Have you been (considering) road tripping this summer?
On Tuesday, our family returned from a 3,600 mile road trip. Our primary destination was Michigan, where three of our kids are now in camp. We also spent Shabbat with Esty’s sister and family in Minneapolis.
Since I have made a commitment to honor my father with reciting Kaddish every morning and evening for 11 months, this trip brought me to many communities where I participated in masked prayer services, in Synagogue sanctuaries or parking lots. I was warmly welcomed at Shul’s in: Memphis, Louisville, Indianapolis, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis and Kansas.
How appropriate and timely for this week, as we recount the 40-year 'road-trip' of our ancestors in the dessert. For them, each of the 42 ‘small’ stops provided another perspective and layer of meaning as they moved toward their big destination, the Holy Land.
On the proverbial 'road-trip' of life itself, we often find ourselves focused on the bigger goals or destinations. This week we were reminded to 'zoom-in' to the small and often overlooked stops along the way. Insignificant as they may appear, they too have a lot to teach us. A Manichewitz stocked Kosher aisle in small town America, a Kaddish recited in a parking lot or dancing at a Car-Mitzvah, can create permanent mile-markers in our connection to G-d and our People. Sometimes the journey turns out to be more of the destination.
Drive safe!