A Nation of Walkers

Alexander Muss High School in Israel (Muss) has connected me, and many of my peers, to our Jewish identities in a way that’s simply not possible anywhere else in the world. We have walked where our ancestors walked and had the stories of the Tanakh painted for us so vividly you can almost see how they happened. You can see the relevance of the Tanakh here in Israel because it was made for this land, and for this I feel nothing but pride for a tradition that dates back thousands of years.  

The Tanakh and its wisdom is relevant to us now too – as this week we embarked on our ים לים - Yam L’Yam (Sea to Sea), a hike where we were (supposed) to walk from the Mediterranean to the Sea of Galilee. In doing so, we are completing our פרשה - Parshah (Portion) required to claim our birthright of our land, just as Avraham did to claim the land that G-d had given to him, commanding him to “Raise [his] eyes and look out from where [he is], to the north and south, to the east and west, for [G-d gives] all the land that [he sees] to [him] and [his] offspring forever… Up, walk about the land, through its length and its breadth, for [G-d gave] it to [him]” (Genesis 13:14-17). 

This week reminded us that we are a nation of walkers, for walking not only allows us to claim our birthright, but also find ourselves. G-d tells Avraham to “לֶךְ־לְךָ֛” - Lekh-Lekha (Genesis 12:1), which translates to "Walk with yourself", which we can understand to mean find yourself, and find why you must leave your father’s ways behind. On this hike, we were able to connect with not only ourselves but also connect with each other in a way that is simply not possible in any other setting. Yam L’Yam is not only a journey through Israel, but it is also a journey to discover what we are capable of and who we truly are. 

Jesse Papernick is a junior at Waltham Senior High School in Waltham, MA.