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Dear Friends,

What’s the better mindset for handling stress: mindfulness, living in the moment without worrying about what’s next, or planning for the future?

A study I came across suggests that both are essential. Researchers asked participants questions that measured mindfulness, being present in the moment, and also asked whether they practiced proactive coping, such as planning ahead or addressing minor problems before they grow. The study found that those who practiced both mindfulness and proactive planning experienced significantly less stress than those who relied on only one approach.

We find this delicate balance between present and future reflected in this week’s Parsha.

When Bilam praises Bnei Yisrael before blessing them, he says:

א-ל מוציאם ממצרים כתועפת ראם לו

“G-d brought them out of Egypt with the strength of His loftiness” (Bamidbar 23:22). Bilam speaks of Yetziat Mitzrayim in the present tense.

Contrast this with Balak, who earlier in the Parsha describes the event in the past tense:

הנה עם יצא ממצרים

“Behold, a people has come out of Egypt” (Bamidbar 22:5).

The Belzer Rebbe, R’ Yissachar Dov Rokeach zt”l, explains the contrast: Balak viewed the Exodus as a one-time historical event, something far in the past. But Bilam, with prophetic insight, recognized that G-d’s redemption of Israel is ongoing, a continual expression of care and vision for their future. G-d didn’t redeem us just because of who we were then, but because of who we could become.

In this way, G-d models the very balance we strive for. He is fully present, responding to our needs now, while also guiding us toward our potential. Proactive coping means managing today’s realities while planning for a better tomorrow.

Our Torah lifestyle encourages this same balance. Many mitzvot call us to be fully mindful in the moment, present, aware, and intentional. Others push us to build for the future: to prepare, to plant seeds, to hope.

This Motzai Shabbos begins the Three Weeks, a time of mourning for the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash. But this season is not only about remembering the past, it’s about engaging with the present by repairing the spiritual causes of that destruction, particularly sinat chinam, baseless hatred. And in doing so, we carve out a future filled with ahavat chinam, boundless love, and the hope for the rebuilding of the Third Beit Hamikdash, may we merit it be speedily in our days.

Wishing you an uplifting Shabbos,

Rabbi Shlomo Gabay



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