Welcome to Soulful Jewish Living: Mindful Practices for Every Day with me, Josh Feigelson.
I’m grateful you’re here, and I hope you benefit from our time together.
The second summer I was in Rabbinical School, my wife and I decided to spend two months in Israel. We had just had our first child, my yeshiva was willing to pay for the flight, and we figured this was the last time we could pull off something like this. That summer, I mostly took care of the baby while Natalie spent her days studying at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem.
One night Natalie came home and, half-jokingly, said, “Josh, I’m enjoying this so much. What if we didn’t just spend the summer here? What if we stayed for the whole year?”
I immediately called her bluff: “Great, let’s do it!” And over the next few weeks, we turned our lives upside down in order to make it happen. We found an apartment to rent for the year. We found subletters for our apartment in New York. We found childcare for Jonah. We figured it all out.
Except for one thing: Where I would study. My rabbinical school, YCT, was pretty new, and No one had done this before. And figuring out this piece turned out to be complicated. Alongside the practicalities, there were institutional politics—politics that were way above my pay grade.
And at a certain point, I could feel myself spinning, really gripped with anxiety. I didn’t know if this was going to work—not just moving my family for a year, but the whole project of becoming a rabbi. It felt like everything could unravel.
I went to a friend, Rabbi David Levin-Kruss, and he said to me something I’ll never forget: “Josh, sometimes you just have to plan the next five minutes.”
Whoa. Incredible advice. I was so busy worrying about how this one challenge would affect the next 30 years of my life that I was contributing to my own anxiety. What I needed to do was just focus on taking the next step in front of me. To this day, that really remains a mantra for me: Sometimes you just have to plan the next five minutes.
This is the second episode in our miniseries on uncertainty and anxiety. Last week we talked about the kind of doom loop that can take shape when our brains go into overdrive trying to manage unknowns. This week I want to talk about how this kind of planning for the next five minutes can help us respond to that. And I want to call it the Manna Loop.
Why the Manna Loop? You may remember the story of the Manna from the Torah. But just in case, here’s a refresher. The Israelites have just crossed the Red Sea, they’re finally free from the Egyptians. And suddenly they realize, wait a second—we’re hundreds of thousands of people out in the wilderness and we don’t have a supermarket nearby. How are we going to eat? Anxiety.
God answers: Don’t worry, I got you. There will be this amazing substance called Manna that will appear on the ground like dew. You can eat it and it will taste like whatever you want. (Seriously, this is one of the Torah’s more sci-fi moments.) Every morning, you’ll go outside and gather as much as you need.
But–and here’s the kicker–you can’t save any from one day to the next. Whatever you don’t eat one day will rot and turn gross. And since you can’t collect this stuff on Shabbat, on Friday you can take double and I’ll make a special exception. (Fun fact: This is why we traditionally have two loaves of challah at our Shabbat meal.)
Let’s think about this from the standpoint of uncertainty and anxiety. The Israelites are freaking out: How are we gonna eat?! And for the whole 40 years they’re in the wilderness they’re going to encounter the same problem. What’s the answer? Focus on the next five minutes—okay, the next 24 hours. But the message is the same: When you’re spinning, try shrinking the problem. Focus on what’s immediately in front of you.
Here’s a meditation practice that you can use whenever the “Doom Loop” starts to pull you into next month or next year. We can call this Gathering the Dew.
Slow down. If you’re sitting, find a meditation posture. If you’re walking, be a little more intentional and aware.
If you can, take a deep breath and feel the air fill your lungs. Allow your mind to settle. Allow your body to arrive.
As you breathe, remember this simple truth: You cannot breathe for tomorrow. You can only breathe for right now. This breath is your first portion of Manna. It is enough.
Now, mentally look at the “wilderness” ahead of you—the projects, the bills, the “what-ifs.” Notice if they feel heavy. Now, imagine a line in the sand exactly 24 hours from this moment.
Everything on the other side of that line? That is tomorrow’s Manna. It hasn’t arrived yet. If you try to reach for it, it will only slip through your fingers. Let it stay on the horizon.
Try to focus only on what’s within that 24-hour circle. Ask yourself: “What is the Manna I need to gather just for today?”
- Maybe it’s the patience to handle one specific meeting.
- Maybe it’s the energy to finish one chore.
- Maybe it’s just the grace to be kind to yourself for the next hour.
See that “portion” clearly. Imagine it like the dew—quiet, fresh, and specifically for you.
As you exhale, consciously drop the weight of anything that belongs to tomorrow or next week or next year. It is not yours to carry yet. You are safe in the loop of today.
Notice how that feels. Hopefully you’re a little lighter, you’re breathing a little easier, and you’re able to be in this moment—rather than a moment days or years ahead.
Blessings for the journey. Know that I’m on it with you.
Thank you for joining us for Soulful Jewish Living: Mindful Practices for Every Day, a production of Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media, and the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. This episode is sponsored by Jonathan and Kori Kalafer and the Somerset Patriots: The Bridgewater, NJ-based AA Affiliate of the New York Yankees. If you like this show, subscribe, share this episode with a friend, give us five stars on Apple Podcasts. Check out our website, unpacked.media for everything Unpacked-related, and subscribe to our other podcasts, and check out the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. Most importantly, be in touch–about what you heard today, what you’d like to hear more about, or to dedicate an episode. Write to me at josh@unpacked.media.
This episode was hosted by me, Rabbi Josh Feigelson. Audio was edited by Rob Pera and we’re produced by Rivky Stern. Thanks for joining us.