A few days ago, those of us who have been learning Nach Yomi with the OU Women’s Initiative finished learning nach after two years, culminating in a local Bergen County siyum yesterday and a Tri-state area siyum today in Long Island. Congratulations to all those who have participated. Learning the entire nach gives the learner a sense of all the ups and downs of the Jewish people. I often relate the stories we learn in nach to what we are living through today as Jews in 2026.
In fact, at the siyum on Shabbat, a different person spoke about each sefer of nach. I was able to share some thoughts about Sefer Melachim, which I am privileged to teach daily in my 8th grade Navi class. Right now, in my class, we are on the precipice of the building of the Beit HaMikdash by Shlomo HaMelech- clearly a high! The excitement is palpable! (Ask my students in a few weeks about our Binyan Beit HaMikdash party in class). Unfortunately, we know all too well that before Melachim is over, the Jews will suffer and that time of peace during Shlomo’s reign will disappear, leading to destruction and exile. And, if we look throughout the rest of nach we see over and over the ups and downs for the Jewish people.
And, yet, here we are today, even post October 7th, and we are resilient and hopeful. How is it possible? I recently read an article in the Mizrachi Magazine from May 2025 of an interview of Mr. Yechiel Leiter- Israel’s ambassador to the United States, whose son was tragically killed in battle in 2023. He says, “Our soldiers and people as a whole are showing tremendous courage. It takes enormous resilience to maintain a war for a year-and-a-half.
Over 1,200 people were killed on October 7th and close to 900 soldiers since then – that’s over 2,000 people. In the United States, proportionally that would be 65,000–70,000 people. Could you imagine the United States with 65,000 people killed in a year? Yet we are so resilient…We’ve had over 5,000 soldiers severely wounded. That’s tens of thousands of people directly affected by this war, plus hundreds of thousands more affected by having to leave their homes in both the North and South for long periods of time. This has affected businesses and entire communities. The entire nation has been affected by ballistic missiles from Iran, Iraq, and Yemen.
Despite being under siege, our economy is still showing growth in a year of war – over 1% growth. Most countries would have a dramatic contraction, but we’re showing growth even under this stress. That’s significant.”
What’s the secret? (A question I have asked in previous columns). He shares that Moshe Rabbeinu was a model for this resilience. Mr. Leiter shares that he has a son with Down syndrome and because of him he sees Moshe differently. At the burning bush Moshe says,“You can’t send me because I have a disability. (As we know he was כבד פה וכבד לשון). I’m a victim, I have a handicap.” And G-d answers, “I made you too. I’ll determine what you can do.” And, then how does the Torah end? "אֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶל־כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל “These are the words which Moshe spoke” (Devarim 1:1) – Moshe becomes a speaker! His very handicap becomes his strength at the beginning of Sefer Devarim, which is him speaking, in contradistinction to the other four books of the Torah.
“Moshe needed to show the Jewish people that throughout history, they would face many challenges – persecution and exile from country to country. His lesson was crucial: if you define yourself as a victim, you cannot move forward. But when you refuse to be trapped in victimhood and instead choose life, you find the strength to overcome and continue.”
And, that is the source of resilience, he explains. We don’t bury ourselves in self-pity or victimhood. We use tragedy and persecution to move forward and create a better future. That is what we did after the Holocaust and that is what we do after October 7th.
We are about to start the month of Adar. Purim typifies this ability- to suffer challenges, but to remain resilient. What’s the secret?
The Shabbat I attended a shiur by Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Weinberg who shared an interesting interpretation by Rav Nachman of Breslov of the phrase, מִשֶּׁנִּכְנַס אֲדָר מַרְבִּים בְּשִׂמְחָה “When the month of Adar enters we increase in joy.” (Coincidentally, Mrs. Michal Horowitz quoted it in the Nach Yomi siyum today as well). He asks, why do we say when Adar enters? Why not “When Adar begins?”
The word אדר can be split into א- aleph- representing Hashem as אלוף - master. And, דר- dwells. Because Hashem נִּכְנַס and is "dwelling" ( דר) here, it is a time of maximum joy ("Marbim B'Simcha"). The month of Adar leads to Purim, where the "dwelling" of Hashem is revealed, even though He is not explicitly mentioned in the Megillah- Hashem’s “dwelling” is “hidden.” The month of Adar is seen as the time when A (Hashem) Dar (Dwells) among us- even during the tough times. That realization leads to joy.
Even when things are tough and we go through challenges, if we keep in mind that Hashem is always with us, and there is a plan that we may not understand, we can remain joyful and resilient.
Last week, I spoke about resilience in my column, as seen in the Superbowl and sports. In Advisory we speak to the students about how to face disappointment, difficulties or rejections in life. And, while Advisory is officially an SEL class- social, emotional, learning, we know that the research shows that another type of SEL class- Spiritual Emunah Learning is essential for happiness as well. We share with the students a segment from Rabbi David Ashear’s Living Emunah For Teens, of a metaphor that helps when facing difficulty:
Imagine G-d wrote to you every day. This is what He might write to you...
“Good night, Leah. Listen, I know you feel bad about the C you got on your test, and the D you got in your other class, and all your other grades. But don’t worry. Pretty soon someone is going to suggest a change for you. You are going to be successful and also meet your best friend for life. Forget about the grades and go to sleep. Remember, Leah, I love you.”
“Good morning, Reuven. I just want you to know that today, your friend Yaakov is going to say something that will seem thoughtless and insulting. But don’t worry. All will be well. And, that toothache- it will become a little cavity instead of a root canal. Remember, whatever happens, it’s coming from Me. I’m looking out for you.”
Imagine if, throughout the day, you found messages from Hashem. When you faced a challenge, He would let you know that He sees what you’re going through and has the whole situation in hand. When something good happened, it came with a note attached that said,’This is something special, just for you.’ There would be no greater source of courage, comfort, and joy in our lives. We would have no worries. We would feel pampered and protected at all times, even in the midst of something that would otherwise be unpleasant. If you can imagine living like this, then you can imagine what life is like for someone who lives with rock-solid emunah.
Other than in Advisory, I was thinking about another time where I quoted this segment from Rabbi Ashear. It popped up in my google drive on March 29th 2020, when I spoke to the students on zoom during covid. It is painful just to think about it. And, after sharing the above segments from Rabbi Ashear I gave the following introduction and afterwards the exercise below..
Good morning Yavneh students. I miss seeing you each morning and hope you are all doing well.
In thinking about the past days and the time we have spent at home- we might have had some moments that are upsetting, confusing or disappointing. I always find that a way I deal with things that are confusing, or disappointing is by looking out for letters... from Hashem.
What, you might ask? What does Dr. Frohlich think she’s saying? Hashem doesn’t write letters?! And, what supernatural mail service might deliver those?
Yes, I know that Hashem doesn’t really write letters to us, but imagining that He does helps me feel like He is sending me messages of encouragement. Imagining these letters helps me. Remember that Hashem is taking care of me and He is behind the scenes pulling the strings and making what is best for me to happen- even if we can’t see it now.
Today, I would like all of us to begin a new exercise:
When you are going through a tough time and something upsets you, I want you to stop and imagine what Hashem is saying to you at that moment that can help you overcome your upset? What is He saying that will tell you it will be alright?
Then, I want you to do something else. If you have time, write a letter to Hashem. Yes, we know we can’t mail them, but sometimes just writing down what’s on my mind for Hashem to hear helps me through a tough time.
So, as we begin another day of distance learning, and we are distant from our school, may we remember that Hashem is never distant from us and he is constantly “writing to us” even when we don’t have internet connection. Wherever we are, Hashem is with us and holding our hands.
Advisory Update:
Sixth Grade: Students discussed what it would be like to “switch places” with their teachers and how that might impact their behavior.
Seventh Grade: Students learned about how to see life through “rose colored” glasses and the skills of upbeat thinking.
Eighth Grade: Students were introduced to the second half of the year in Advisory “Preparing for life after Yavneh” - tackling topics that are needed for high school.
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