The countdown begins as I start to get ready for this years' 12th grade Israel trip. Now is the time I usually create a list of things to do before the trip: buy a new bathing suit, get a haircut, shop for toiletries, refill prescriptions, go to Barnes and Nobles to buy books for the plane, etc. As I make my checklist of important things to do, I want to remind my fellow pilgrims to remember a luggage name tag, a passport, and a water bottle.
I hope that whenever you travel, your luggage name tag will remind you of the lessons you have learned at Cardin, remember that your Jewish education is a suitcase that can serve you just as well as the one you will take to Israel. I also hope that the Jewish identity you formed at Cardin, in your homes, at your synagogues, at youth groups, at HaZamir rehearsals, and at summer camps will be as much a part of your identity as the passport you will carry.
Don’t forget to pack a water bottle. The rabbis often compare the Torah to water, the source of life. Whenever, you get thirsty, take a sip. Its values, lessons, and teachings will sustain you.
And make sure you keep refilling the water bottle. Take a Judaic studies course when you get to college, attend a Hillel event, study abroad in Israel, and come home for holidays and families simchahs.
So as the countdown begins and you start to get ready for your Israel trip, be careful not to over pack. As you approach the end of the trip, you will be leaving with much more!
~Rabbi Stuart Seltzer
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