Today!

“אֵלֶּה מַסְעֵי בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר יָצְאוּ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם. וַיִּכְתֹּב מֹשֶׁה אֶת מוֹצָאֵיהֶם לְמַסְעֵיהֶם עַל פִּי יְהוָה…(במדבר חג:ב)

42 stations our nascent nation crossed through to reach our Land, with all of their “departures and arrivals” being “according to God’s word.” We go through at least as many stations in our lives as we try to leave our individual “Mitzrayims” – literally, narrow places.

Each place that we spend time in, the people we meet, and both the good and challenging experiences that we enjoy or endure, are a combination of free choice and guidance from Above, all meant to open our hearts and fix our souls.

Today is precious, this moment, right now, and as the Rambam says, looking backwards with regret prevents us from moving forward. Teshuva is the omnipresent gift that lets us learn, forgive ourselves, and move onwards.

We returned last night from the infinitely breathtaking Dolomite mountains, Italy — a brief, beautiful journey with my youngest daughters to the picturesque canals of Venice, experiencing greenness in sensurround, steep, narrow mountain roads with mommy driving shift (oy), falling asleep to the sound of cowbells and flashes of lightning in our windows, many people, airport lines – and the happiness of coming home.

“The whole world,” says Rabbi Nachman of Breslav, quoting the Zohar, “is nurtured by the bounty of Eretz Yisrael, which herself receives bounty from the attribute of Yaakov – (Tifferet – refined beauty).”

Pondering this as I cook for Shabbat (bountiful, kosher food again!), which nurtures the rest of our week.

To each of our journeys, one day at a time – remembering it’s all

על פי ה’.

Shabbat shalom!

https://youtu.be/XSvb-BfnVhc