passover IN THE TIME OF
CORONAVIRUS Jewish wisdom and teachings • By Ellen Beck, MD
GET SLEEP AND EXERCISE.
Both strengthen immunity. People deprived of sleep who are exposed to a cold virus are more likely to get sick. Rabbi Chanina ben Chachinai, in Pirke Avot, teaches, “Staying awake is like forfeiting one’s life.” Maimonides uses Deut. 4:9, “Guard ourselves”, to encourage exercise, healthy eating, and eight hours of sleep. “When keeping the body in health and vigor, one walks in the way of God,” Maimonides, Mishnah Torah, Hilkot Deot 4:1 In stressful times, let us double our sources of strength and nourish body, mind, and spirit. The last verse of Adon Olam is “In your hand I place my spirit from when I sleep to when I wake, and I will not fear.” Imagine the hands of G-d and curl up within.
A
t our Seder, we ask, Where in the world is there oppression that must be addressed? How, this year, will I move from slavery to freedom? Covid-19 can feel oppressive. Bob Marley teaches, "We must emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, only we can free our minds.” Victor Frankl taught to choose our attitude towards events. What do our sages teach? What advice can we draw from Jewish teachings? SHELTER IN PLACE.
Makom, the Hebrew word for place, is a name for G-d. In Exodus, Jacob says, “How full of wonder is this place, God was in this place, and I did not know.” We are in place. Let us seek the wonder. WASH HANDS WITH SOAP AND HOT WATER, 20 SECONDS.
The Talmud teaches to wash hands before and after meals, after the bathroom, when changing clothes, and when touching unclean things. As we feel the water on our hands, we can take an awe pause, say the blessing, sing the Misheberach, and imagine, “Let our hands be filled with your blessings,” (Avinu Malkeinu). 24
L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • APRIL 2020
“PURSUE JUSTICE,” TEACHES ISAIAH.
A total of 48 times in the Torah, we are admonished to care for the widow and the orphan. Let us think of our most vulnerable, the frail elderly, the immunocompromised, those without food, or who can’t pay the rent, and practice tzedakah, justice. At our free clinic, students are delivering food and medications to people’s homes, to people who have nowhere else to turn. I find myself profoundly grateful to have a roof, a place to shelter, a steady income, enough food to eat. During Pesach, we drop out one drop of wine for each plague, because our glass cannot be full as long as there are those in need. Let’s bring back the bumper sticker, “Think globally, act locally.” PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING.
During plagues, people would be quarantined until the Kohen said they were disease free. This is a time of tzimtzum. As the Zohar teaches, to create the world, God had to withdraw part of themself and in that place the world was created. Social distancing does not mean virtual distancing. Zoom, Skype, phones, and FaceTime facilitate connection with both our families of choice and our families of origin. Connecting with other is also an
