09/04/2026
~ There’s Still Somewhere to Go ~
As we come to the end of another year, I find myself thinking: I’m tired.
It’s been a full year, and part of me would be very happy to simply keep doing what I’m already doing. Keep the good things going. Keep showing up. Keep doing what works.
But then I wonder: Is that enough? Or does a new year ask me to actually go somewhere new?
This week’s Torah portion opens with the words Vayeilech Moshe, “Moses went.”
It takes place on the final day of Moses’ life. He is 120 years old and tells the Jewish people, “I can no longer go out and come in.”
You would think that at this point, there was nowhere left for Moses to go. His life was coming to an end.
And still, the Torah begins: Vayeilech. He went.
In fact, Vayeilech becomes the name of the entire portion.
Because there is a difference between continuing and going.
We can continue doing good things year after year and still remain in the same place. To go means to move, to reach somewhere we haven’t been before, to take a step beyond what has become comfortable.
Even on the final day of his life, Moses was still going.
And maybe that is the question for us as we begin a new Jewish year: Where am I going next?
Maybe it’s a new mitzvah, more Torah study, making Shabbat more meaningful, coming to services more often, or giving more tzedakah.
It doesn’t have to be everything. But it should be something that moves us.
If G-d is giving us another year, there is somewhere new for each of us to go.
May we all be blessed with a healthy, happy and sweet new year, a year of growing, moving forward, and becoming more connected to our Judaism.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Mendy
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