Guest Columnists

Why is it important to list the journeys? The Torah isn’t a history book, nor is it a travelogue, so what’s the purpose of this list?

Where are we headed at such breakneck speed?

The cities of refuge were only for those who killed accidentally, not knowing the consequences of their actions.

I can't believe I find myself in the same position, doing the same task: packing. Again, we're moving. We've moved five times in seven years...

This thing about the Jews “wandering” through the desert is a misconception. They were no more wandering through the desert than a spelling bee champion wanders through the alphabet.

I had been a seeker for many years by the time I knocked on the door of Lubavitch House...

We were separated from the group, and found ourselves paddling somewhat aimlessly down little back areas replete with lilies, and no visible dry land. A deep fear overtook me...

“Why should our father’s name be eliminated from his family because he had no sons? Give us a landholding among our father’s brothers!”

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak devotes 25 pages of dense Kabbalistic text to explaining this discrepancy through the lens of Jewish mysticism.

Did the nation of Israel transform? Have the people integrated lessons learned? And are they ready to become independent, mature, individuated human beings, leading themselves through their life journeys?

You can just see it written on their faces as they purposefully wheel suitcases down the terminal . . .

Sometimes, a journey is only about reaching the destination. Other times, it’s about what happens along the way.

The Land of Israel is Heaven’s perfectly suitable gift suited for the Jewish people. By the same token, it is beyond what the Jews can ever deserve.