tasteoflife

Lech lecha m’artzecha – Go forth from your land … to a land I will show you.
This week’s Torah portion of Lech Lecha is the ultimate travel narrative. God commands Abraham to leave the comfort of his parents’ home and start traveling. But not necessarily to a particular place, at least not yet. Here in the beginning of our story, we are commanded to be travelers. Open-ended travelers who are on the journey not to get somewhere, but to get something we could never have imagined if we stayed at home.
This story marks the beginning of a lifetime of journeys for Abraham and the Jewish people. Our narrative tells the stories of a nation of wanderers - people who have traveled the world, to perhaps change others, but more importantly to change themselves.
Temple Shalom proudly continues this love of adventure to unknown places with our trip to Central Europe. I write these words from my hotel room in Vienna waiting for my 28 fellow travelers to arrive from Budapest. We’ll conclude our travel together in Prague later this week. We are discovering together the rich history of historical and contemporary Jewish life in these beautiful, complicated cities. We will come home soon – richer for the opportunity to participate in this sacred journey of Jewish travels past, present and future.
Follow our journey on the Temple Shalom Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages! Shabbat Shalom!