Staffs and Journeys
If you come to synagogue tomorrow, you’ll get two for the price of one! What do I mean? This Shabbat we read, not one, but two Torah Portions.
Each portion of the Torah has a special title and, like every other part of Judaism, the title of a Torah Portion contains an important lesson for the week.
The first portion we will read this week is literally titled: “Staffs”. The second portion is titled: “Journeys”.
At face value the two titles seem to have contradictory connotations. A staff is something stationary, firm, and well grounded, whereas a journey implies movement. And yet here is where we come to a fundamental principle in Jewish thought:
Each and every one of us has a journey and mission that we are meant to complete during our allotted days on earth. We cannot remain stationary, we must always be on the move, each day must be better than the day that preceded it. However if we want our “journey” (the title of the second portion) to be a successful one, it needs to have a “staff” precede it (the title of the first Torah Portion).
This means that we need to be firmly rooted and grounded with a true sense of purpose. To embark on a successful journey through life, we must first take the time to connect ourselves to our history; to our ancestry; to our heritage.
We live in an age in which there is tremendous ambition and where so many people are driven to succeed. Let us take the lesson from the titles of this week’s Torah Portions and let us remember that our life’s goals and aspirations will be materialized when we anchor ourselves firmly within our uniquely Jewish way of life – our “staff”.
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Raleigh Resnick
