Jewish ways to make meaning of the pandemic's anniversary

Last week, my 11-year-old daughter went back to her school campus for the first time in 50 weeks. As we prepared for her return, we cleaned out her backpack, which was frozen in time: It still held the remnants of a class field trip taken the first week of March 2020; her sunscreen, hat, playing cards, and souvenir pen all stark reminders of the moment just before we hibernated into our own silos.

We replaced these relics with the folders and books she needed to bring back to school. She readjusted the straps, already worn-in to the contours of her shoulders, and after what has surely been the...