A Blessing On Your Head

Tap tap. Is this thing on? Welcome back, JVO-niverse. Or, rather, welcome back to me, to the JVO-niverse. I’ve been on maternity leave since the birth of my twin daughters four months ago. (It was the day after the 3-day Rosh Hashanah; babies said, “Too much challah. Not enough room. We’re movin’ out.”)

 

I’m not even sure if my brain works anymore. I’ve sat down at the computer more than once, and the literary equivalent of drool comes out. It’s taken all of my brainpower to keep track of the 5 smallish humans that now inhabit our house. Forget about trying to come up with thoughtful analysis of world events. I’m just trying to match the correct name to the child.

 

And though my brain has slowed down, world events have not. Lots of things have gone down, lots of them depressing. I have been ignoring them, but it’s time for me to sit back up and pay attention.

 

Because, like maternity leave, shutting out what’s happening in the world is not really an appropriate long-term strategy.

 

So just like I welcomed myself back, I will also give myself, and my children, a bracha (blessing).

 

Writing for JVO has pushed me to constantly engage with the world events, think about them, discuss them, react to them, even if I would prefer to activate “ignorance is bliss” mode. This engagement is, I think, a mentally healthy way to live.

 

As I was writing this, I was reminded of a quote from Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers). The verse in question is discussing our obligation to work. Though it is not our job to complete the job, we also cannot recuse ourselves from it. We have to do our part.

 

It ends with: ואין אתה בן חורין להיבטל ממנה (V’ayn atah ben chorin l’hibatel mimena.)

 

If I can steal this and use it for my own purposes, I would say that we are not “free” to ignore what’s going on in the world, even if we don’t have an answer or a solution. I hope to continue to add my voice and participate in these discussions with you, something I have enjoyed doing these past few years. And I hope that as my children grow up, they are not scared to tackle the thorny issues head on, but that they question, engage, seek knowledge, debate, and above all, find the positive (and the humor) in an often grim world.