Now what

Now what

Trump won, Biden lost and Harris lost. 

Now what?

What does all this mean for the future of America and the world? What does it mean for the war in Ukraine and war in the Middle East? What does it mean for the world getting along, as Russia China and the US compete, and as China threatens Taiwan, and North Korea flexes its muscles? What does it mean as Iran threatens development of a nuclear bomb, and as the regime oppresses its people.

Now what?

Now the work begins. Now there needs to be a concerted effort by left and right to make the world work, by overcoming ideological differences.

Now starts the work. How do left and right, with opposing ideological ideas, work together? 

On election day, I happened to be talking to a lady who had been a nurse for 30 years. I asked her what impressed her most about the human anatomy. She replied that she was most amazed at how, when there’s an accident, the body restricts its blood flow to the main organs. It leaves the extremities for the moment, as it tries to save the main organs.

I asked her how the body knows to do this. And she replied, that the brain tells it what to do. I was going to ask her how the brain knows what to do, but I didn’t get the chance to ask. 

When right and left focus on the main job at hand, which is to save the body, to save the world, to work together in order to achieve peaceful coexistence, in order to save humanity, then there’s hope.

As in the parable that the nurse told me, so too in the large world it’s important to keep our focus on what’s important — to try to save the world; and the way to do that is to aim higher. Sometimes we have to leave the extremities momentarily, and focus on our main essential core — on what gives us life.

And the way to do that, is to be sensitive to the source of our life, which is G-d.

G-d gives us the ability to use our brain and our heart. G-d gives us the ability to save ourselves, to save the world. And the way to do it, is to know and be aware that it is G-d Who is the source of our life, and it is G-d Who gives us the instruction manual, the guidance on how to save the body of humanity.

G-d gave the Jewish people the Torah at Mount Sinai, with laws on how to keep our connection with Him vibrant, in order to bring His blessings into the world. When we follow His instructions, we bring light and warmth and peace to the whole world.

On Mount Sinai G-d told Moses to tell all nations the seven Noahide laws: To believe in G-d, not to curse G-d, not to murder, steal, or commit adultery and incest, to not eat part of the animal while it is still alive (which is cruel), and to establish courts of justice to enforce these laws, which includes acts of charity, to help one another.

And it also includes belief and trust. Belief is for the past and trust is for the future. We believe that everything that happened in the past was for our ultimate benefit; but for the future we trust, that since G-d is good, and the nature of someone who is good is to do good things, that He will help us in a way that we can see is good — a revealed goodness. So we trust that a person who is not well will be healed, and that a world that needs healing will find healing, with peace and prosperity for us, that we come together to support the common denominator, which is to save humanity and to create a world of peace.

The work ahead of us may seem like a daunting task, especially with different opinions on the right and on the left. But it is eminently doable, as long as we keep our eye on the ball. 

Whatever happened in the past, we believe it is for the best, for our ultimate benefit; and we trust in G-d for the future, that we will see a bright, wonderful and wondrous world, in which we all live peacefully, and in which we all work together for the common good, as the prophet said: “That all will serve Him with one shoulder.” (Zephaniah 3; 9)

May we see it very soon.