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Wisdom from Route 66

 Dear Friends,


We recently returned from a birthday trip to celebrate my 70th birthday.  We were on Route 66 and one of many highlights was being in Winslow, AZ at the corner made famous in the Eagles song, "Taking It Easy."  Many of  you  may remember the iconic line that we shouldn't let the sound of our own wheels drive us crazy.  I have always found great inspiration in  these words and it was wonderful to be in the place described in the song.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in  one of his essays, called "A Sense of Direction," about the weekly Torah portion, "Bechukotai"  speaks about the role of a GPS in our lives.  Our cell phone's map app can tell us how to get somewhere. But what we have to decide is where we are headed.

As we traveled Route 66, we headed down a nostalgic road that reminded us of pieces of our American history.  I remembered stories from my parents of traveling Route 66 in the 1940's.   I had hoped and was able to realize my dream of meaningful family time and sharing an experience that was an important part of their lives.

Among the most important commandments that I believe creates blessings in our lives, is to teach our children about things that are important to us.  My parents taught me the importance of traveling down a road that would lead me to be a respected member of whatever community in which I lived and which would be meaningful to me.

My hope is that my recollections of this trip will encourage our children and grandchildren and subsequent generations to find their paths and meaningful destinations.  GPSs can only help so much.  Each of us must find a meaningful road upon which to travel.  Although the roads we travel may not make history, I  hope that they  will lead us to meaningful places.

Finally, I remember the Gaelic blessing which  was taught to me and which we shared at one of our children's weddings:


"May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you:
May you see your children’s children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home,
And may the land of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you."

As we conclude the weekly Scriptural reading this week and complete reading the Biblical book of Leviticus, we will recite, "Hazak, hazak, v'nitchazek"  May we be strong and may we strengthen each other.

I hope we will find special people with whom to travel on our journeys through life who will give us strength and who we will strengthen along the way.

Shabbat shalom, Sabbath peace,

Rabbi Bruce Aft



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