A Groundhog Day Reset
For us and for God
Thank you so much for this, Elizabeth. Comments such as yours are what keeps me going!
I’ve gotten so much positive feedback - just passed the 6,000 subscriber mark this morning, and over 15,000 followers. But it’s the one-on-one contact with readers that makes this into a community. I read every comment and respond to most. This Substack’s subscriber community includes people from all 50 states and 56 countries. Among the states, the top five are California, New York, Florida, Connecticut and Texas. What’s up Massachusetts? Internationally, the top four, aside from the US are Canada, the UK, Australia and, no surprise, Israel. Hey, I’ve got three subscribers in Russia (LMK if you are human, a bot, or Vlad himself). To all those reading from other places around the world, I promise, there will be no tariffs on your incoming comments and questions.
Some may be wondering why I don’t put more of this material behind a paywall. While I have no philosophical opposition to paywalls, my feeling is that these are times of crisis and it’s more important to reach the broadest audience possible. So many superb writers have migrated over to Substack; I want to give people the chance to read as many as possible.
Included in that would be Timothy Snyder, and today’s chilling assessment of the current state of affairs, The Logic of Destruction. It is must reading, but just not right before bedtime.
I am forever grateful to those of you who have opted to support my writing by upgrading to a paid subscription. In fact, I’m just a few paid subscriptions short of earning a Substack Bestseller Badge - makes me feel like I’m back in Cub Scouts - a telltale checkmark on the home page that stands as a sort of Good Housekeeping Seal. It really just means that “lots of people think this guy’s writing is worth paying for, so it must be worth your time too!”
So thanks in advance for those who upgrade.
Groundhog Day: Our Reset
Now would be a good time to take a breath and see where we are. We need a reset.
For one thing, Facebook just took my most recent Substack piece down. First time that has happened to me. Several of you also tried to post it on Facebook and the same thing happened every time.
So, it seems that for FB fact checking is now out, but outright censorship is in? I've written far more controversial pieces that have been shared on the site, including two others last week, but times have suddenly changed.
I’ve tried to repost the piece several times, to no avail, except when I edited out the preview and just included the live hyperlink. That has not been removed.
In any event, over 7,000 have read Friday’s post thus far, so the Facebook cancellation is backfiring, if its goal was to suppress my voice. It certainly won’t keep me from writing more.
Here’s what we can say, two weeks in to this new administration. The dangers to freedom and free speech have never been greater, and the Fourth Estate is holding its own - only in surprisingly new places, including and especially the platform you are on.
I’m going to share the links to my recent postings so you can catch up if you’ve recently subscribed:
- Fighting ICE with I.C.E.
- Can an executive order condemning antisemitism ever be a bad thing? Yes, when its purpose is not to defend, but to divide.
- Liberation of Auschwitz, 80 Years On: From Sorrow to Song
- Trump's worst nightmare: A transactional God who demands justice, love and humility as payment for saving his life
Meanwhile, I’m going to start working on my annual Super Bowl Prediction, using Jewish and other traditional sources. BTW I’m almost never wrong.
Groundhog Day: God’s Reset
For those who might be wondering if there is a Jewish connection to Groundhog Day...but of course. There's a Jewish connection to everything! Not that Jews are afraid to see our shadows - I'm thinking of the other Groundhog Day. The movie.
The Jewish response to Groundhog Day can be seen in a single verse from the prayer book, one recited each morning just before the Sh'ma, in the Yotzer (Creation) section of the service: "Ha-mechadesh b'tuvo b'chol yom tamid ma'ase b'reisheet." In the midst of thanking God for the gift of light, we also express gratitude to the One who "renews each day completely the work of Creation."
What is that saying? Not that we awaken each day to the same old nightmare, as Bill Murray did in the movie and we did for four years during Covid. How many times did you wake up and say, "Is this still happening?"
And even now, in 2025, Covid’s still a thing. And, even worse, we wake up each morning and Trump is still president.
Jewish tradition takes precisely the opposite approach. Every day presents us not with the same old nightmare, but with a fresh start, as if all of Creation is being renewed along with us. With that fresh start comes a second chance, and a third chance too. We can keep trying until we get it right. And if we get it wrong again, as invariably we will, well, there's always tomorrow. The alarm rings and we make a go of it once again,
A Jewish groundhog might indeed return to the hole if it sees a shadow. But it will be right back out there the next day, hoping the world will be a little bit better. And, as the classic Israeli song “Machar” (Tomorrow) - which predates the musical Annie - states, "V'im lo machar az machartayim," "And if not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow." Bet your bottom dollar!
Harold Ramis, director of the film "Groundhog Day" (he also had a bit part), once compared his film to the Torah...sort of. He said, “One reason Jews respond to the idea is that the Torah is read every year — you start at the same place on the same day.” he said. “The Torah doesn’t change, but every year we read it we are different. Our lives have changed … and you find new meaning in it as we change.”
He laughed. “I’m not comparing Groundhog Day to the Torah ... but there’s something in it that allows people every time they see it to reconsider where they are in life and question their own habitual behaviors.”
So Happy Groundhog Day! And let's hope the groundhog sticks around for a while, to see the sun rise yet again, dawning on a truly new day.
Thank you writing this. I am usually an optimist, but as each day passes I find it becomes harder to see an end to these difficult times to come. I take small actions each day, although I know some of these actions will not lead to a victory, I must continue to try.. I am an environmental science teacher, and my hope is that I can make a difference in my students lives by sharing information about the world they live in by simply showing them how systems work. How farmers grow food, how MSW is processed, how sewage treatment facilities operate, how electricity is made from both renewable and nonrenewable sources and much more. It is my hope that they can use that knowledge to evaluate policy decisions and that affect the environment and the people affected by those policies.
Thank You Rabbi.. your thoughts help me make it through these strange times.