How to Survive Your Darkest Days!

Jacob knew that the Egyptian exile would be a brutal and traumatic test for his children. He understood that the Jewish people would need something to ensure their survival during the vicious realities of the Egyptian exile. Simple whispers of a future redemption would not be enough to keep hope alive. Vague utopian promises would not be enough to withstand the crushing weight of the very real chains that would enslave his nation. Jacob, therefore, did something entirely counterintuitive.

He hauled massive cedar trees from the Holy Land to plant in the foreign dirt of Egypt. He gave instructions. His descendants were to use the cedar wood two centuries later when they would be free to build a sanctuary in which to serve G-d. This was a masterclass in the psychology of survival. As the Israelites endured 210 years of agonizing Egyptian oppression, they watched those cedars, planted by their grandfather, grow taller and stronger every year. The trees were not indigenous to Egypt. They were from the Holy Land. They were a tangible anchor of hope that their current situation was not permanent. There would come a day when they would leave this wretched place and build a physical edifice which would be G-d’s home on earth.

Right now, you might feel completely trapped in your own personal Egypt. You might feel totally buried by your current struggles. The message of Jacob’s cedar trees is: don’t ever lose hope. Seek out those magnificent cedars.

Know this: they have already been planted by the spiritual giants of Jewish history. The great sages embedded their towering wisdom into the soil of our collective souls. Their inspired teachings will carry us through every hardship. When you attach yourself to the words of a true Tzaddik, you absorb their monumental strength. Their legacy fills your heart with unbreakable spiritual courage. Open a holy text to bond with their enduring hope. Let their divine energy empower your soul to conquer any obstacle in your path. Let them comfort you. Let them remind you that you will be liberated, and when that great day arrives, you too will construct a divine sanctuary from the building materials they have provided.