Dream On
By Rabbi Z. Ahron Grossbaum
It is now over a year since our initial exposure to Covid 19, and every aspect of our normal calendric routine has been disrupted. Basic pursuits such as education, work, shopping, and travel, were modified as best as could be expected to stop the spread. Computers, tablets, and Zoom, were harnessed for study, commerce, and communication. Even medical examinations and consultations are being conducted from a smart phone. Unfortunately, these devices were of no help, for religious service, hearing the Shofar, attending a Simcha or visiting the sick. Our roundabout lifestyle has been coined the “new normal.”
Thankfully, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. The promised vaccines are slowly arriving at makeshift inoculation centres across the country. And although merely a fraction of the population has received the “shot in the arm,” the infection rate is reported to be subsiding. After being sequestered and in lockdown during infection spikes, the good news has us all thinking and dreaming.
With the steep cost of higher education at sprawling campuses, some institutions are thinking about remote learning. Leading corporations that have successfully implemented “work at home” protocol are giving serious consideration to continue the practice. Most prominent of all is the paradigm shift in our shopping habits. Soup and salad can now be ordered before signing out from your basement cubicle and arrive while you are setting the table upstairs for dinner. If we can successfully host cross country business meetings on Zoom, must we still budget thousands of dollars for travel and lodging.
And while some of us dream about time-saving and convenience, for others it’s of utmost importance to examine what the future will look like. Leading industrialist in the fields of aviation, hospitality, fashion, and land development are burning the “midnight oil” to get a handle on what modifications to expect in the post Covid era. This dilemma is best portrayed by the classic joke about the teacher who calls on Joey and says, “What are you dreaming about.” Joey responds, “I’m dreaming of winning the Mega lottery just like my dad.” The teacher responds, “I didn’t know that your father won the hundred million.” O’no says Joey, “He didn’t win, but he never stopped dreaming.”
When our Rebbe assumed the mantle of leadership in 1951, he nurtured a following of immigrants and refugees who escaped from the inferno of Poland and the starvation of Russia. During a personal audience with the Rebbe, a mother of a growing family asked the Rebbe for a blessing to be able to afford a bigger apartment that could house her growing brood. In response, the Rebbe broke out in a big smile and said, “In Yiddish the word Pearl has two meanings, pearl barley used for soup and also precious cultured pearls worn around the neck. If you are already asking for pearls, ask for the real pearls. Ask for a blessing to afford and buy a spacious house!”
Currently, we have entered the auspicious month of Nissan, highlighted by the festival of Pesach. Our Sages note, “Our first redemption was in the month of Nissan and so too the ultimate redemption will occur in Nissan. Numerous biblical verses and many Talmudic narratives extol the blessed era of peace and tranquility that will prevail. So too, Maimonides, concludes his magnum opus with a description of the Messianic era as a time when, “There will be no more strife, delicacies will be in abundance, and we will be worry free, so that we may dedicate our life for the pursuit of knowledge of G‑d.”
Dream Big, Dream Real!
Best wishes for a healthy, joyous, and Kosher Pesach
.