Elul 24 5781

 Elul 24, 5781/September 1, 2021

Rabbi Stephen Wise

In September of 1996 I’m sitting in a classroom with 20 students all of whom are embarking on an MA in Jewish Studies. I had no idea what I was doing there. Everyone else seemed so confident about the next steps in their career and this degree would help them achieve their goals.

That first day we were asked to take a large piece of butcher paper and trace our body on it. We were told to make it like a road map with pictures and stops along the way, each one important steps. We didn’t have to write what happened, just list them as points.  After we finished the professor told us to leave space at the bottom and create a path into the future.  What I most remember about this exercise was the value of looking back and marking the important stops along the way in my life that led me to where I was.

In the book of Numbers, chapter 33, God does this same exercise with the Israelites, listing the 42 stops they made from Egypt to the promised land, forcing them to remember each step and what happened along the way. If you were to try this exercise today, what would the milestones be in your life journey? This is the season of taking stock of where our life has taken us and then where we hope to continue.  Let's use these days of Elul to sharpen our focus and find the signposts for the year ahead.