Like Judaism, it lets us explore the unfamiliar, thereby opening ourselves to parts of our inner landscape we’ve never known before
Rabbi Yael Splansky
Holy Blossom Temple, Toronto
Rabbi Mark Fishman
Congregation Beth Tikvah, Montreal
Rabbi Splansky: Many Jewish travellers make a point to seek out synagogues when they are far from home, even if they are not “regular shul-goers.” Why do we do this?
There is nothing more affirming than to walk in a strange city, where people speak a foreign language, and enter an unknown space, only to be greeted as family. Such a welcome affirms that we are, despite how we often treat one another, am echad, one people.
Rabbi Fishman: We may find ourselves miles from home, but we still experience the familiar – and that goes to show just how connected we are. I recall travelling to Florence, Italy, and participating in a Friday night service. The tune that was sung to Lecha Dodi was the same as my synagogue.
And yet, travel also allows us to explore the unfamiliar, and thereby open ourselves up to aspects of our inner landscape that we have never known before. I believe this is one of the fundamental themes in our religion, and why Abraham and Sarah were known as travellers. The sense of constant exploration, openness to new possibilities and the vulnerability that comes from being an outsider are all part of the complex spiritual DNA of Jewishness.
Rabbi Splansky: A childhood friend served in rural Chile with the Peace Corps. In anticipation of Yom Kippur, she researched the seven-hour bus ride she’d need to take to reach the synagogue in Santiago. When she finally arrived, security was so tight they would not let her in. What could she do but sit down on the front steps and cry?
It wasn’t long before the rebbetzin came out and said: “Someone told me there’s an American girl crying on my steps. We can’t have that here. Come inside.”
Rabbi Fishman: “I am a stranger and a resident.” These were Abraham’s words to the residents of Canaan, and they continue to resonate today.
We are not from here. We are visitors. We are just passing through. And yet, simultaneously, we belong. This, too, is home. We too have our roots and our future right here.
The Jewish way is to be both a stranger and still feel at home. To somehow always see ourselves as on the move and not really settled and satisfied with the status quo, and yet, at the same time, to build, to plant wherever we may find ourselves at any given moment.
The prophet Jeremiah tells the exiles after they have been expelled from their land: “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” We cherish our particularism, but never forget that we, too, have a responsibility to better the situation of the cities we travel and settle down in.
Rabbi Splansky: Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav famously said: “Wherever I go, I go to Jerusalem.” I don’t know exactly what he meant. Is it that every trip should be pursued as a sacred mission? That it’s not the destination that matters, but the journey?
I write these words from Barcelona. I came for the art and architecture, the good food and wine. We will take a day trip to the medieval Jewish city of Gerona and find the Reform congregation for Shabbat.
But I’ve also come with my husband in celebration of our 20th wedding anniversary. The long walks through winding streets and slow conversations over coffee may be what I really came for.
Wherever people travel this winter, may they go in peace and return fulfilled.
Rabbi Fishman: Sounds wonderful. Walking through the streets of Jerusalem (and perhaps Barcelona) can have a magical effect on even the most hardened of people. Jerusalem is a city of mystery, of complexity and of the enchanting sense that greatness can be achieved when we work together.
That is how I understand Rabbi Nachman’s statement – that all our experiences, our cultural familiarities and our collective wisdom can be channelled into a beautiful whole. Everything we do, each act we complete, each new alleyway we explore, can join together to become “a complete city,” where immigrant and native can truly feel at home.
