Our Collective Storm

During these times, people keep saying, “We are all in the same boat.” No, we’re not.

We are all in the same storm, but your boat is different than your neighbor’s, and mine is different than yours. Each of us is going through this historic time with unique challenges and joys because our lives are different. And that means we can never judge someone else, as Hillel says in Pirkei Avot, Ethics of Our Fathers: “Do not judge your fellow until you have come to his place.” And since we can never, ever really come to another person’s place, we are forbidden to judge.

Even when we pay a Shiva call, it’s not very comforting to tell the mourner, “I know how you feel.” Even if they are mourning the loss of a father, and you lost your father, you don’t know how they feel, because you didn’t lose their father.

Whatever you may going through now is what G-d decided is your unique opportunity to learn and grow. The lessons you learn during this “time out” are yours now and forever. Do not compare yourself to anyone else.

Yes, we are in a collective storm, but the story of this time is personal and profound. Let us dig deep and change for the good so that The Almighty can turn the page, and we can emerge from this as better people, committed to making a better world.