It’s about the Journey

It’s about the Journey

At Jewish Newport

By  Aaron Ginsburg 

May 16, 2020

Thank you to Rabbi Marc Mandel 

aaron.ginsburg@gmail.com

Also at www.facebook.com/groups/jewishnewport/

There are different ways of traveling.

One can focus on the main sites. This is the bucket list approach. If you have never traveled this is a valid approach. In New York City that might mean Central Park, a few museums, a Broadway play, Times Square, and Fifth Avenue. For New York, the list is very long. 

But there is another part of New York that takes more time and effort. New York is full of neighborhoods with people from all over the world. These are not major sites, but have you seen New York if you have not seen it’s neighborhoods?

I remember when my cousins from Israel came to the United States, they attempted to squeeze as much as possible in three weeks. Including major cities and the National Parks. 

For many years I was satisfied with the bucket list approach. In 1976, in one month, I visited Montreal, Banff and Jasper National Parks in Alberta Canada, Vancouver and Victoria British Columbia, Ketchikan Alaska, Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks, the Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns, and stopped in St. Louis on the way back to see the Arch. I was satisfied but very frazzled when I got back.

A neighborhood in Rome Italy photo:aaron ginsburg

Nowadays I have more time and a different approach. In 2017 I spent a month in Rome. Not only is there a museum on almost every corner, but many of the neighborhoods are a pleasure to walk through.

Rabbi Marc Mandel, of Touro Synagogue, tells us about life’s journey,

“This week's Torah portion begins, ‘If you will walk with My statutes.’ 

                          אִם־בְּחֻקֹּתַ֖י תֵּלֵ֑כוּ וְאֶת־מִצְוֺתַ֣י תִּשְׁמְר֔וּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֹתָֽם׃

 This is a strange phrase - walk with my statutes. We could understand God instructing us to "do" the statutes, or "observe" the statutes. But to walk with them?

“The Torah is a big fan of walking. Moving forward at a slow and steady pace - not sitting still, but equally not running. Walking is what gets you to God. If you stand still and wait for Him to come to you, He might not. But equally, if you expect to be able to get where you want overnight, you will also fail. Slow and sure wins the race. Bit by bit, steady, daily growth leads us to Godliness. 

“PS. Now that the weather is warming up, go outside and take a walk!”

Shabbat Shalom from Jewish Newport!

May your journeys, fast or slow, bring you higher!