Go Forth, and Enjoy the Scenic Route

Shabbat Shalom! 

Last week’s Torah portion told the story of Noah’s Ark, and with it, brought 40 hours of rain to St. Louis. Thankfully, we have seen the clouds clear and are reminded, just like Noah stepping out after the flood, that every new week brings the promise of renewal and purpose. 

Our Torah portion for this Shabbat, Lech Lecha, continues that theme of moving forward. It begins with a timeless invitation: “Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.” 

It’s more than a command; it’s a journey of faith. We are inspired to venture into the unknown with faith, courage, and a sense of direction that is grounded in something greater than ourselves. 

Journeys, however, can come in all shapes and sizes. Some are epic adventures and others are wrapped in the natural cadence of life. For me, each week is a new journey.  

Every Sunday night, I sit with Andrew in front of the television after Nora goes to sleep and I check my calendar to anticipate which direction the coming week will take and what journey my life for the next week has in store. In that moment, I pause and reflect on how I will “go forth.” 

As Abraham set out to an unknown destination, without the support of GPS, he trusted that his journey was about more than the place he was going. It was also about who he would become along the way.  

When I was little, way before the invention of Google maps, my dad had a personal rule on family trips: he would never ask for directions. He embraced the journey, the very Jewish experience of wandering. We’d drive in circles, insisting we weren’t lost just “taking the scenic route,” which is a term I still use with Nora for “the long way home.” 

But as much as technology has changed how we travel, it hasn’t changed the truth that there’s no GPS for life. We can only move forward with trust guided by our values, our community, and our faith. 

My own journey has taken me from Omaha to Chicago to Birmingham and now to St. Louis, with the most recent stop being to gather with 700 incredible members of our community at our Women’s Philanthropy event, L’Chaim! Each personal and professional chapter has been its own Lech Lecha moment, full of uncertainty and discovery and in every place. In each one, I found myself drawn toward something Jewish. Community. Connection. Meaning. A sense of belonging that told me I was exactly where I needed to be. Federation has always been my north star. Where there is Federation there is community. My community. 

And life continues to bring us new journeys, while not always geographic ones. Parenthood, for instance, is a journey that rewrites the map entirely. There’s no perfect set of directions, no app that tells you when to turn left. (And this is from someone that read the American Society of Pediatrics Encyclopedia from cover-to-cover MULTIPLE times.) Just love, patience, and faith that you’re helping your children find their own sacred path. And as many of us learn, caring for our parents as they age is another deeply human journey; one that turns the compass gently backward, reminding us that the people who once guided us now need our strength and tenderness in return. 

In all these directions forward and back, outward and inward, we are anchored by something Jewish. It’s our spiritual GPS: community, purpose, compassion, hope. The Federation is part of that system, helping guide our collective journey, ensuring that wherever we’re headed, we arrive safely with meaning and togetherness. 

And like any great road trip, you need the perfect playlist. For Lech Lecha, I’d queued up a few songs that remind us to trust the road ahead: 

• “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac because Lech Lecha is, after all, about setting out boldly. 

• “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey a reminder that faith keeps us moving even when the path is unclear. 

• “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel, because in community, none of us travels alone. 

• And of course, “L’dor V’dor,” the version covered by Cantor Azi Schwartz, because every journey we take is connected to the generations before us and those who will follow. 

This Shabbat, may we all find our rhythm, our courage, and our perfect playlist for the journey ahead. What’s on yours? 

Shabbat Shalom