How to Stay Strong in Difficult Times: A Jewish Perspective

In times of hardship, we need tremendous spiritual and emotional strength, both to sustain ourselves for those around us. We carry a great responsibility to remain calm, to reassure ourselves and others with cautious optimism, and to strengthen our faith.

For generations, the Jewish people have been “a lamb among seventy wolves,” enduring endless persecutions, beginning with Esau’s pursuit of Jacob and continuing through the centuries. Yet, throughout all this, God has preserved us and saved us from our enemies’ attempts to destroy us.

The Birth Pangs of Redemption

In recent generations, many great leaders of Israel have reminded us that these times are the birth pangs of the Messiah. The sages themselves once asked: “What can a person do to be spared from the birth pangs of the Messiah?” They foresaw such an era, and they knew that only our merits would enable us to endure it.

Their answer: “Engage in Torah study and in acts of kindness.” The Chofetz Chaim explained that this is not a mystical remedy, but the true recipe for survival. Torah alone is not enough, and kindness alone is not enough. It is Torah together with kindness that forms the spearhead protecting us through these difficult times.

Not “Why?” but “What Now?”

We often wonder what God wants from us in moments of pain and darkness. In truth, we live in an era of hester panim (divine concealment), where His ways are hidden from us.

Many years ago, during a time of multiple tragedies, I went to the Steipler Gaon, overwhelmed by grief. I asked him: “When God sent Jonah to Nineveh, He told him exactly what to say, why the city was being punished, and how the people could repent. Why doesn’t God send us such a messenger today, to tell us what we must fix?”

The Steipler, towering in holiness, looked at me sharply and asked: “Do you presume to understand God’s ways? Have you already understood the Holocaust?”

In my pain, I pressed further: “But what, then, should we do today to improve?”

This time, his stern face softened into a smile: “Now you are asking the right question.” He continued: “Today, say one blessing with full concentration. Tomorrow, say two blessings with concentration. The next day, three. Do not leap ahead, because you will not succeed. Today, learn for fifteen minutes without taking your eyes off the Talmud. Tomorrow, thirty minutes. The next day, forty-five. Again I tell you, do not leap, for you will not succeed.”

When I asked if that was all, he tapped me on the shoulder and said: “Let’s see you try.”

From that conversation, I learned that it is not for us to understand why. Our task is to draw closer to God, to plead for mercy, and to take steady, consistent steps to strengthen ourselves.

Peace of Mind and Trust in God

We must strive for inner calm and peace of mind. Talking endlessly about challenging times or consuming graphic news footage only fuels anxiety.

Maimonides warns that one who frightens himself unnecessarily with fears of the enemy transgresses the commandment: “Do not be afraid of them, do not be terrified by them.”

To those struggling with fear, I share a story: I once assisted the great Rav Shach. Out of gratitude, he whispered to me something the Chofetz Chaim had once whispered to him: “There is a special remedy to say Psalm 20 (‘May the Lord answer you on the day of distress’) three times a day.”

Rav Shach added: “And I tell you, it has been tested and proven.”

My recommendation in difficult times is to recite Psalm 20 three times daily. Instead of anxious talk, we recite this psalm and place our trust in God.

Balancing Prayer, Torah, and Daily Life

Along with prayer and Torah study, it is also vital to engage in positive, healthy activities, especially with children. Physical activity is simple and effective. It relieves tension, calms the spirit, and provides health benefits for the body, heart, blood vessels, digestion, and more.

Ultimately, a person is built of both intellect and emotion. Our task is to let the mind guide the heart. Each of us can become “our own psychologist,” strengthening reason over fear. This itself is part of God’s will, that we help ourselves to be calmer, clearer, and more focused.

In this way we will be able to pray, to learn, and to fulfill our duties during challenging times. Let us strengthen ourselves with faith and kindness, and may God save us from the hands of our enemies.