Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
The easiest thing in the world is live in absolute lockdown or absolute freedom. The hardest thing is to live with balance, but that is what is demanded of us at this time in Israel as we adhere to the orders of the day. The commentators praise the ability of Aharon the High Priest to maintain a routine over time without deviation, without change. As Rashi wrote regarding the larger meaning of Aharon's service in the Mishkan (sanctuary): "This shows Aharon's virtue that he did not deviate (from God's command)."
This week Rav Itamar Heikin wrote important words in this spirit as follows:
"We have difficulty coping with a lengthy process that demands restraint and patience. Once we had a Six-Day War and since then it seems to us that this is the nature of all wars. We prefer a start-up over building a large company for the long term. As if everything should happen in one fell swoop. We move between festival and scandal, between rapturous activity and oblivion. It's therefore so difficult for us to cope with the corona which demands restraint and focus. It appears that it will be here with us for a long time but we are already fed up. It would seem that we in Israeli society must undergo a deep spiritual change. It was stated long ago in the Talmud: 'Such is the redemption of Israel – little by little.' Our redemption is the ability to overcome the impatience that characterizes us, to learn the secret of deep, long breaths, that progress is made little by little, drop by drop."
Shabbat shalom.
