A woman named Jessica Sklar, her husband and their two children were happily living their lives in Pacific Palisades when their house burned down. Since losing all their earthly possessions, they have been wandering in the wilderness. In less than two months, this family has moved five times, from A B & B X5. In the home they used to love, they had stability and serenity. In the wilderness they now inhabit, they have anxiety and uncertainty. A deep question lodges in their soul: We are not okay. Will we ever be okay again?

In the face of this anxiety and uncertainty, one place has brought them deep comfort: the Pacific Palisades Youth Baseball League which, because the Palisades fields were destroyed by the fire, are in neighboring towns.

A Times article recently reported:

At last came the siren call: Play ball!

The pomp and circumstance…provided a modicum of normalcy for families who in the previous 53 days have had to find new homes, schools, doctors, cars, clothes, places to worship and more—all while navigating the maze of insurance and government assistance and deciding what to do next.

I cried seeing people, said Juliana Davis, who lost her home.

I cried coming, said her friend Erin Chidsey, whose house also burned.

Of the 450 boys and girls who had signed up to play before the fire, 305 are still playing. And parents and children are finding it a tonic to their souls.

What do we do when we are in the wilderness? We have not lost our homes to the wildfire. Yet many of us feel that we are in a different kind of wilderness.

I have a wonderful Sisterhood class on Tuesday mornings. More than 30 people show up every Tuesday. We have been talking about our world through the prism of Jewish texts. What I hear from these students is deep anxiety. I have deep anxiety about our world. We are not okay. Will we ever be okay again?

What will be with Israel? I have always loved Israel. But I am just confused. And worried. How does this end?

What will be with our country? My students will say to me: I know you can’t talk about politics, and we respect that. But what is happening with our checks and balances? Will we be leaving a democracy to our future generations?

Edge. Anxiety. Concern for our future. Not feeling deeply anchored. And wondering: what can I do to create the world I want to live in and leave to my loved ones?

That is the Torah’s question now. How do we create a counterworld to the wilderness?