Did you know that there are 433 national park sites in the United States, with 63 of those containing the name “National Park” as part of their name (e.g., Yellowstone National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Everglades National Park? (Click HERE to learn more). My friend and her family are on a mission to visit all 63 of the official “national park” designations before their children graduate from high school.
Each summer, they embark on a three-six week driving trip across the USA in their RV. Everyone documents the journey in their own way, through journals, photos, or videos. These summer adventures have been transformative for them. They’ve learned how to live together in close quarters, how to face challenges calmly and thoughtfully, and how to find joy in simple daily moments. Above all, they’ve learned to be present, to laugh, and to savor each day for what it brings, because tomorrow is always a new adventure.
On their journey, they hardly ask “are we there yet?”, because wherever they are is always where they want to be…even if they take a wrong turn. (Let’s be honest, they are traveling in their own RV, their “home away from home”, which means the kids are always “there” and always have something to do in their own special place.) Their journey, and their reflection on their journey, has deeply strengthened them as a family.
As I studied this week’s Torah portion, Mattot-Masei, a biblical travelogue of sorts, I thought of my friends and their RV adventures across the country. The journey described in the Torah was no ordinary trip: it was a transformative experience for all who traveled its path.
Mattot-Masei, marks the end of the book of Bemidbar with a sweeping retrospective. In Numbers 33, we read a travelogue of forty-two encampments made by the Israelites as they journeyed from Egypt to the brink of the Promised Land: “These are the stages of the Israelites, by which they went forth out of the land of Egypt… And Moses wrote down their goings forth, stage by stage, by the commandment of the Eternal…” (Numbers 33:1-2).
It seems, at first glance, like a simple itinerary. Our tradition teaches, however, that each stop carried deep meaning: moments of growth, failure, transformation, and divine presence. According to rabbinic legend, some locations mark sites of miracles while others were places of challenge or conflict. The Italian commentator Sforno viewed this list as a testament to the people’s endurance and spiritual evolution. Medieval philosopher and commentator Moses Maimonides explained that the wilderness itself was the crucible through which a fragile band of former slaves was forged into a courageous, covenantal nation.
Like our ancestors in this week’s Torah portion, Temple Beth Or is on a journey. We are a sacred community shaped not by a single moment, but by countless steps and stories. We didn’t all begin this journey at the same time, nor from the same place. Some joined last year, some decades ago. Each of us carries memories, some shared, some individual. Moments of challenge, moments of joy, resilience, growth, celebration.
In the coming months, as we prepare to welcome a new chapter in our congregational life with a new settled rabbi, we are intentionally pausing to reflect and intentionally think about how we envision our present and future. These are our symbolic stops along the way. We will create our own TBO travelogue as we recount our shared history, lift up the values that have guided us, and name the moments that have defined us. Together we’ll ask: What makes Temple Beth Or unique? What legacies do we carry? What will we bring with us into the future, and what will we lovingly let go? During the High Holy Days we will announce the date of our first congregation-wide afternoon retreat for this moment in time. This will be an afternoon where we will journey together through memory and meaning: to honor the legacies that define us, release with grace what no longer serves, and begin to shape the path toward our envisioned future.
Just as Mattot-Masei chronicles the Israelites’ path toward becoming a people ready to cross into new territory, our communal reflection this year will be a journey of readiness, renewal, and vision. May it be for us a journey of spiritual elevation, so that we, too, arrive at the edge of tomorrow more whole, more connected, and more inspired than ever before.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Sharon L. Sobel
Interim Rabbi
Temple Beth Or
Raleigh, NC
rabbisobel@tboraleigh.org
