We just don’t know what the future will bring. And sometimes, we don’t even know where we’re going next. How can you go somewhere or do something if you don’t know the destination or the goal? (Clearly I have been listening to the “Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind” messages from CLTC!) This is not a new problem. In this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Lech Lecha, we read: “And G!d said to Avram, ‘Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your fathers house, to the land that I will show you’” (Genesis 12:1). Ehem, um, excuse me, but what land would You like me to go to again? Should I take the Turnpike or the Parkway, the 405 or the 10, the Dan Ryan or the Eisenhower? Can You at least plug it into my GPS? In a few weeks we’ll see this same lack-of-clarity in Parshat Vayeira during the binding of Isaac (the parsha for AZA and BBG Global Shabbat): “And G!d said: Take now your son, your only son, who you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you’ (Genesis 22:2). So let me get this straight – You’re telling me to go all the way to Moriah, but You’re not telling me where in Moriah to go? In both cases the destination is not clear…and maybe there’s something to that: Maybe it really is more about the journey than the destination. Maybe the journey is our end-in-mind. Sometimes we just need to choose a direction and go. Getting stuck or remaining stagnant won’t help us move forward – even if we don’t know actually where we’ll end up, if we know we’re going in the right direction, that can be enough. And so this is for you, BBYO professionals, advisors, and teen leaders: Lech Lecha – go forth! We may not know exactly where we’ll end up, but know with certainty that we’re on the right path. And remember to Look Up – if you’re looking down at your GPS, you might actually miss the most important things along the way. Shabbat Shalom!
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 12:54:22 +0000
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