I’ve noticed a trend these days. Whenever something happens in the world that’s wild and completely crazy – (basically everything COVID-19 or most world events,  right?), someone remarks, “well, at least we’ll have a great story to tell our grandchildren, or great-grandkids.”

Going crazy wearing masks? “At least you’ll have something to share with your kids some day.”

Having a hard time with those who don’t wear masks? “Great story to tell in future times!”

Sick and tired of interacting on Zoom? “Look at all the stories you’ll tell your children!”

Tired of quarantine and being cooped up? “Can you imagine the bedtime stories you’ll tell your own children and grandkids?”

We recently attended a bar mitzvah. At the services on Shabbos, the boy had prepared reading from the portion after the Torah reading known as the “haftarah.”  He had studied and learned the “trope” – or notes to be able to chant the Hebrew words in the right tune.

When he was about to read from the Haftarah, the boy noticed it was different from what he had prepared! Gulp. He had prepared the wrong one, the haftorah of Isaiah that is companion to Torah reading of  Parshas Bereishis (Genesis). But on that shabbos that fell on the weekend before Rosh Chodesh, (new month) a different portion (Samuel) was designated – one which the boy had not prepared.

Without missing a beat,  he pivoted from his original plan and proceeded to read and sing the new-f0r-him segment, deciphering the trope from the symbols around the words. This was a portion which was completely unfamiliar to him. Yet, he did it with confidence. No one listening could tell from hearing him that he had not prepared that in advance.

Instead of giving up or asking that someone else read the haftarah, he jumped in and made it work. He went  with the flow and now he has a story to tell his own kids some day.  A story of resilience and flexibility. A story of confidence and positive attitude. And a story of knowing that things don’t always work out as planned but sometimes we just try to roll with the punches.

These days in times of COVID, flexibility, resilience, and adaptibility are true assets. Rigidity and insisting on things going as one has expected all the time causes frustration for everyone.  Being able to switch gears, or adapt to new rules as the new virus is better understood by the experts takes patience and maturity.

To pivot and move along with the flow are skills that all of us can learn, especially during these times. With G-d’s help, we will survive troubles and come out stronger in the end. And we will have some interesting and   entertaining stories to share some day about courage, bravery, and flexibility.

While it may be tempting to fight the system, to give up, or to complain about the constant changes around us, it’s not always helpful to do that. I know I sometimes want to throw up my hands and say, “What’s the use?” or “I just can’t take it anymore,” or even, “wake me up when this is all resolved.”

But what works out best for me is when I take deep breaths, observe the changes that are going on around me, and resist the urge to fight. By now I’ve accepted that things are going to be constantly changing. Just the other day, I read that airplanes are totally safe when everyone wears masks. And the next day, an article was published rebutting that assertion. So, who knows? Nobody knows.

Acceptance of G-d’s will helps me ride the waves. Knowledge that this too shall pass helps soothe me. Faith in G-d helps me look forward to better times.

King Solomon said, “There’s a time for everything. For everything there is a season…,” (Ecclesiastes); and we see this is true here. What happened with the bar mitzvah had to do with a calendar, and the Jewish calendar has very specific times for events of the year. Even which haftarah is read on which week is specific. This might just be the message of COVID, or one of the many messages. Everything in its time. And going with the flow is the best way to deal with the constant changes all the time. Hopefully, all this is temporary, and one day we will return to more predictability.

What we do know is if we try as best as we can to roll with the changes, punches, and indecisiveness and jump right in, we can make good music, intone proper language, and make those around us proud. If you don’t believe me, ask a bar mitzvah boy! He’ll tell you all about it.

 

Credit: Unsplash photo