Rabbi Bruce Block shared the following joke on the CCAR Facebook page and gave me permission to share it with all of you. However, it is not the joke but his message that I really want us to learn from.
First the joke:
There's a very old joke. [How old is it? Henny Youngman told it as a boy, around the campfire, when we were all living in caves.] Scientists have determined that the world is going to be destroyed by catastrophic flooding the world over in two weeks. Not one inch of land will remain. The earth will be totally underwater. There is nothing that can be done to prevent this catastrophe. So all the great religions convene their greatest leaders and call on them to prepare their adherents for the end. Some preach repentance and speak of an afterlife. Others speak of acceptance and equanimity. But the Rabbis have a different take. Each Rabbi gathers their people and gives them the following message: "We have two weeks to learn how to live underwater."
Now the lesson:
If one thing can define us as Jews it is our ability to adapt and be resilient. Throughout our history we have met every disaster that has befallen us by adapting and learning how to thrive in adverse situations.
After the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE when our people were sent into exile for the first time, we adapted and learned how to be Jewish outside our homeland. With the destruction of the second Temple in 70 CE we created Rabbinic Judaism and replaced sacrifice with prayer. When forced to convert in Spain during the Inquisition in the 1400’s we learned how to be Jewish in secret and maintain our identity.
I could site countless examples of how we as Jews are survivors but we are more than that. We are learners, adapters and “thrivers” in the most abject situations. We approach life by not bracing for disasters but by figuring out how to survive, and in many cases thrive, through tragedy and tough times.
As hard as these past few months have been, I am heartened by the fact that I have seen time and again congregants figuring out how to thrive in an untenable situation. Please look back at the past months and realize that you did not drown but learned how to live underwater. That ability and flexibility to learn how to live underwater is something we should all be proud of in this difficult time. In this time when our whole reality was turned upside down, things seemed really hopeless. However, watching how you all have risen to the occasion has given me strength and hope that I too can endure this tough time. For that I want to express my gratitude and admiration and I thank you all.
