Menachem Bluming Muses: COVID-19 and Your Family


How ironic is it?

We live in the age of communication and an unprecedented era of unimaginable connectivity. At the touch of a button, you can see and hear a person at the other end of the world - for free! And for not much more, you can visit that person and be there in less than a day!

The advent of technological advances - no, miracles! - has changed the way we communicate and brought us together in ways our great-grandparents would have thought inconceivable.

And yet, in a twist of historic irony, the most connected generation to date is not allowed to leave home. The most social, global community ever has taken to social distancing.

One of the lessons we are learning is this: It's great that you can communicate effortlessly with someone across the globe from you. Can you communicate with the person across the table from you?
We've conquered the world; but have we done well with our own homes? We've connected thousands and millions of friends and followers; how well connected are we with the two, four, five, six people in our own family unit?

Global connectivity is sublime. But it is not everything.
It is unmistakable. Divine Providence and CDC Guidelines have distanced us from everyone but our immediate families.

Enough has been said and written about how much we miss those we've been forcibly distanced from: working from home, Zoom, video chats, distance learning - the list goes on.
Not enough has been said and written about how much we cherish those we've been forcibly secluded with. That aspect is not getting so much attention. But it deserves attention.  

A world at peace will be the result of nations at peace. Nations at peace will be the result of communities at peace. Communities at peace will be the result of homes at peace. Homes at peace will be the result of families at peace.

If we truly yearn for world peace, then, we know what we have to do. We have to be endlessly, tirelessly, and selflessly kind to those we share our homes with.
The miracles of technology have made the world a smaller place. The miracles of respect, patience and kindness make a crowded, quarantined house the cornerstone of a great world.

Mendel (Menachem) Bluming and Rabbi Friedman

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