Purim: Why De-risking Is No Longer An Option

One year ago, almost to the day, our world changed.

No longer were we able to conduct our lives in a normal way.

We were forced to work from home.

Our children would not be able to go to school.

No restaurants, no large gatherings. Not even for weddings.

Little or no travel.

But we all had more time. We did things for which we had little time in the past.

More time with our loved ones. Watching or reading, even studying, or pursuing other interests.

But there was one thing we all had in common. We all found time for deeper introspection. We thought about our lives in ways in which we had not in the past.

So, what lessons have we learned?

Can we glean any special insight from the festival of Purim, which we are all celebrating, albeit, in a strange setting?

The world is not behaving according to the patterns and models to which we have been accustomed.

Technological forces are causing disruption in our everyday lives, in ways we have never experienced.

Uncertainty about the future seems to be part of the very fabric of the new normal.

How do we survive under these trying conditions?

We have two options:

One is that we continue our efforts in de-risking our positions.

The second is to play to our strengths as a people, and embrace the approach of our ancestors in the story of Purim.

Jewish history is a straddle between the following:

Finding security and comfort in a transient material world.

Or allowing for a timeless transcendent force to guide our lives.

Perhaps history is catching up on us!

As the world becomes more engulfed with uncertainty, our options are fast becoming more limited.

Perhaps de-risking our positions is no longer a viable option.

Instead, we should take a page out of the story of Purim.

The only way to live with uncertainty is by transcending it.

We do so by surrendering to a force which is not subject to any change at all.

Only then can we truly celebrate!