Growing up, whenever I was loading the car trunk, or fitting a pot in a drawer, my father, sheyichyeh, would tell me, “It’s a puzzle. Figure it out!”
I was taught that everything fit if you planned accordingly. As an adult, I’ve found that advice golden in my daily life. So many pieces, like my marriage and work, my children, and community, plus my learning and sleep, all need to fit into just 24 hours.
However, like a puzzle, if you start with the corners, the foundation, and you make space, it all fits. You just have to figure it out.
Yet often, people make one mistake in their puzzle. They think their Yiddishkeit, their relationship with Hashem, is part of the puzzle, that we must fit in.
Instead, our Yiddishkeit is the image our puzzle creates, and we should endeavor to make each piece of our puzzle fit this mold.
The Rebbe taught that this world is not a jungle, but a garden. The difference is, a garden needs constant tending.
Images don’t create themselves, and pieces don’t just fall into place.
Life is a puzzle. Figure it out.
