For those who know me you know that I am a spiritual person and someone that is strong in my faith. I know who I am and the values that were instilled in me growing up and guiding me through my life now. I think it is safe to say when you suffer a trauma like sudden death (or not sudden) that you are shaken to your core. Within your core are your beliefs. The question of WHY did you take this person? I know that is something I have been asking over and over again. I would make the assumption that it is a normal feeling if you believe in G-D that you would question and be angry.

Earlier this week I was talking to a friend who went to attended a, what I would call, a soul seminar on Sunday. She was telling me about some of the speakers that were there and what she got out of the talks. I commented to her that I miss the learning I was doing when I got back from Israel. I know that the community that I was learning in would welcome me back anytime and I would get my ‘soul’ fulfilled with love and support.

The universe listens. I worked from home on Tuesday and received a private message from the wonderful person I was learning from those years ago. She was just checking in on me. I told her I was working from that day and that was all she needed to hear. My FaceTime rang and we had the most wonderful conversation. We talked for almost an hour about anything and everything and it was exactly what my soul needed. It is not just about sharing quotes and memes about grief, love, loss and friendship. Social media is just that, social. It is the private thoughts, private time, long nights. Longer days. Figuring out how to navigate through this is really hard.

The soul searching part this week comes from this week’s Torah portion. My friend talked to me about it and then I received an email from Rabbi Grover at Beth Tikvah (still on their database email list) and he talked about the portion this week.

The subject line of the email is Get Yourself going.

Here is an excerpt from this email:
The great medieval commentator Rashi understood Lekh Lekha in literal terms. He read it as, “Go for you.” Rashi wrote that the command means, “Go for your own enjoyment and for your own good.” God is telling Abram that this is not just a command to leave home, it is an invitation to adventure, wonder and self-discovery.

Lekh lekha is the commandment that stands at the beginning of Jewish identity. If Rashi is right, it is a journey that does not serve God’s purposes alone, but Abram’s too. We might say that Lekh Lekha is the most basic commandment of Torah, calling us to move forward, to try new things, to be a better person than you thought you could be — and to do it knowing that it is for your own benefit and enjoyment.

Abram became a Jew in the moment when he left behind the pain of the past, broke away from the familiar, and embraced an unknown future with an unknown destination. That is the secret of life. None of us knows where life is taking us. Life is richer, more meaningful and more fulfilling when we embrace the unknown and resist the tendency to play it safe, to lay low, or to settle. Don’t wait for life. Don’t miss out on the pleasure of reaching higher. Keep alive with adventure, even when life knocks you around. Pick yourself up. Get yourself going.

This last paragraph says it all:

None of us knows where life is taking us.
Life is more meaningful and fulfilling when we take chances
Don’t wait for something to happen or you will miss something greater than you expected.
When life knocks you down, you have to get back up.

Shabbat Shalom my friends. Thank you for reading and thank you for all your love and support.

live your best life,

Lisa