Stay calm and don’t panic

Sometimes I panic. Potentially bad news seems disastrous at first. Perhaps you do that too.  Some of it is personality. Sometimes it is because bad things are about to happen and life sometimes sucks. Another component is the nature of living in the 21st century. I watch the news and the pundits predict catastrophe. I get advertisements warning me to insure against adversity. Panic causes stress and stress is bad for my health. But don’t panic, there is an alternative!

In Torah portion Shlach, we learn the story of the twelve men sent to scout out the land of Canaan. They traverse the land from the Negev in the south and move north to Hebron and then across its breadth. They see wondrous walled cities and bountiful produce. But the report that ten of them bring back is of extreme caution. They say that the land they traversed devours its settlers and the inhabitants are like giants. They panicked. And the people despaired too. They cried and wept all night and asked, “Why don’t we just return to Egypt?”

Two of the scouts did not panic. They were Caleb and Joshua. What was different about Caleb and Joshua? Caleb is not naïve. His inclination is toward optimism. And he takes his confidence a step further. Caleb stands before a frightened and angry crowd in a futile attempt to redirect their thinking. Caleb says by all means let’s go up to Canaan and take the land for we shall surely overcome it. 

Caleb is unsuccessful as a leader at that time. However, he is rewarded by God with long life and is among the very select two who will be granted the longevity to enter the Promised Land. All others will spend the next 38 years wandering the Sinai wasteland until they die. 

The metaphor is strong. Those who panic and despair are doomed to wander aimlessly. Panic and despair keep us from living productive lives. Caleb’s positive attitude and hopefulness are rewarded. 

So how do we procure and nurture a positive attitude when confronted with adversity. The answer may be different for each of us, but I’ll suggest the one that comes from the Talmud. In tractate Sotah (34b), the rabbis opine that Caleb went to visit the graves of the ancestors at Hebron, known as the cave of Machpelah. This is where Abraham and Sarah and their progeny are buried with their spouses. Perhaps it is the attention to and respect for our origins, which might be a key to our own ability to cope with adversity. 

Each year, I visit the cemetery where my great grandmother and grandparents are buried. They traversed Europe on a treacherous journey to their promised land, the United States. With each visit I am reminded that whatever makes me panic, it probably pales in comparison to the challenges that my ancestors overcame confronting loss, ocean voyages in steerage, and making a life in a new country. Likely they were exceedingly afraid and yet they persevered.

The blessings of remembering our ancestors may be one inspiration to control our panic.  Whether you want to think about Alexander Hamilton’s travails or my great grandmother, Anna Krasnastovsky Grossbaum, bringing four children to the US from the Ukraine, the inspiration can come from anyone who has overcome fear and panic to improve their lives. The lesson offered is that our fears, unchecked, keep us wandering and derail us from entering our promised lands.

R’ Evan Krame