Summer travel is back. It may even be more stressful than in the past, given the travel industry is still recovering from the pandemic, but don’t let that stop you from having an adventure.
“I’m not sure if it is my age or post-pandemic disorientation, but travel feels so hard and more anxiety provoking than ever,” Rabbi Cantor Judy Greenfeld, founder of the Nachshon Minyan, told the Journal. “And at the same time, it is so necessary for health and well-being.”
To help you embrace the beauty and challenges of summer travel, the Journal asked Greenfeld for her insights and advice.
Jewish Journal: How can people reframe their mindset before making plans and/or embarking on summer travel?
“The Jewish people are not strangers to the challenges of travel.”
– Rabbi Cantor Judy Greenfeld
Judy Greenfeld: The Jewish people are not strangers to the challenges of travel. After all, are we not reminded every Passover that our forefather was a wandering Aramean? We have many prayers and teachings about travel that can help us if we take time to reframe and make our travels into an adventure. Think of your summer travel as a discovery.
There is a legend that when we were created, we were given a purpose on this planet. As we live our lives, along the way, we are meant to find hidden sparks that teach us who we are. Some of them are hidden in people we meet randomly, many are found hidden under the guise of a “trip” or pilgrimage. A spiritual journey is any journey where you find “sparks of wisdom” that are awaiting you. Even if the worst, most aggravating things happen, remember that the way you navigate them, or the choices you make, are precious teachings, for you and those around you.
JJ: What can travelers do to connect/reconnect with Judaism as part of their journey?
JG: When you get to the airport, turn yourself into a “shaliach mitzvah,” a messenger of mitzvah (which is an action that creates a ripple effect of good in the world). There is a famous Jewish custom which says, “If you make yourself a messenger of a mitzvah; no harm will come your way.” If we know of a friend or relative that is traveling, we traditionally give them a coin or bill and appoint them as a messenger to give the money to charity, or to a person in need that they encounter along the way. In doing so, they become an emissary to do a mitzvah (in Hebrew: a “shaliach mitzvah”), and they receive an extra level of God’s protection. If no one has given you money, you can appoint yourself and see who is in need.
JJ: How do you feel about day trips?
JG: Day trips are mini-opportunities to zero in on your own wishes and those of your fellow travelers, friends and/or family. I suggest you let everyone help plan these mini-escapes. Let someone decide on a restaurant, perhaps another person choses a special stop along the way or their top place to visit. Also, try not to have unreasonable expectations. Even on short journeys, expect things to go wrong and bolster up on a Plan B.
Whenever Greenfeld travels, she brings the Tefillat Haderech, which is the prayer for travelers. For those who do not read Hebrew, here’s her creative translation.
Tefillat Haderech/Travellers Prayer
Creative translation by Rabbi Cantor Judy Greenfeld
May (you/we/I) be blessed upon embarking on the way.
Just as our ancestors journeyed, may You guide us with the same protection and care that You provided for them. God, replace feelings of anxiety and fears with faith and trust as we travel.
Help us to be kind, and compassionate when meeting other travelers along the way.
May our highways, flight-ways, and railways be safe and secure. May we find and give the holy sparks that are awaiting discovery;
And may these experiences help us to find our inherited connection to You and our soul’s purpose.
May we travel with ease; and return with the gifts we were meant to receive.
And may we remember to thank the One who guides us along our path.
Amen.
