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To travel - to be on the road so to speak (or on the sea and in the air) - is as much a part of being human as staying put in one place. Whether by necessity, choice, or some combination of both, to undertake a voyage away from our home or from our familiar routines involves adventure, risk, and a launch into the unknown.
It's been twelve years since I was last on the European continent. Through the Internet the world can be in front of us, but there is nothing like the real thing. Most of the places we will visit will be first time encounters, much as I have read or studied about them. And even the one place I do know well from firsthand experience, Paris, will no doubt feel different to me after all this time.
The Talmud, circa 500CE, includes a one paragraph prayer called tefillat ha'derech - translated more literally for "prayer for on the way" or "on the route" or "on the path." It shows up in most prayer books. In rereading it I couldn't help but notice that the word "shalom" is mentioned five times: shalom is often translated as "peace" but its root is more closely connected to wholeness. Perhaps, then, the prayer is expressing the hope that our departure will be one where we feel whole enough - in body, mind, spirit - to set out and that this sense of wholeness will accompany us as we travel. At the same time, the prayer recognizes that travel has its risks and dangers - and so the request sent out to the heavens for safe passage coexists with encouragement that we discover within our selves whatever preparation we require for the journey ahead.
And remember my passport.
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Dad
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Re your July 2 blog
What a nice group of thoughts for the beginning of our adventure. I love the way you combine the religious thoughts with the ordinary details. Dad