My Dear Friends, Last year at this time, before COVID-19 spread throughout the country, Yeshiva University confronted a then unprecedented situation. I remember the phone call at 7:10 a.m. alerting me that we had a student who tested positive for coronavirus. At the time, only one other university in the country was facing a similar situation. This was absolutely uncharted waters, there was no script for how to deal with this. What were we to do? Reading through my messages from the past year, one primary theme that stands out is our confidence in our values. That even when one cannot script the exact road ahead, we were confident that we had the compass that would enable us to get to our destination, because our values are our compass. Everything we did was guided by our five core values: | 1. | Truth - seeking truth where it is found, in this case, medical professionals | | 2. | Life - prioritizing our health and safety | | 3. | Infinite Human Worth - addressing in our plans each individual student's needs and circumstances | | 4. | Compassion - this was not simply a time to think of oneself but of others | | 5. | Redemption - working to redeem the world – considering the impact of our actions on our neighbors, fellow citizens and broader society |
These five values guided us every step of the way. And even as we based our decisions on our values, we carried the full awareness that ultimately we are in the Hands of God. It is our faith in our Loving God that gives us strength especially during challenging times. | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment