Rabbi's Message

We are in graduation season!  Last week we celebrated wonderful moving up ceremonies for students in our Eric B. Jacobs Early Childhood Education Center.  Our students beautifully sang tefillot (prayers) and songs that demonstrated how much they learned so far at TBS.  Last night, I attended the commencement ceremony for the 8^th graders at Kellman Brown Academy, and again felt proud at seeing all they have accomplished and learned during their time at KBA.  Many more students from our TBS Family are celebrating graduations from high school, college and graduate programs.  We wish all of you mazal tov on these achievements!  Given all this, it seems appropriate that the name of our parashah this week is Shelah Lekha, which means “Send out…”  Those who are being sent out are the 12 spies, whose mission is to scout out the land of Israel.  When they return, they confirm that it is indeed a good land, but 10 of them say that there is no way the Israelites will be able to conquer it.  The other two spies, Caleb and Joshua, disagreed.  They stand up and say “alo na’aleh!” – “Let us by all means go up, and we shall gain possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it.”  Despite Caleb and Joshua’s encouragement, the story of the spies does not end well.  The bad report of the 10 spies leads to the 40 years of wandering in the desert.  Joshua, however, endures to lead the people into the land of Israel after Moshe’s death at the end of the Torah.  During this time of year, as we celebrate our students’ accomplishments, we also acknowledge that each end is a new beginning, and with new beginnings come excitement, but also anxiety.  Perhaps this is why most of these ceremonies are not called “graduations” but “promotions” or “commencements.”  They are meant to give us the tools, knowledge and confidence to move forward into the next phase of life.  Each of these phases has their own challenges and opportunities.  The story of the spies reminds us that we need to approach these new beginnings with confidence and faith.  That’s because we are rooted in the values that we have learned throughout our journey.  This is what guided Caleb and Joshua, the heroes of our parashah this week.  And it also be what guides us as we move from one moment to the next on our own life’s journey.