Waking up to find a foot of snow on the ground is a pretty often occurrence living in the Northland. "It's a snow day!" often feels like a great reason to just stay inside and do nothing. But while I was shoveling the driveway it dawned on me that there are two decisions we often make. We can make excuses, or we can get things done. If we don't get out there and make sure the driveway is shoveled there's about a zero percent chance of us getting anywhere, at least not past the driveway.
It says in the Talmud that "man was born to toil" and "by the work of my hands I take pride in".
We never know what G-d is sending our way, but what we can know is what must be done.
Living in Duluth without the infrastructure of a large Jewish community can often be confronted with it's fair share of challenges, "where do your children go to school?" I am often asked, or "where do you buy your kosher food?" Luckily we thought about these questions long before my husband and I decided to move here, and they haven't been an excuse for us to not live here. We believe strongly in our mission of spreading the warmth of Judaism and creating a Jewish environment for every Jew to be a part of.
So here is some food for thought next time you find yourself shoveling the driveway...oh and did I mention that an anonymous neighbor plowed our whole front walk? When we take the initiative and start the process, we may just see a helping hand and realize that the work is not left to us alone. G-d is indeed at our side helping us through each step along the way.