Progress, Not Perfection: Moving Forward in Uncertain Times
This week a new app came out in Israel that tells you the safest time to take a shower.
Yes. Really.
Because when sirens go off, you don’t have a lot of time to run to the shelter, and no one wants to be halfway through washing their hair and suddenly have to sprint to the shelter wrapped in a towel.
But it isn’t just the shower.
It’s the bathroom.
Getting dinner in the oven.
It’s starting to do anything that takes more than five minutes.
It’s even going to sleep. Once you’re asleep, the siren is much worse. Being woken up by it is more jarring than just staying awake.
So suddenly the most normal parts of life turn into little calculations, and it can be paralyzing.
Is now a good time?
Should I wait?
What if a siren goes off?
Apparently “Should I take a shower now?” is now a strategic decision.
I cannot fully explain how unsettling it is to feel like you’re not in control of something as basic as when you can shower, go to the bathroom, cook dinner, or sleep.
As I was reviewing Parshat Ki Tisa, I realized something.
I never really understood the Jewish people in that story.
You just witnessed the splitting of the sea, stood at Sinai, saw the greatest revelation in history, and a few weeks later you’re building the Golden Calf?
It never made sense to me.
But this week, as I’ve been running in and out of the shelter, I understand things a little bit better.
Because when you’re living through uncertainty, you can’t see the whole picture.
Fear makes people rush to do something.
Anything.
Moshe said he would come back, then he didn’t, and this set everyone into uncertainty, because they thought they counted correctly, and couldn’t figure out what was going on.
And when people feel out of control, they rush to do something, instead of waiting for clarity, they act.
And that rush often leads to poor choices.
Aharon tried to slow them down. He told the men to collect jewelry from their wives, thinking that would buy time until Moshe came back.
Instead they rushed.
Which is interesting, because a few parshiot ago the Jewish people also rushed. That time it was to donate to the Mishkan, and they gave so much that Moshe had to tell them to stop.
Same people and urgency, different results.
Urgency without direction quickly turns into panic.
I think about this sometimes when people look back at earlier generations and say things like:
“How didn’t they see what was happening?”
“Why didn’t they leave?”
“What were they thinking?”
But when you are living inside uncertainty, you rarely see the whole picture.
You make the best decision you can with the information you have, which sometimes leads to overcompensating, because you are trying so hard to do the right thing.
There is a fine line between doing our part and doing more than we need to.
And honestly, I myself find it really hard to know where that line is.
But I do know this… small actions yield big results.
As we move toward Pesach, I’m hearing from a lot of women in Painless Pesach who are saying:
“I’m just trying to get through the day right now.”
Which makes sense, but here’s the thing…
The small things you do now will help you later.
Cleaning the oven now, especially if you haven’t done it since last year, makes kashering easier later.
Looking through last year’s Pesach notebook while you’re sitting in the shelter is actually a great use of that time.
Not ideal. But productive.
Even just opening a note in your phone and jotting down menu ideas, shopping lists, is a win.
It’s also a great time to involve your kids in small organizing tasks if they are underfoot right now.
Going through the silverware drawer.
Sorting a small basket of toys.
Or finally matching those socks.
I know you have a bag of mismatched socks.
It doesn’t feel dramatic, or like it is even making a difference at all, but it adds up.
So right now the goal isn’t perfection, it’s doing the best you can with the tools you have.
Take care of your body. Eat. Sleep when you can. Move a little.
And yes… eventually take the shower.
Even if we’re not entirely sure when the best time is.
And if you need a little structure right now, Tidy Together sessions are still running.
Apparently war, sirens, and shelter runs have not stopped me yet.
Sometimes I’m teaching from my office.
Sometimes I’m teaching from the shelter.
But we’re still showing up, getting small things done, and moving forward one drawer, one shelf, one list at a time.
👉 If that sounds helpful right now, you can grab a spot here and use code SAVE10 to save $10 on a single session.
Right now the goal is progress, not perfection.