The Journey

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Moscow, Russia
Friday, August 5th
Light Candles at 20:09
Shabbat, July 30th,
Shabbat Ends 21:36
Torah Portion: Matot-Massei

The Journey

They say life is a journey.

That feels like a true statement, but it leaves me with a bunch of questions: A journey to which destination? What if I don’t end up anywhere worthwhile? What if I mess up and take a wrong turn?

And how do we know life is actually a deliberate journey? It sometimes feels like a runaway train.

The Torah is our model for life, so let’s look there for direction. When the Jews left Egypt, they headed toward the Promised Land. Leaving slavery behind, they embarked on a forty-year journey to their homeland, encamping at forty-two stops along the way. Our Sages tell us that this famous episode is more than historical; it’s actually a template for each of our lives through history. In other words, we’re each headed through our own personal desert to our own Promised Land, with our individual stops and stumbles along the way.

You and I don’t live in the desert, but there’s importance relevance to the imagery. The desert isn’t a pleasant place; it’s not somewhere you can expect to find the comforts of civilization. The desert traveler needs to focus on survival, to pay sharp attention to each step. In that sense, even the city can be a desert.

At the same time, one can conceivably make even a desert journey into a positive experience. What if we build solid relationships with our co-travelers? What if our desert experience actually becomes a stepping-stone for character growth and development? When all is said and done, even a desert trip – challenges and all – can be a gift. It can be the route to our personal Promised Land.

The Jews made some missteps over the forty years in the desert. Some of them were serious mistakes. But they learned and grew from those mistakes. So even if they ‘took a step backward’ in a specific incident, their ultimate growth took them ‘two steps forward.’ They learned from those negative experiences, becoming healthier and stronger human beings for the experience.

When the Jews finally approached their destination, they were grateful. Not just for the destination, but for the journey that brought them there.

Today will almost certainly have challenges. They may cause you to wonder about the whole journey.

Don’t sweat it. Put one foot in front of the other and take a step forward. You’ll be happy you did.

Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Yanky and Rivky Klein

This email is In Loving memory of my dear father
R’ Yerachmiel Binyamin Halevi ben R, Menachem Klein OBM