Lost in the desert

Beshalach

I didn't really write anything for Beshalach. It was also tu Bishvat, the new year of the trees. That week it was a little bit like I myself was wandering through the desert. I was not grounded. I moved from staying at the dorms in one seminary to a hostel in the old city. For shabbas I went to Tzvat and an hour before shabbas my accommodations fell through and I had to find a new place to sleep. There are some really amazing people that I should thank because they treated me like family and didn't even know me. So, it all worked out, and in two days I am moving into an apartment with a few girls in a great location. Very excited. I feel like a lot happened in my life during Parshat Beshalach, and also so much happened in that Parsha: The splitting of the red sea, the celebration of Miriam and all the women with tambourines and singing, entering into the desert, the war with Amalek, etc. At one point, Israel begins traveling in the desert, and as they begin to complain, Gd tells the people to turn around and head back towards Egypt. They do turn around, but they do not go all the way back. They end up turning back around yet again, but nevertheless they had to go backwards a little bit before going forwards. It had to appear to the Egyptians as if they were lost, and maybe it even felt to the Hebrews like they were really lost, but ultimately they continued forward on their correct path. This was a good lesson for me to keep in mind as I was moving from place to place, feeling a little lost, living out of my sleeping bad and off of a diet of nuts and dried fruit. I kept in mind that Israel had to wander around "lost" (but not truly lost) in the desrt before moving forward on their path. So thankfully I am getting to a place where I am becoming a little more settled here. I am very happy, learning a lot, meeting new, amazing people.