My Home, My Place

I always found it hard to relate to those people who didn’t want to get out there and see the world, for whom travel was synonymous only with packing, security lines, an upset stomach, and jet lag. To me, the world is an exciting place, waiting for me to explore it, the price of which is some degree of inconvenience.

Nonetheless, more recently I’m finding that the best part of going away is coming home to my house, my bed, my place. Is my deep sense of peace at coming home more than just the joy at having a place to rest my weary bones?

The theme of makom, or place, is prominent in our calendar, especially as we continue the cycle of events that started with the tragedies of Tammuz and Av, move into the reflection of Elul, and determine a course for the new year in Tishrei. Returning to our homes after Succos, we can recommit to building a place where the entire family can thrive.

A Loss of Place

Rav Moshe Shapiro describes the loss of the Beis Hamikdash and the ensuing exile of the last 2,000 years as a loss of place. We went to the Beis Hamikdash to recharge, to see and be seen by the One who created us, to refocus and center our priorities. When it was destroyed, we lost our sense of rootedness on the deepest level. Our physical wanderings from continent to continent reflect an unsettled state of being, in which it’s hard to maintain the picture of who we are.