This coronavirus pandemic, which we’re all collectively enduring right now, feels very Biblical. Plagues, economic crisis, upending social order; usually we turn to the Torah for stories like these! And you’d think that if ANYONE was ready for world-wide reckoning and forced-self-reflection-on-a-GLOBAL-scale, it would be the clergy folks. You know… me. But I was just as surprised by this whole crisis as everyone else! Even as I see signs ALL AROUND about how enormous and, well, Biblical the proportions are of this ordeal, I am struggling to figure out how to interpret what is happening. Or how to respond.
Obviously, one option is to shout “God told you so!!” on a daily basis, but that doesn’t seem very pastoral, and I imagine that would get awfully annoying and self-righteous pretty quick. And while there are some incredible lessons and signs that I DO believe we all need to acknowledge, it is also true that people are dying - every day - on a massive scale; the joblessness is terrifying; and the economic impact that we’ll be feeling for years is daunting. Noticing the “silver linings” and the important “take-aways” that we, as a human race, are perhaps meant to learn from this isn’t about sugar-coating our pain. It isn’t about ignoring the devastating toll we’re all paying for these lessons. It is, however, crucial to acknowledge - now more than ever - that the most important insights we ever learn as human beings are essentially ALWAYS painful. And this, without question, is hurting.
Focusing on the take-aways isn’t about trying to be upbeat or cheery, it’s about making sure these deaths and this pain hasn’t been for nothing. We cannot allow ourselves to suffer so enormously… and then learn absolutely NOTHING on the other end. No, let’s stop and be mindful for a moment (or A LOT longer…) and notice some incredible things that are happening right now:
Pollution is down globally on an unprecedented level. Read stories about India, Brazil, China, and the other places around the globe where people can breathe - and actually SEE without smog covering their eyes! - for the first time in decades!
Animals are coming out of hiding. Their habitats are normally shoved aside by human growth and expansion. All of a sudden, lions are sprawled on roads in Africa, mountain goats saunter through Welsh towns, and bird song can be heard in city centers where it was NEVER silent enough for such things before.
But also other puzzling consequences, like prisons having to reexamine who should (still) be incarcerated, and what might it mean to ACTUALLY try and reduce the prison population?
And perhaps one of the most important realizations for us as a civilization; who is an “essential worker”? Before COVID-19, the “essential” people in our lives were athletes, movie stars, politicians, financial managers and lawyers (and I don’t mean to offend any Ohevites here…). Now, doctors and nurses are still essential; perhaps more than ever! But we’ve also discovered that the people who are REALLY vital to basic human existence are also the grocery store workers, trash collectors (maybe more than anyone else!), pharmacy workers, mail carriers, and those who work in ANY aspect of the food industry. So why are they paid minimum wage? Why are so many without benefits? How is any of this acceptable? Perhaps these are jobs that don’t require a lot of education or specialized skill… but I don’t see most of us lining up to be trash or recycling collectors. So the people who ARE willing to do those jobs, shouldn’t we be more grateful to them and pay them for their incredible service to EVERYONE ELSE in society??
I’m sure you’ve had other insights of your own as well. Or heard others in the news. Focusing on these stories is about learning something from this, and striving to make our world better as a result. Otherwise, if all we do is demand that things go back to “normal” and we try to forget this ever happened as soon as possible; it will all have been absolutely and utterly in vain. I don’t know where the coronavirus came from, why it is here, or how long it will be a fixture in our lives. But RIGHT NOW is the time to utilize this pandemic to improve human (and animal, and plant, and air…) quality of life.
So often we ask God for signs. We ask for some signal to come and tell us what it means to be a human being, why we are here, what we’re supposed to do with our lives, and what the meaning of it all really is. Maybe the sign has come. It’s scary, it’s overwhelming, it comes wearing a facemask and gloves, and it involves spending A LOT of time quarantined indoors. But it IS a sign. Of BIBLICAL proportions! Let’s listen and learn and internalize… and change.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Gerber
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