The summer is upon us. Travel and excitement (weddings! vacations! quick hop over to see a friend!) are in many people's upcoming months (and I hope in yours!).

Sometimes I feel the fun of travel, and sometimes I feel the strain of travel. This strain is what I want to focus on.

The hardest part of traveling is the question of settling, how much hair to metaphorically let down before this quick stop ends. And I belive the Jews of the Desert have the answer for us.

At every stop along their journey in the desert, whether it was for a year or for just one day, the Children of Israel set up the Tabernacle and made all their offerings. 

Indeed - the longest stop was 19 years long and the shortest was just overnight. By the next morning, they were already packing up.

Why did they set everything up? What not ask G-d to find out how long they would be staying? Maybe only unpack PJs and leave everything else in the saddle bags?

They knew the truth: that they had been brought to each place, this place, by a divine hand, and so there must be purpose in this place, in this here, in this now.

This is the travel perspective I want to share, that in every journey of your life you must be where you are.

It may seem that you are only passing through on your way to somewhere else - but in truth, there is purpose, divine purpose, in wherever you are right now.

Listen, learn, plant seeds, water them. Neither you nor this place must stay the same.

Wishing you an uplifting Shabbat,

Rabbi Mendy & Mussy

p.s. As always, we would love to chat with you over coffee or drinks, about Judaism, or just life - reply to this email.

p.p.s. on the theme of this week's message check out this music video "Just Passing Through"

Of interest:

Caselle, a small village near the historic city of Padua in northern Italy, was home to a small Jewish population of no particular note. We would probably know little about this sleepy hamlet were it not for a minor event that turned into a major drama in 1710.

The Joke That Became an International Scandal

It’s amazing what a Jewish mama will do to spend more time with her children. When Spanish matriarch Annie Molco found her three grown-up sons (and grandchildren) scattered across the globe, she needed something to keep her boys close.

The Jewish family bursting onto Spain's Kosher wine scene

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