As I watch Members of Congress and the Administration deliberate on the massive infrastructure bill and seek the truth in the January 6 insurrection and attack on our nation’s Capitol as well as everything else they do, and as healthcare workers across the nation and world do everything possible to treat those with the Delta virus, firemen fight fires in the Pacific states, teachers deal with Covid while engaging their students in learning, and more specifically my rabbinic, cantorial, and synagogue colleagues as they embark in their preparation for the High Holidays at the beginning of September, I’m reminded of how much stress I once knew as a congregational rabbi and that so many people know as they work and serve others in the variety of ways that they do.

Gandhi offers these comforting words for you, I hope: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

For those reading this who feel overwhelmed in this season, I wish for you an ometz lev (a courageous heart), savlanut (patience), ahavah (love), and sheket nafshi (peace of mind).