Sh'lach L'cha: When Not to be a Tourist
I want to begin this week's blog post by thanking all those who have celebrated my milestone of five years with Ohev Shalom. I honestly can't believe I've been here for so long, but I suppose writing my 252nd (!) blog post should have been my first clue. So many people have called and sent e-mails; and then 90 people came to Thursday night's annual meeting, where I was incredibly touched by all the beautiful sentiments shared. I received an incredible album of vignettes, quotes, and photos from the past five years, and Rebecca and I will truly cherish that book - and of course all the memories - for a long, long time. Whether you are part of the Ohev Shalom community, or the community that has developed around this blog; thank you for all your kindness, inspiration, and support. Here's to many more years together!
And in that same spirit, I would like to dedicate this week's post to all of you.
A year ago, Rebecca and I (and Caroline, but she was too young to remember) had the pleasure of spending a Shabbat with our friends and congregants, David and Amy Pollack in New York City. Among other things, we went to services at a hip, new congregation on the Upper West Side, called Romemu. Amidst all the singing and dancing and
spirituality, something the rabbi, David Ingber, said really stuck with me, and I still think about it to this day. Rabbi Ingber spoke about this week's Torah portion, and the famous (infamous?) story of the 12 spies who scout out the Land of Canaan. Ten of them bring back an unfavorable report about the land. And even though the other two, Caleb and Joshua, try to convince the people that they can capture the land, it's too late. They're negative, they rebel against Moses, and God eventually 'sentences' the people to spend 40 years in the desert before they can ultimately try to conquer it again.
Rabbi Ingber focused on the first verse of our parashah, and the word 'to scout,' as in 'scout out the land.' The word in Hebrew is 'la-tur.' Somewhat amusingly, it sounds a lot like the English verb 'to tour.'
Says Rabbi Ingber, the spies saw themselves as tourists, outsiders, not really part of the story, and not really invested in the success of this mission. You see, there is something about being a tourist that is rooted in the transient, fleeting experience. You come, you see, you buy a T-shirt, you leave. And that was where the spies went wrong. They couldn't see Canaan as THEIR land, and they couldn't imagine themselves being a part of God's intended story.
In fact, later in our Torah portion, we see a surprising recurrence of this same verb. A paragraph in chapter 15 (verses 37-41) would eventually become the well-known third paragraph of the Shema prayer, where we
kiss the tzitzit (fringes) on our tallitot (prayer shawls). In that paragraph, God says to Moses that the people should not follow/be seduced by their eyes and their hearts, but should instead look at the tzitzit and remember all of God's commandments. The Hebrew word for 'follow' or 'be seduced' is 'ta-turu,' again, from that same root. The superficiality of being a tourist, of not really caring deeply, of not feeling invested, leads us astray. It steers us away from purpose and meaning, and leaves us apathetic and indifferent.
On Thursday night, I introduced next year's High Holiday theme for my sermons. I'm not going to share it with you here; you should have come on Thursday! :-P But it had to do
with mindfulness and presence, of challenging yourself, ourselves, to be rooted in the here and now, and experience it fully. Don't let opportunities and precious moments pass you by. The summer is upon us, and we may find ourselves being tourists away from home. But don't be a tourist in your own life. Cherish every second, because five years can sure fly by in an instant! Savor it, and be thankful for it, and be present - every day - in your own life.
Photos in this blog post:
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