Memories of the trip that inspired us to be greater
S
ummer is here, time once again to undertake that ancient Israelite tradition — the family trip.
It dates back to after we received the Torah on Shavuos — we stayed at Sinai for a little over a month, and then started planning our first summer trip into the wilderness on the way to Eretz Yisrael. Like most family outings, this one had its hitches — complaints about the food, sullen natives unhappy about foreign tourists coming to check out their land, changing travel plans that caused us to wander around a lot longer than we planned to. Forty years longer, in fact.
(All this is recounted in the last few weeks’ parshiyos. Maybe this is why we always read them this time of year.)
Of course, no family trip is complete without all the delightful fights. “Why does he get to sit in front?” “She started it.” “I’m bored.” “This is not what you told us it would be like.” “Are we there yet?” “When can we go back home again?” Yes, this annual Jewish ritual reminds us why we are grateful our children are in school all year.
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