As is my way these days, I am trying my best to stay off the news.

So, when a family member told me yesterday that flights were being cancelled again to and from Israel… I didn’t really pay attention.

Then, my kid yesterday night told me, Ima, they are saying there is going to be a war with Iran tonight.

• Who cares? I told her. Live your life in the meantime, if it happens, it happens, if it doesn’t – why waste energy with all this worrying, already?

Then today, I got a text message from the Jerusalem City Hall with some ‘emergency booklet’ to download. I deleted it.

==

In the supermarket this morning, there was a distinctly ‘stressed’ vibe wafting around.

The last couple of weeks, I have been finding it pretty hard to stay asleep, and keep waking up at random times before 3am where I just stare at the ceiling, and feel a bit anxious.

Something is in the air.

We can all feel it.

==

Literally a week before the Rav tried to get into Uman again, and then went into temporary ‘exile’ who knows where for a fortnight, he spent 50 days having chemotherapy.

All that yucky, poisonous stuff…

That the Tzaddik took on himself, so whatever ‘yucky, poisonous stuff’ is being planned generally, lo alenu, got ‘sweetened’.

==

Today, someone sent me this from one of the Rav’s Whatsapp groups, a precis of his comments yesterday after the evening prayers, the first day he was back after two weeks of radio silence:

Lots of talk about the ‘50th Gate’.

And Haman, and his gallows of 50 amot.

==

Made me think about how it took Am Yisrael 50 days, between Pesach and Shavuot, to get purified enough to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai.

There are some very big things going on, I think we can all agree on that.

But in the meantime… Life continues as (semi) normal.

Shabbos needs to be made. Toilets need to be cleaned.

And as long as a person is attaching themselves to the real Tzaddikim, doing their best to follow their advice, making some real teshuva, doing some regular hitbodedut, paying their 10% (minimum…) tzedaka, keeping kosher and shabbat and taharat mishpacha, and perhaps, *gasp!* considering, at least making aliyah, if they aren’t here already – what do they have to worry about, really?

They are doing everything they are meant to be doing, regardless of ‘war with Iran’.

==

Just, I wish this above description applied to more of Am Yisrael.

The good news is, whatever is going on, for sure more people will make more teshuva as a result.

So eventually, one way or another, God WILL schlep Am Yisrael, whoever is still standing, over the finish line.

I hope, that’s most of us, and the ones we love.

Shabbat shalom.