Recently, I've realized how often the first thought that comes to mind is the worst-case scenario.
Case in point: the Dire Wolves.
You must have lived on another planet without reading about it. The media was obsessed with the news that scientists had supposedly revived the Dire Wolf, an extinct type of wolf that hasn't roamed the earth for thousands of years. The thing about the Dire Wolf is that it's bigger, longer, and stronger. Or, basically, a much scarier version of the current wolves.
When I read it, the first thing that came to my mind was, "This is exactly what we need right now." Right? As if the world is not chaotic enough, as if we don’t have enough problems and need to revive some prehistoric beasts?
I tried stopping myself from defaulting to the worst-case scenario. I knew I had to reroute my thoughts to find a way to avoid saying, "Oy vey, the Dire Wolves are coming!" and instead say, "Yay, the Dire Wolves are coming"! But how do I do that?
Oh, I know! Moshiach is the answer!
On the last day of Passover, we read a beautiful Haftarah, filled with incredible promises of what will happen with Moshiach's coming. The prophet Isaiah describes a scene of a wonderful world—a truly, lasting wonderful world.
Here are some verses:
(When Moshiach will come) "a wolf shall live with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie with a kid; and a calf, a lion cub, and a fatling [shall lie] together, and a small child shall lead them.
"And a cow and a bear shall graze together, their children shall lie, and a lion, like cattle, shall eat straw.
"And an infant shall play over the hole of an old snake, and over the eyeball of an adder, a weaned child shall stretch forth his hand.
"They shall neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mount, for the land shall be full of the knowledge of the L-rd as water covers the seabed."
The wolf with the lamb became a vivid symbol of G-d's promise of a better time when aggression and hatred will be a thing of the past.
I am sure you will agree that having a dire wolf next to a lamb is much more powerful than having a regular wolf!
So there you have it. This thought can be a perfect replacement for the "oy vay" attitude. The dire wolves are coming back because we are about to experience this great future very soon.
Changing my instinct from "oy vay" to "yay" will not be easy, and I know that I need to feed my mind with hope and optimism. A big part of this is learning and thinking more about the future and the coming of Moshiach. Please, G-d, may our positive thoughts manifest soon.
Wishing you a happy last days of Pesach and Shabbat shalom! Light candles today at 7:23 pm Saturday night light candles after 8:27 pm Holiday ends on Sunday at 8:28 pm ... See MoreSee Less
Looking forward to seeing all our Hebrew school friends this Sunday!! Hope everyone had a great Pesach break! ... See MoreSee Less
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Recently, I've realized how often the first thought that comes to mind is the worst-case scenario.
Case in point: the Dire Wolves.
You must have lived on another planet without reading about it. The media was obsessed with the news that scientists had supposedly revived the Dire Wolf, an extinct type of wolf that hasn't roamed the earth for thousands of years. The thing about the Dire Wolf is that it's bigger, longer, and stronger. Or, basically, a much scarier version of the current wolves.
When I read it, the first thing that came to my mind was, "This is exactly what we need right now." Right? As if the world is not chaotic enough, as if we don’t have enough problems and need to revive some prehistoric beasts?
I tried stopping myself from defaulting to the worst-case scenario. I knew I had to reroute my thoughts to find a way to avoid saying, "Oy vey, the Dire Wolves are coming!" and instead say, "Yay, the Dire Wolves are coming"! But how do I do that?
Oh, I know! Moshiach is the answer!
On the last day of Passover, we read a beautiful Haftarah, filled with incredible promises of what will happen with Moshiach's coming. The prophet Isaiah describes a scene of a wonderful world—a truly, lasting wonderful world.
Here are some verses:
(When Moshiach will come) "a wolf shall live with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie with a kid; and a calf, a lion cub, and a fatling [shall lie] together, and a small child shall lead them.
"And a cow and a bear shall graze together, their children shall lie, and a lion, like cattle, shall eat straw.
"And an infant shall play over the hole of an old snake, and over the eyeball of an adder, a weaned child shall stretch forth his hand.
"They shall neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mount, for the land shall be full of the knowledge of the L-rd as water covers the seabed."
The wolf with the lamb became a vivid symbol of G-d's promise of a better time when aggression and hatred will be a thing of the past.
I am sure you will agree that having a dire wolf next to a lamb is much more powerful than having a regular wolf!
So there you have it. This thought can be a perfect replacement for the "oy vay" attitude. The dire wolves are coming back because we are about to experience this great future very soon.
Changing my instinct from "oy vay" to "yay" will not be easy, and I know that I need to feed my mind with hope and optimism. A big part of this is learning and thinking more about the future and the coming of Moshiach. Please, G-d, may our positive thoughts manifest soon.
Wishing you a happy last days of Pesach and Shabbat shalom!
Light candles today at 7:23 pm
Saturday night light candles after 8:27 pm
Holiday ends on Sunday at 8:28 pm ... See MoreSee Less
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