30 Aug THE CASE FOR OPTIMISM

Often, when a person

is going through a

trying time, his friends

and family will urge

him to “think

positive.” We might

ask, why should such a person think

positive? Why should he assume that

the outcome will be positive, and not,

Heaven forbid, the opposite? The Torah

commands in Parashat Shoftim, תמים

תהיה†עם†הß≠†אלוקיך†, which is commonly

translated to mean, “You shall be

simple†with†Hashem†your†G≠dÆ”†This

translation has led many to mistakenly

think that Jewish faith is only for the

simpleminded, that in order to believe

in Hashem, we can’t be intelligent or

sophisticated, and if we are more

intellectually inclined, then we cannot

have faith. This is absolutely false. A

study was once done of experts in a

large variety of fields, testing their rate

of success in making predictions about

their respective fields. The researchers

examined over 82,000 predictions,

testing the outcomes over the course of

many years. The findings were

astounding. The researchers found that

experts’ predictions were even less

accurate than those of ordinary folks

with no expertise in the fields. When my

father was in the hospital for an

extended period, I spoke at length with

some of the greatest doctors in the

relevant field of medicine about his

condition. I was amazed by two things:

by how much they know, and by how

much they don’t know. Their

knowledge was simply extraordinary

and dazzling. But even with all this

knowledge, they were so limited. They

could not predict what would happen. I

mentioned this to one of the doctors, and

he said, “This is exactly what I tell the

members of my team, over and over

again.” Even the brightest, most

knowledgeable, most sophisticated

people on earth cannot predict the

future. Hashem created the world in

such a way that we have absolutely no

idea what the future will bring in any

area of our lives. Nothing about our

lives is guaranteed to stay the same, for

better or for worse. This is what תמים

תהיה†עם†ה߆אלוקיך†means. It doesn’t mean

we should be simpleminded and not be

smart. It means that we must realize that

no matter how smart and sophisticated

we are, only Hashem knows what is

going to happen. We have absolutely no

idea. Halachah requires blowing the

shofar from the narrow end of the

shofar, such that the sound leaves from

the wide end. The Gemara bases this

requirement on the pasuk in Tehillim, מן

המצר†קראתי≠†י≠ה†– we call out to Hashem

from the מצר†, from the narrow

constraints. The Arizal explained that

we must cry out to Hashem recognizing

our constraints and limitations, and

recognizing His unlimited abilities. As

we approach the new year feeling

“constrained,” feeling that we are

trapped in problems and difficult

situations, we must be aware that

Hashem can infinitely expand the range

of possibilities, that He can make

anything happen. This is the case for

optimism. Being optimistic does not

mean being foolish or delusional, or

being irresponsibly impractical. Of

course, when we face a crisis, we need

to do everything possible to help

ourselves. But at the same time, we

need to recognize that so many things

can happen that we cannot even

imagine. Hashem’s range of

capabilities is endless. There is so, so

much that we don’t know. There is so,

so much that can happen that we cannot

ever predict. The possibilities might

seem very limited, but in truth, they

aren’t. When we live with this belief and

this awareness, we begin opening our

eyes to see beautiful things in the world.

We start living with positive energy and

enthusiasm, because we know we aren’t

stuck, we know that anything can

happen, and we gradually start to see

how wonderful things are happening

that we weren’t expecting. Thinking

positive does not ensure that everything

will work out well, but it most certainly

helps ensure that we take notice and

appreciate when it does. And this makes

life so much happier, and so much more

beautiful