It’s rare, but we pulled it off.

To celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary and Chavie’s upcoming 40th birthday, we managed to get away. Two kids in New York, two kids in Texas, and Shoshana running solo, we got away for a week to a home on the water, where we can rejuvenate with peace and quiet. Overlooking the water, we saw calm seas and high tides, thunderstorms and blue skies, blue water and green water, cloudy days and sunny days. It’s constantly changing and awe-inspiring to watch. The Creator and Director of this magnificent world knows what is needed at every specific moment and acts accordingly.

In this week’s Torah portion, Balak, we read about the Moabite king Balak seeking to curse the Jews via Balaam, the hired Midianite prophet. While Balaam kept telling Balak that he won’t be able to do it, Balak hated the Jews so much that he kept demanding that he do it anyhow. Balaam was happy to mess with the Jews, he hated them illogically too, but he knew that without G-d’s consent he wouldn’t be able to. He said to Balak “Even if Balak gives me a house full of silver and gold, I cannot do anything small or great that would transgress the word of the Lord, my God.”. Balaam understood a basic tenet of faith: G-d is in charge, and we are just here to do our very best along the journey.

Life can feel stormy, but the storm doesn’t stay forever. It pours, it thunders, it shakes our core, but it passes, and the sun appears, and the water seems calm and majestic. As an anxious person, I often see the storm and catastrophize, “it messed everything up”, “it will never get sunny again”, the “waves will drown us and the sea will never be calm”, but it’s a falsehood based on the need for instant gratification and those of us who suffer from being “control freaks”. I learn Gates of Trust, Shaar HaBitachon, each week with my friend Shea, but somehow when the storm hits, I still freak out. That’s our mission, internalizing trust and remembering that whether it’s Balaam, Chaim or you, G-d controls the world, and the storms eventually pass.

Just hold on for the ride!

May G-d guard our brethren in Israel and the world over from harm and send us Mashiach speedily. May G-d protect the armed forces of Israel and the United States wherever they may be!

Just one day after the Rebbe’s 30th Yahrtzait, I dropped Zeesy off at the Brooklyn bus heading to the happiest place on earth, Camp Simcha. It’s a Jewish camp for children with special needs and there’s truly nothing like it. They don’t only take care of the kids and all their special needs, they do it with love, joy and vigor. Zeesy isn’t a burden to her counselor Shayna or to Margolis, Rivka and the hundreds of selfless staff who make happiness a reality, she’s a gem, a blessing from G-d, who has unimaginable life struggles and who deserve a to feel special and be treated with royalty.

In this week’s Torah portion, Chukas, we learn about the Jewish people journeying towards Israel, and the Edomites and Amorites not allowing them passage through their respective lands. They didn’t want any hand-outs, they weren’t seeking to free-load, they just wanted to walk across the land, and they were told no. In Talmudic terminology that is called “Zeh Neheneh Vezeh Lo Choser” which means “one side gains and the other side does not lose”. There are people who aren’t kind even if they have nothing to lose and the recipient has so much to gain, and there are those who are selflessly kind even if it hurts them in the process.

In the words of Abie Rotenberg’s incredible “Who am I?”: “I have trouble with my words, they don’t seem to come out clear, but I want you all to know me, so I’ll try, by asking one small question, it won’t take up too much time, can you tell me, can you answer, who am I?... Do you know the joy of friendship, of caring and of love? Somehow, I get the feeling that you do. Then we are not so different, we are very much the same…You do know who I am…I’m just like you.” Hats off to Camp Simcha and to every human being that wakes up and asks, “What can I do to make another child, another human, smile and feel connected?”.

Kindness is the greatest attribute of all!

May G-d guard our brethren in Israel and the world over from harm and send us Mashiach speedily. May G-d protect the armed forces of Israel and the United States wherever they may be!

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