Life is a Highway

Are you familiar with the song “Life is a Highway?” It was written and sung by musician Tom Cochrane, later famously covered by Rascal Flatts for the 2006 movie, Cars.

There are many songs about life and the passage of time. A quick web search yields:

“Cat’s in the Cradle,” “Step by Step,” “Yesterday,” “It’s My Life,” “Everyday is a Winding Road,” and “The Long and Winding Road.” Extra cholent at Kiddush for whoever can name all the artists!

We know that life can take all sorts of twists and turns. The Torah recognizes the need to be mindful of the journey.

The last portion of the book of Bamidbar begins by recounting the 42 stops that the Jews made during 40 years in the desert. Rashi points out that the Jews did not move all that often during their time in the desert. (Many of the travels took place before the 40 years were decreed.) What is the significance of recounting each of these stops here now?

Rabbi Tanchuma in the Midrash suggests that this recounting is like a travelogue. At the end of their journey, the Jews are remembering the stops they took - the hardships, the highs, the lows - in getting them to the banks of the Jordan River. They remember all that transpired in the past 40 years.

Reading these masa’ot, the stops, each year is more than a history lesson. Our journeys have a lot in common with the original Jewish journey in the desert.

Each step of the journey has significance.

The commentators focus on the names of some of the places and that they allude to specific episodes along the journey. There is also a tradition that some of the stops teach lessons for the future as well. For example, the 25th stop was Chashmonah, which has a linguistic connection with the Chashmonaim of Chanukah, which is celebrated on the 25th of Kislev.

Our journeys have meaning and significance. Each stop tells a story of what happened and may even offer a clue to what will happen next.

The journey is holy.

According to Jewish law, we do not interrupt the reading of the masa’ot. The explanation is that the 42 stops correspond to the mystical 42-letter name of God. This name is a secret. Rashi writes (Kiddushin 71a) that “We don’t know this name.” It is associated with various miracles and wonders performed by Moshe and others in the Torah. How does this 42-letter Divine name and its correlation with 42 stops in the desert relate to us?

There are things about the journey which we don’t understand, yet they are still significant, even sacred. There are plenty of mysteries in life. The question “why” is very often on our lips (especially these past 10 months). The recounting of the journey in the desert teaches us that our journey – and the entire Jewish journey – is meaningful. It is our mission to contribute our share in the uplifting story of the Jewish people. We each have a role to play. There are actions large and small we perform in this effort, but we must be mindful of each step of the mysterious road.

The journey is a song.

When we read the masa’ot from the Torah, there is a special way to sing them. It’s different from the usual cantillation and more like the way we sing the Song at the Sea. This may be based on the Talmud (Avoda Zara 24b) which includes the movement in the desert in the list of all of the various songs the Jews sang.

Songs are a great way to remember things. Songs are a great way to tell stories. As noted above, there are plenty of songs about the journey of life. Recounting the Jewish journey in song teaches us to recount our stories in a memorable, meaningful way so that we and our children appreciate and learn from them.

There is a tradition that reciting the Jewish journey in the desert is a segulah, a form of remedy or protection in difficult times. Why? One explanation is that the journey was “al pi Hashem,” the Jews only traveled and camped in accordance with God’s command. Reciting the journey is meant to remind us that God is in charge of the world, and this may provide us with the perspective to move forward and overcome challenges. It’s an important lesson worthy of telling and singing.

We live in extraordinary times. (I prefer that than calling them crazy.) In Israel, there is a vast “soundtrack” of songs which have been used to tell the stories, laud the heroes, mourn those who have been lost, bring us together, pray for victory, and encourage us to be strong and together we will win. Each of us is writing our own soundtrack of our experiences, hopes, dreams, disappointments, and aspirations.

We’re mindful of each step of our holy journey along this long and winding road of life. Let’s sing about it together.

Travel safe!