The Jewish Observer
News from Middle Tennessee's Jewish Community | Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024
The Jewish Observer

As The Pandemic Ends…Don’t Go Back To Normal

By Greg Goldberg

To quote some rock and roll saying…What a longstrange trip it has been. Now I don’t know who said that nor do I have any clue as to what they meant, but here is something that I do knowI don’t want to go back to the way things were. When people are young (kids) they usually want to be older (old enough to drive, vote, etc); and when people get much older, they often want to be young again. And what husband hasn’t heard their wife make a comment about wanting to be thinner. It seems like people always want to be prettier, richer, smarter, etc. Maybe I am different or just the only average person in society but I have never wanted to be other than what I amI will never have the chance to be this age looking the way I do with this level of knowledge therefore I plan to enjoy it as best I can! 

After all it was not just the cartoon character Popeye who said it, but God tells Moses in Exodus to say אֲשֶׁר<span class="TextRun SCXW49792406 BCX0" data-contrast="none" lang="AR-SA" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; -webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; color: rgb(77, 81, 86); font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 17.2667px; font-family: " times="" new="" roman",="" "times="" roman_embeddedfont",="" roman_msfontservice",="" serif;"="" xml:lang="AR-SA">אֶהְיֶה “I am that I am”. 

 

Recently in the Torah we read about the spies that scoured the land and then lied about the rebellion; often even in modern times people are afraid of the unknown and uncertain future and so they simply revert to what may have been comfortable in the pasteven if it was not an ideal situation. Well not me, I plan to boldly go one step at a time into the future. 

 

Now I do plan to continue learning and so each day is an opportunity to do things better. I admit I don’t personally have all the answers but together as a Jewish community we can make our local society and this little corner of the world better. So if you are worried or scared, then reach out and join me. 

 

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