As a child, one of the hardest things for me to do was to wait. I hated it! I hated the idea that I couldn’t have what I wanted… when I wanted it. Plus, I hated the idea that “Patience is a virtue.” As we know, a virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and as such, valued. To a kid, hearing this made no sense because it did not get me what I wanted. How could waiting for something be morally good or make me a better person?

 

I was never quite was able to wrap my head around this notion… and still am not able to to this day. However, what I have better understood and gained greater insight into is how, by being patient, or at least learning how to be patient, can be beneficial.

 

And here I am, almost 40 years later asking everyone to be patient.

 

I was thinking about how we have a very hard time being patient as the latest COVID numbers were shared at the end of last week. According to reports, California now has the lowest infection rate in the entire country. This is amazing and we should all feel a sense of pride in knowing that all of the precautions we have taken over the last several months are paying off. Add this to more and more people lifting their shirt sleeves to get their vaccine shots and we are in a great place. It is why Governor Newsom has said that he will lift most of the COVID restrictions on June 15.

 

Before we celebrate fully, I want to ask everyone to continue to be patient and enter this new phase slowly and cautiously. We are so close to the finish line and we know how quickly things can spiral out of control and undo all of our hard work. Let’s not blow it now and we can do that by continuing to remain patient.

 

Along these same lines of patience…

 

I want to let you know that our local Jewish community organizations are spending a lot of time trying to figure out the best and safest way to return to in-person programs, services, meetings, etc. However, it is important to remember to please give our organization’s leadership time to think through all of the possible scenarios.

 

We are in unchartered territory with so many moving pieces and things to consider, including guidelines and recommendations that keep changing. It is going to take time for a lot of this to get sorted out and there will most likely be some bumps along the way. Please be patient and understanding.

 

After all… patience is a virtue!