Welcome to the daily Chizuk (encouragement). The world at large is in panic mode, fearing the spread of this virus, Rachmana litzlan (May the Merciful One save us). Markets are crashing, businesses are struggling, schools are shutting down, groceries are being grabbed off the shelves, people are confined to their homes, and everybody wants to know what to do next. There's a lot of anxiety regarding what the future holds. How do we deal with it? Our Emunah (faith) is and always will be the same: Hashem, who has been controlling every aspect of the world since day one, is the same Hashem who is controlling the world right now. This virus did not come about because a person in China ate the wrong food. The virus is here because it's part of Hashem's master plan. As hard as that is to understand, in the story of Purim, it seemed that a madman was running the world. Everything was in chaos. The Jews were in grave danger, and there was nowhere for them to hide.
In Parashat Beshalach, Moshe was told to write down in the Torah that Hashem is going to wipe out Amalek. The Rokeach writes that the gematria (numerical value) of the words Hashem used, vesim be'oznei Yehoshua, ki macho emcheh (And place it in Joshua’s ears, for I will surely blot out), is 954, the exact number of years that passed from the time Hashem said that Pasuk (verse) until the downfall of Haman, an offspring of Amalek, began. Nothing just happens. That story had been brewing for almost a thousand years. So too in our days. Hashem is the only one with control, and we are always in His hands. Our purpose in this world is to serve Hashem from the circumstances that He puts us in. If we have to stay at home, then we serve Hashem from home. If we're able to go out, then we serve Hashem from there.
The Noam Elimelech and his brother Rav Zusha were once traveling together in a foreign place, and an anti-Semitic officer began questioning them and put them both in prison. But the truth is, they sat there together in a decrepit cell. Rabbi Elimelech saw that Rav Zusha was down and said, “This is not like you. Where's your Emunah?” Rav Zusha replied, “I'm not sad that we're in prison. I'm sad because the time of Mincha (afternoon prayer) is about to pass, and because of this chamber pot here in the cell, we're not able to pray.” Rabbi Elimelech then asked him, “Who commanded us to pray Mincha?” Rav Zusha answered, “Hashem.” Rabbi Elimelech asked, “And who commanded us not to pray under these conditions?” Rav Zusha answered, “The same Hashem.” Rabbi Elimelech said, “So what difference is it? Which will of Hashem are we doing? We're now fulfilling the will of Hashem by not praying Mincha because it's Asur (forbidden), and we're listening to Him.” When Rav Zusha heard that, he got so excited that he got up and started to dance. Rabbi Elimelech joined him in his excitement, and they danced together. They danced and sang around the room. They were dancing there, happily fulfilling the will of Hashem. The jail warden got so upset that they were dancing that he came in and took out the pot. At that moment they said, “Now we can pray Mincha.” They stood up and prayed a long Amidah. After they finished, the guard told them, “I was told to let you out. There are no charges against you.” They went back home, and Rabbi Elimelech told Rav Zusha, “I was following Hashem's will by not praying. And then Hashem helped us out by letting us pray. And in the Zechut (merit) of both, we got out of jail.”
You see, being sad and depressed doesn't accomplish anything. It only makes situations worse. Being happy, however, and understanding that we're living the lives that Hashem wants us to be living at the moment, brings blessing. If someone is home with his family and has a lot of free time, instead of being depressed that his business is suffering and instead of catching up on all the news every second, he could use the free time to serve Hashem better. He could learn more Torah. He could teach his children Torah. He could work on being a better spouse. He could appreciate everything that he has and thank Hashem for it. There's so much that we can do in avodat Hashem (serve Hashem). And if we'll spend these days focusing on Hashem and doing what we can to grow, they will be considered holy and productive days.
Panic doesn't help anybody. Let us internalize that we're always in the hands of Hashem. Let us be the best Jews we can be in this situation. And be'ezrat Hashem (with Hashem's help), in that Zechut, Hashem should remove all illness from our midst and heal all of those who are sick, like it says... Have a great day.