Last week I was literally stopped in my tracks when singer Tom Cochrane’s, “Life Is a Highway” popped up on my playlist just as I was pondering the question he addresses – is life about the journey or is it more about getting to the next destination among a series of destinations?
Life’s like a road that you travel on when there’s one day here and the next day gone… Life is a highway -- I want to ride it all night long. If you’re going my way, I want to drive it all night long. Through all the cities and all these towns; It’s in my blood and it’s all around. I love you now like I loved you then. This is the road, and these are the hands.
In this week’s double parsha, Matot/Masei, we read the listing of every stop the Israelites made from Egypt to Canaan – all 42 encampments are named, and some are even described. This travelogue is exactly what I do when I return from a vacation – thinking through what I did, where I ate, whom I met, what I saw. As the Israelites are preparing to enter the Promised Land, they too take a moment to recount each step of their journey. With that recollection, they can then enter the Land filled with appreciation that they will finally fulfill the dreams of past generations. As Cochrane sings, “It’s in my blood, and it’s all around,” so too, for the Israelites and for ourselves, the stops along the way shape who we are, and who we are to become.
As you continue to enjoy the remainder of the summer, whether traveling locally or beyond, I invite you to savor every step.
And speaking of summer – next Shabbat we will be having an abbreviated Kabbalat Shabbat service and then “journey” to Larimer Park (1200 Oak) to enjoy a picnic and birthday celebration for all those born in August. Hope to see you then!
Shabbat Shalom!
Bekki Harris Kaplan,
Director of Congregational Programs
