We are living in tough times. At the same time we all have so much to be thankful for —it’s not a contradiction.
Yet it is a choice! The choice of, how to “play with the cards we are dealt”.
The strength and wisdom of our people comes from the Torah. This week we read about our Patriarch Jacob who runs for his life quite literally —away from his family, single, destitute, vulnerable and unsure of his future.
Well, that’s the beginning of the story. Because all the trappings of a good story are incorporated into his life. He gets married, becomes rich, doesn’t get along with his in-laws, creates a family, has outsized relevance and meaning in his life. A perfect thriller which started with a choice of how to “play with the cards he was dealt”.
You see, Jacob understood that the cards he was dealt was part of his Divine destiny. He was to make lemonade from the lemons. In fact the lemons themselves were there specifically for the lemonade not the opposite way around.
Stories of our ancestors aren’t mere stories about them, rather they are insights and guidance of how we are to live our lives.
We are living through tough times. We’ve been dealt some rough cards over the past 7 weeks. Yet at the same time we have so much to be thankful for and the way we play these cards are in our hands.
For me, it’s as clear as can be, that one of the things to be thankful for this year, is seeing the amazing unity and resurgence of Jewish pride that has engulfed our nation. Now that’s playing the cards the right way and no doubt that will continue to give us strength to endure and prosper — Am Yisrael Chai!