When challenging moments come our way in life, we can look to the Torah for guidance and direction. The 40 year long journey in the desert was full of episodes and dramas that have life lessons for us today.
The Parsha this week, describes how the Jewish people knew when it was time to travel and when they were meant to stop and set up tents to rest. Yet at every stop they took the time and effort to build the enormous structure of the Mishkan (tabernacle). Without knowing how long they would actually be there. “At God’s bidding they encamped and at God’s bidding they travelled.” At each “stop” they didn’t know how long they would be there. It could have been a day, two days, a month or even a few years. This was done not to just bring uncertainty, but rather to give us a valuable lesson in life. One lesson is, to remember who really is the one that guides us and directs us through life. It is indeed, Hashem. Of course Hashem wants us to be actively involved in our life’s journey, and putting in the hard work, but ultimately He is in charge of when it is time to move on and finish our work in one “station“ and to move on to the next one. The second lesson is, that we don’t need to be frozen in our tracks, when we arrive at a temporary “station” in our lives, not knowing how long this temporary circumstance will last. Hashem guided us to the point, there must be a unique purpose to be fulfilled at this very moment.
With Hashem at our side we can relax at each journey that life presents us.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Zalman Goldstein
