In the beginning of our Parshah, Moses recalls how G-d had said to the Children of Israel, "You have surrounded this mountain long enough. Turn away, and take your journey..." (Deuteronomy 1:6). The mountain is Sinai, scene of the revelation of G-d’s wisdom and will to man. Yet G-d tells us, "You've been here long enough. Move on!"
We must always be prepared to move forward, to carry on to the next stage. To take what we have and to propel it forward. How are we to navigate a clear path, through the confusion that is everyday life? How do we reconcile this with our past? How do we utilize our life experience, both individual and collective?
A young boy was traveling from Jerusalem to the Galilee.
He arrived at a four-way crossroads and discovered, to his horror, that the crossroads sign, with its arrows pointing the way to the cities lying in the four directions had fallen down.
Now he had no way to know which road to take to reach his destination.
What was he to do?
But he knew where he was coming from -- Jerusalem. By arranging the sign so that Jerusalem pointed to the path he had just come from, he was able to figure out which way to go.
This is the key. Moving forward is essential but in order to do so we must understand where we are coming from. The Torah is our collective life experience. Our heritage and our history are our signposts. Using this as our starting point, knowing where we are coming from, we are able to get to where we are going, on the correct path, without straying or getting lost.
Yes, progress is an inevitable (and even good) thing. Nonetheless, it must be tempered with a clear understanding and appreciation of where we started out from and what our framework of reference is. In this way, we will be able to chart a clear and bright future, dealing with the challenges of the modern world head on, using progress in a positive manner, to reach our final destination.
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