Operation Inspiration

Just this week, Israel’s Ministry of Health announced that 98% of hospital workers who received the Pfizer vaccine generated more antibodies than the average person who was actually infected with the virus. (I won’t name it because there’s a view that mentioning the name of an illness gives it a certain power, and who am I to mess with Kabbalah? Besides, you all know that I’m not talking about the flu or Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease (though Foot IN Mouth disease is way too widespread.))

Even though this vaccine is the first that doesn’t use the actual virus to cause the body to fight the infection, it seems to be more powerful than the disease itself. That’s why it was such big news.

Now, since Purim, our family has been very careful to follow the rules and not put ourselves at risk unnecessarily. We wore our masks, stayed home as much as possible, washed with soap and used hand sanitizer like it was going out of style. When I was in a situation that made me uncomfortable, I tried to leave it. I was keenly aware of people who were keenly aware of it, but also of people who were not so keenly aware. For example, while davening at an outdoor minyan, a fellow who had recently recovered from the virus stood right next to the Shliach Tzibbur, making him very nervous indeed.

I couldn’t understand his rationale, until my family came down with said illness. It started innocently enough, when my daughter’s school told us she’d been exposed. Despite wearing masks and distancing, it happened. For those who haven’t had it, you may think that those who do are somehow ‘dirty’ or ‘contaminated’ but it simply isn’t true. They weren’t necessarily cavalier about protecting themselves or others. Rather, Hashem has His messengers and they found their recipients.

When one catches the virus, and recovers, they become non-contagious after a certain point and they can’t get others sick. That’s why you may not see them being as cautious as before. They also have an assumed immunity for about 90 days, during which time they may develop antibodies which protect them.

I remember someone coming to my house to deliver something and not wearing a mask or being careful. He told me, “I have antibodies, I’m not worried.” It wasn’t until after my family got sick, recovered, and found that our bodies had begun to produce antibodies to the dreaded virus that I realized what a sense of freedom it provided. We were still following the rules, but without the dread of someone who didn’t know how the virus might affect them. We were grateful for having survived with relatively few issues and getting back to ourselves after a few weeks.

A few months after recovering, after getting the first dose of the vaccine at work, I had my antibodies tested. They were nearly four times what they had been when I was recovering from the virus, and that’s just the first dose. The science is real. But then I started to worry.

Before now, I was relying on Hashem to protect me. Now, I didn’t have to worry as much, hence my Bitachon was not being tested, and thereby strengthened, as much. What was the message in that?

I began to think about what antibodies might mean in the cosmic school of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It struck me after a few minutes that there is a very valuable lesson in them. We speak of how the Avos Hakedoshim “killed” their Yetzer Haras. Is that really possible? The Yetzer Hara’s a malach of Hashem. You can’t kill him.

Rather, what I think it means is that they developed a natural defense mechanism against him. Every time he attacked, they learned what he was doing and started fighting back. Of course, it was a spiritual battle, but think about it: the body is physical, the neshama is spiritual. Thus, when they rejected the Yetzer Hara’s overtures to focus on the physical, they were essentially, “anti-body”!

We can vaccinate ourselves by learning from every failure and fall. From each bit of temptation that manages to infect us, we can grow stronger and know what to expect and watch out for. The more we do, the more we can be protected from the dangers that are even more deadly than any earthbound virus.

The sense of freedom I felt from the disease is one we can all begin to feel from the Yetzer Hara. While we will still be careful, it will be less terrifying as we teach ourselves how to respond. Recognizing that we know how to avoid the snares and pitfalls and cling to Hashem should bring us tremendous joy.

If microscopic cells in our physical bodies can learn to do it, then we, who have holy neshamos and the Torah to help transform us, certainly can. And you don’t need a shot in the arm to get there.

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