קשה עלי פרידתכם

Shavua Tov. Hard to believe that the holidays are behind us. This year was very different from other years. And to cap off this upside down year, I davened with Chabad today and they literally flipped the Chazzan upside down after Mussaf! It must be some kind of sign. Despite all of the turmoil of the Corona, the Chagim did represent a certain calm and purity not normally felt in other years. I could see Hashem’s words resonate concerning שמיני עצרת and שמחת תורה. It was difficult for Hashem to take leave of his cherished people, and he said, קשה עלי פרידתכם, parting from you is very hard. Therefore, we were commanded to stay another day for שמיני עצרת and שמחת תורה. The long, dark winter is ahead of us, and it will not be until Pesach when Jerusalem is again flooded with people. We are to try and take hold of this lofty state of Kedusha that we acquired, and have it with us all winter, so that we maintain this level of connection. May we all have a healthy winter with a great deal of Torah and Chessed as the cornerstone of our lives.