns, to highlight cause and effect, to make plans for a future we can predict. In the absence of that, we experience anxiety and stress.
Does it comfort you to hear as advice: lean into the uncertainty, experience vulnerability, embrace the disruption? Each year I dwell in the fragility and exposure of the sukkah. Yet, as soon as the holiday is over, I rush back into the solid framework that is my home.
This week’s Torah portion begins with Jacob’s successful wrestling experience followed by his reconciliation with his brother. Triumph! Healing! Yet, that moment is followed by the savage rending of life and family at Shechem, and our portion ends with the death of Rachel. The message seems to be: life is an endless series of fractures and healings.
How can we navigate through such a terrain? It requires a knowledge that we have all that we need within us to transform ourselves and to emerge stronger for the next inevitable disruption.
Join us here at 7:00 p.m. (PST) Thursday November 18 as we explore the courage to live with uncertainty.
