Making Peace with 2020

I don’t think that many of us feel sad saying farewell to 2020. Not often do we end a year having no doubt that it will be remembered for generations to come, and mostly for negative reasons. But 2020, albeit packed with disappointments and pain, wasn’t a “lost year” as portrayed by most
end-of-the-year accounts. 

The opening paragraph of the Shulchan Aruch, the medieval manual for living Jewishly, begins with an instruction of how we must begin the day, “Be bold as a leopard and light as an eagle, swift as a deer and strong as a lion to carry out the will of your Father in heaven.” In other words, every day contains myriad opportunities to serve God by doing mitzvot and improving the world, and we must seize them. We ought to take control over our days because if we don’t, our days will take control over us. The initial shock of finding ourselves in a global pandemic caused us to lose control temporarily, but soon after, many took the reins back and achieved remarkable things to make our separation from 2020 more amicable. I would like to recount some of those. 

Let’s start with the obvious. COVID-19 is awful, but in the same year it attacked us, science, technology, and human ingenuity managed to fight back by creating a vaccine that will eradicate it. 

The pandemic hurt many of our friends and neighbors and we saw others around us suffer from death of loved ones, job loss, illness, and loneliness. But at the same time, so many people who had the means and opportunity to help have done so in extraordinary ways. For example, we have seen more financial generosity and generosity of the spirit than we have in past years. In the second quarter of 2020, after the pandemic hit, charitable donations around the country increased considerably. We saw the same attitude in our Temple Beth Am community. We raised more funds for organizations and individuals this year than in any year before and we constantly were overwhelmed by your generosity. “I don’t need my stimulus check. Is there anyone in our congregation who could use it?” was a common question. 

B’nei Mitzvah, weddings, graduations, baby namings, and all milestone celebrations have been cancelled or modified, and it was painful. And at the same time I saw how these imposed changes made people stop and re-prioritize what matters in their lives. Putting family and friends as a first priority over work and play, being creative and finding ways to celebrate or commemorate more meaningfully, focusing more on values, pausing to think, and bringing calm into our previously hectic lives, more people choosing to live more Jewishly and participating in a remote, yet meaningful way, in our synagogue’s life. 

I know that many of you suffer from an acute case of Zoom Fatigue. But think about it. In the beginning of March, very few knew what Zoom was, and now we are all experts in the many ways of communications available to us. The pandemic did not create the means that allow us to learn, worship, and participate remotely, but it accelerated the processes, simplified it, and forced all of us out of our technological comfort zone. I am a good example of this. For years, I was playing with the idea of sending short videos to the congregation on a regular basis. This year, I knew I had no choice. At TBA, we have seen growth in our Service participation on Shabbats, High Holy Days, classes, and even social gatherings. 

The pandemic allowed us to be vulnerable and stop pretending that “everything is fine”. We all were locked up at home, afraid of the unknown and the known, struggled to adjust, and we talked about it with others. It made our conversations and relationships more real and meaningful than in the past. We have been checking on friends and family more often, and were more willing to reach out for help.

This is my partial list that helped me make peace with 2020. You may want to make your own. It will make you feel a little more hopeful. As for 2021, I pray that we embrace the Shulchan Aruch’s recommendation, and use every moment to serve God, each in our own way. I wish all of us a meaningful, and peaceful 2021.