How to be a wandering Jew

Jews have always been wandering. The very birth of our people began with G-d's instruction to our patriarch Abraham to "leave from your land, your place of birth and your father's home to the land that I will show you." 

But why couldn't G-d tell him where they were going?

In this week's Torah portion, we read of the forty two encampments on their journey from Egypt to Israel.

But even a child can see, by taking a quick glance at the world map, that the distance from Egypt to Israel is really quite miniscule. In fact, they border on each other.

So, why on earth did it take forty years for the Jewish people to reach their destination? An entire generation died and were buried in the desert, while a brand new one entered the the promised land. And, why did the Torah deem it so necessary to list each one of their stops on the way there?    

Were the Jews who perished in the desert, buried and left behind, a lost and forgotten 'tribe'? Moses, the greatest leader that ever lived, who dreamed and desired nothing more than to enter the land of Israel with his flock, yet was afforded only a distant sighting, was his dedication wasted?   

G-d forbid.

Perhaps, the destination was the journey itself. 

G-d didn't need to tell Abraham to where they were headed. So long as he was following G-d's directive, dong it with love and devotion, along with his wife Sarah, he was headed in the right direction. To Abraham, it wasn't about where he was going, rather that G-d assigned him to go.

The Jews left Egypt as slaves, yet they entered the land of Israel as the chosen people, a kingdom of priests. Such a metamorphosis could only have taken place with proper preparation. A cleansing of sorts. The trek through the desert was G-d's 'five step plan' or rather a 'plan of forty two steps', spanning forty years, formulating and qualifying them for this awesome task and responsibility. 

The road of life can sometimes feel like an endless series of bumps and turns, on occasion seeming like the end of the tunnel has no light at all. Or more like a treadmill, that while your legs are doing the walk, the road beneath is and endless cycle going round and round leading to nowhere.

This may truly be the case, if you're one of those so busy making a living that you forget to live.  

In our quest for making another dollar, cutting another deal, we may get so focused on where we want to be not realizing that we have actually arrived; that our children don't stay young forever, that our good health is not to be taken for granted. 

Luckily, as Jews we have the world's most intricate GPS system, detailing how to navigate each fork in the road.

The Torah instructs us to spend quality, family time at the appropriate times and to focus on G-d alone at others. It tells when to be joyous and when to be sad, when to work and when to rest.

Moses will make it into the land of Israel, as well as the Jews who remained in the desert.

We know and believe that Moshiach is around the bend.

Until then, we wander with a cause, not blindly but knowing exactly to where we are going. Understanding that what G-d wants is for us to follow the GPS and enjoy the ride.