As we approach the intense period of the drawn out political primaries, the excitment starts to build as to who will win the nomination.
Don't get me wrong, there are many great candidates out there (and some who are not so ay, ay, ay), but there is a certain thrill in watching the candidates going up and down in the polls and race to the finish line with no one dancing in as the inevitable winner.
As a Rabbi I am not allowed to comment on any politics bbut as a spectator to the sport (until I have to actually pull a lever) you learn that there's no guarantee on anything, but who knows.
When we take a look at this week's Torah portion there may actually be some good things coming out of all this uncertainty...
This week we read of the final days of the father of the Jewish People, Yaakov, before his death.
Surprisingly, the name of the entire portion (which also records the death of his son Yoseph), is "VaYechi" "and he Lived."
Is life all about death?
Well, let's see what we read about those closing days of his life and maybe we can find some answers there;
One of the interesting verses in the story of Yaakovs final moments is when he "draws his children near to tell them about the end of days."
The Talmud, quoted by Rashi, explains this to mean that Yaakov intended to reveal to them the critical moment of "the end of days" - the coming of Moshiach and the dawn of a perfect era.
But why would he want to do that?
Why would he want to spoil all the fun and tell them that 3,300 years later their descendants would still be struggling to identify as Jews in Long Island and the world over - in exile?
Well, perhaps Yaakov saw that the end of times wasn't 3,000 years off.
He saw the potential that his children had and would continue to have to hasten that time.
He wanted to tell them, "don't wait for the world to become perfect - perfect it yourselves!"
But the vision was taken from him. When his children came near suddenly his mind was blocked and his divine inspiration left him.
Because if we would see what he saw then our challenges wouldn't be real challenges.
It's the tension of the moment, the fear of the unknown, that motivates us to change it and make it better.
And that's what life is all about. Taking the moments of uncertainty and filling them with the light of truth and goodness.
That's why the story of Yaakov's death is described with the word "life" "and he lived."
Because the transition from "the good times" - life, to "the uncertain times" - death, tell us how good the good times really are.
Do you remember the Y2K bug - that moment of uncertainty that was going to throw the world into a state of hysteria and confusion of biblical proportions?
Do you remember the billions of dollars that went into safeguarding the planet from the chaos and havoc that would soon take hold?
Do you remember the morning of January 1st 2000?
Quiet, peaceful and very settled (except for a bit of a hangover if you had too much too drink...)
The end of times didn't come with the new millennium, or even with the election of a new President.
The end of time is a time of world peace, divine knowledge and eternal life.
And that will come as soon as we make it happen.
May it be today, speedily in our days - Amen.
Wishing you a Shabbat of perfecting your world - just a little bit,