Article in The Times of Israel by Andy Blumenthal: There are countless shakeups and wake-up calls of life that span from small to large crises that test our faith and ability to cope. In whatever circumstances we find ourselves, it's not about escaping from the difficulties, but finding G-d even when he seems absent or hidden from us. G-d is there, and so is a path toward overcoming the challenges, sanctifying our lives, and finding our meaning and significance.

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THE BLOGS
Andy Blumenthal
Leadership With Heart
Finding Strength in
Difficult Times
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2. 3/24/24, 7:38 AM Finding Strength in Difficult Times | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
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Bad News in the World Keeps Coming
Life is stressful, especially as the bad news keeps coming in: whether the
massacre by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7 and the 136 hostages still
being held in Gaza, the 287 students abducted earlier this month in Nigeria, or
the terror attack yesterday at a concert hall in Moscow, leaving 133 civilians
dead. Of course, these are on top of ongoing national security threats from
China, North Korea, and Iran, the spiraling national deficit, the immigration
crisis at the border, pandemics and other health threats, the deepening of
poverty and homelessness in our cities, the increasing prevalence of hate and
racism on our streets, waves of environmental disasters, and much more.
Finding Meaning and Cultivating Happiness
Certainly, any one of these troubles, and more so all of them together, can leave
one feeling tired, stressed, and even down. However, despite all these challenges
in our world, I am reflecting on Sara Yocheved Rigler’s book, G-d Winked, about
finding meaning in life and cultivating happiness.

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Rigler is a fascinating person who was on a life-long spiritual quest, spending a
year during college in India studying spirituality and meditation and then 15
years in an ashram in Massachusetts practicing and teaching meditation before
she alighted upon the teachings of orthodox Judaism by studying Torah in
Jerusalem, Israel.
There, Rigler discovered that rather than the Buddhist way of trying to
transcend the consciousness of this world and escape the cycle of life, desire,
loss, suffering, and death, Judaism provided a path of “total engagement with
this world,” where the commandments in the Torah provided a path to
consecrate everything we do in the physical world and make it sacred, and thus,
develop a life of genuine meaning. Thus, rather than trying to seclude oneself,
meditate, and attempt to rise above life, Judaism looks to make every action and
object in life holy, whether by reciting blessings and recognizing G-d in
everything or by purifying ourselves and sanctifying the objects in the world
according to G-d’s word by using them for good and for tikkun olam (the
fixing/healing of the world).
G-d Fulfills All Our Needs
Later, after Rigler marries, has children, and lives a Torah life in the Old City of
Jerusalem, she finds during a routine mammogram that she has breast cancer,
and her faith is challenged anew, perhaps like never before. She realizes that
“depression is a breeding ground for cancer,” and so she goes to her Jewish
ethics teacher, Rabbi Keleman, to ask him how she can overcome it. The rabbi
pointed her to the blessing that we say daily:
Blessed are you, L-rd our G-d, King of the Universe, who fulfills all my needs.
In short, if we contemplate the truth that, through G-d, “everything I need, I
have,” and the converse that “whatever I don’t have, I don’t need,” then we can
overcome depression and find happiness.

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If G-d gives us certain challenges, tests, and trials in life, then we can trust that
in his everlasting love for His children, they are ultimately all for the good and
to teach us, grow us, and make us stronger, better, and holier beings.
Rigler repeated the mantra of G-d providing for everything she needs, and it not
only calmed her during this difficult crossroad but also helped her regain her
spiritual perspective and strengthen her faith in the Almighty even when she
underwent a body-altering mastectomy and the scars it left.
Life’s Shakeups and Wakeup Calls
In synagogue today, one lady told my wife and me about the difficulties she has
with some tenants who rent from her. She described how some of them pay the
first month’s rent and security deposit but then stop paying rent immediately
thereafter. Despite all her efforts to do background checks on them beforehand,
she still gets occasionally hoodwinked, and then it takes about a full year to
evict them.
This reminds me of the lady in New York who got arrested this month for
attempting to change the locks on a property she inherited in Queens that some
squatters had taken over, where they can claim tenant rights after 30 days,
leaving the homeowners in a ridiculous bind. Imagine the headaches of even a
good thing like property ownership.
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Transforming Meaninglessness and Irrelevance into Action
There are countless shakeups and wake-up calls of life that span from small to
large crises that test our faith and ability to cope. Yet, whatever the challenges,
and however daunting, we need to confront and transform negative thinking:
Life is not meaningless, but it is an opportunity for us to make it meaningful
by trusting G-d and knowing that He has a plan for us and everything He does
is for our action and benefit.
What we think, say, and do isn’t irrelevant but is, in fact, very important since
we have the G-d-given power to sanctify our lives and positively impact
ourselves, others, and the world through ever-present opportunities for
giving and righteousness.
In whatever circumstances we find ourselves, it’s not about escaping from the
difficulties, but finding G-d even when he seems absent or hidden from us. G-d
is there, and so is a path toward overcoming the challenges, sanctifying our
lives, and finding our meaning and significance.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andy Blumenthal is a dynamic, award-winning leader who writes frequently about Jewish life,
culture, and security. All opinions are his own.
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