Looking for Eden in a pandemic

By Rabbi Fishel Zaklos

Well over half a year has passed since our world turned topsyturvy.

The question that I wish to pose to us all is, can we find space for gratitude amongst everything we are experiencing?

This year has created opportunities for many emotions. And yet, along with the sadness, there is much to be grateful for. Don't you agree?

I often think of Adam and Eve — the two people who had everything. They lived in paradise, literally! The world was theirs for the taking. But there was just one tree among millions of others that G-d told them to avoid. They had the whole world, minus one tree, and all they could think about was that one tree. Focusing on the singular forbidden item in their lives was their downfall.

Gratitude demands the exact opposite — focus on the beauty, the sweet, the blessings.

You might have seen the following anecdote on social media. After a 93-yearold man in Italy recovered from COVID- 19 in the hospital, he was asked to pay the cost of the ventilator for one day. Upon hearing this, the man began to cry. The doctor comforted him that a bill was not worth crying over. The man's reply made all the doctors tear up.

"I don't cry because of the money I have to pay," he said. "I can pay all the money. I cry because I have been breathing G-d’s air for 93 years, but I never paid for it. It takes €500 to use a ventilator in a hospital for one day. Do you know how much I owe G-d? Why did I take it for granted until now?"

I can’t verify the truth of this anecdote, but I choose to share it because of its poignant message.

Every day, we can find gratitude for the gift of life itself. The gift of sunshine. The gifts of smell and taste. The gifts of family and friends. We all have many things in our lives that are truly miraculous.

There is a wise saying from the Jewish sages, that when it comes to matters of spirituality, we must look at people greater than we are and aspire to uplift ourselves. Yet, when it comes to matters of the physical, we must look at people who have less than us and feel gratitude for what we have.

Yes, there is deep pain in our world today. The heart aches for all the suffering in the lives of so many. And yet, in spite of the pain and that which we lack, we can also choose to adopt the attitude that there is still so much light in our world. To focus on what is beautiful and not take the goodness in our lives for granted, for that would weaken our character and the example we wish to present to our children.

The focus on what we have is so much better for our health and the quality of our relationships. It brings out a version of ourselves that allows us to live a higher quality of life.

Gratitude brings so many benefits. Can we find space for it in our lives? As we awaken each morning, before we do anything, the traditional Modeh Ani prayer falls from our lips. With it, we offer thanks to G-d, the living and eternal King for mercifully restoring our souls. Let us concentrate on the commitment we make to G-d as we thank Him for the responsibility He bestows upon us, allowing us to carry the breath of life in our bodies.

Gratitude is an attitude over which we have complete control, and it’s up to us to find our own Eden in the everyday.

Rabbi Fishel serves at Chabad Jewish Center.