The following conversation takes place between Alice and The Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’:
`Cheshire Puss, would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.
`I don’t much care where—’ said Alice.
`Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat. ‘If you don’t know where you are going … any road will take you there.’
Where do we come from and where are we headed? What is our promised land?
This week’s Torah portion – which closes book four of the Bible — consists of a detailed review of the forty two journeys that the Jewish people traveled on, from the moment they left Egypt, until they arrived (40 years later) to the Promised Land.
The Baal Shem Tov teaches that the forty-two journeys in the wilderness – from Egypt to Israel – reflect the forty-two journeys or phases that each person experiences throughout life. All the 42 journeys are about freeing ourselves and transcending the constraints and limitations (Mitzrayim) of our material existence which conceals its Divine nature into a life of harmony between body and soul.
The definition of a journey is: Movement with direction. Like the captain of a ship, each of us needs a compass that allows us to navigate the twists and turns, the ups and downs, the swells and storms of our lives.
Says Rabbi Jacobson, “It allows you to discover how to synchronize your life journeys to the Divine coordinates that “lead the footsteps of man.” It’s like having an inner compass that senses life’s internal tempo, being able to pace your outer movements by your inner rhythms.”
When we feel that every detail of our lives – both the highs and the lows, both the trivial and the important experience – are part of a larger journey, it infuses life with a new exhilarating feeling.
Where is God guiding you in your life? Have you picked up on the messages which He relays to you to instruct you? If you know, how can that inform all areas of your life- professional, personal and in your closest relationships? Shabbat Shalom!