I remember months ago, on my summer vacation, when I saw on the news that there was a disease called coronavirus in China.  Hmmm, nothing major, it’ll probably be something that will only affect China and go away in two seconds.  Or so I thought.  Hashem had other plans.
    Come Shushan Purim, my whole world was “V’Nahafoch Hu” [‘overturned’].  And yours was probably, too.  So many things were cancelled.  I guess that’s because it’s not us, but Hashem Who makes the schedules.
    How could this be? Isn’t it supposed to be Adar, a time of joy and happiness?
    Yet one of the biggest lessons I learnt was that it’s all fine and well when you’re happy, when things are good.  When is happiness truly virtuous? When is it truly an amazing thing to be joyful?
    When your attitude is bright even when things are dark.  When you put on a smile even when things seem so foreboding.  Happiness is a state of being.
    It isn’t necessarily parties and blasting music and running around town shouting, “Hooray!”  It means accepting Hashem’s decrees with love.  It means being grateful for all the beautiful things we still have, now that we realize how many things we have taken for granted.
    So yes, even though our past Adar has been “interesting,” to say the least, we can still be B’simcha [joyful].  We can be happy about so many things.
    We can happy that we are Jews! When was the last time that we contemplated how lucky we are to be part of the chosen nation! That before you were born, Hashem handpicked your neshama [soul] to be the part of the Jewish people. He chose YOU to be part of a nation which is less than 1% of the world’s population. What were the chances? We are so lucky we can serve Him!
    Yes, it’s a little bit of a different way serving Him right now.  We experienced quite a different Shabbos this week, but let’s remember, what we are doing is what He wants. We’re giving Him nachas [pleasure] by doing it this way.
    And this whole pandemic is COLOR WAR BREAKOUT FOR MOSHIACH [the Messiah]!  I’ve experienced a color war breakout before, and I’ll tell you, boy, is it scary. It is tense. Yet all that tension dissolves in that one second when the counselors say, “COLOR WAR” and burst into smiles.  Moshiach is here!  The shofar will be blowing, and then all of the suffering of the millennia will vanish into thin air!  Moshiach is here! אט אט קומט משיח [“Moshiach is coming now”]!
    So let us get ready to great him.
    As we just read in Parshas Hachodesh, the Jews had to eat the Korban Pesach [Passover Sacrifice] with their shoes on their feet, their belts fastened, and sticks in their hands! They had to eat in haste because their Geula [Redemption] was coming any second.
    Let’s have our shoes on! Grab our last opportunities to do Mitzvos and get excited!  אז ימלא שחוק פינו [“Then our mouths will be filled with laughter”]!  Soon, we’ll wake up and realise that this scare was just the dream of Golus!
    May Hashem bentch us with Brochos [bless us] spiritually and materially, with health and most importantly MOSHIACH NOW!!!