If you're feeling overwhelmed these days, struggling to contain your emotions, consider the coping mechanism offered by the Torah portion we read just last Shabbat: Amidst the historic, dramatic narrative, we received practical tools.
One moment the plague of the firstborn is described, and all the firstborn sons in Egypt die, and the next, we are given a practical commandment—to sanctify the month. Then, Pharaoh announces that the people of Israel can leave Egypt, but in the midst of this drama, God commands us to don tefillin and celebrate the Seder night in every generation.
Why does the parsha that describes our exit from Egypt also contain no fewer than 20 commandments? There's a deep and important message here. The Torah is not a fictional book or a movie. It is a Torah of life. Therefore, amidst the most intense, dramatic moments, it gives us anchors, incorporating eternal values into our routine, everyday lives. The story is engraved onto our hearts in the most practical way.
In this period too, there is a call to transform our turbulent emotions to something tangible: commandments and good deeds. During these emotionally charged days particularly, everyone is invited to ponder what they will take upon themselves, which permanent anchors they will add to their lives.
