The big white rounded sports dome “The Bubble” situated in the UAlbany sports area is an iconic image built into the campus scene. We arrived in Fall 1997 and its always been there. (One year it was deflated before a big storm, maybe around 2007 or 2008 maybe?) But this December 2020, during the snowstorm that brought 22.9 inches down on the Capital Region, the Bubble collapsed. There’s actually a surveillance video of it collapsing in the snow, it’s pretty eerie. Hard to believe! It has weathered so many storms, lasted so many harsh winters… and yet it collapsed in this storm.
On the second Shabbat of 2021 we walked past here on our Shabbat walk, and came back on Sunday to take some pictures and do our Facebook Live about it. You can click here to see & hear the Facebook Live as we share 3 relevant life-messages we learned during our visit to the site of the burst Bubble. Or read on below:
(1) Not sure of the specifics of why this Dec 2020 snowstorm brought the Bubble down, after all of these winters. But one thing – the integrity of the Bubble relies on its inner air pressure being (even only a bit) stronger than the outer pressure. The differential maintains its integrity. How relevant is this for us today (always!) our inner strength, our inner vitality must always be a notch (or more!) higher than the pressures & winds all around us on the outside – that threaten to weaken & destabilize us. Our inside atmosphere and energy must be stronger than whatever pushes against us or falls down on us. The differential matters!
(2) And the doors! so MonstersInc.-esque… Standing alone, the only thing left. This, too, is a message: Doors are our gateways, firewalls, ports of entry/exit – where choices are made, how to much to let in or out, our personal degree of open/close to the world and influences all around us. We are the gatekeepers, we decide, we manually configure our own life firewalls. How much good to let in, what to let out into the world? How much negativity to absorb? What we open ourselves up to? A good door and a good doorkeeper changes everything. Platforms or organizations or teachers may do some of this – but just some of it, if any at all. We do all the heavy lifting, we are the push and pull. It hinges on us! (On Facebook Live we used one Torah teaching example of this about the significance of the Temple Doors that may resolve a conflict regarding the building of the future 3rd Jerusalem Temple – there are a number of such related teachings).
(3) And the sign on the door: “Notice: This Area is Under Surveillance”. We may think all is lost and desolate, rules are out the window, what we had is destroyed, society is in shambles. No, says the sign, we are not in no-mans land. G-d is still looking out for us! In Yiddish there’s an expression, “Rubah Rubah Firt duch der Aibersheter dee Velt!” (which translates roughly to): Most of the time G-d is running the world, anyways.