From Rabbi Joshua Knobel:
“Send forth…So begins this week’s parasha, shelach-lecha, in which God commands the Israelites to send emissaries to investigate the land. When the spies return with reports burdened by fears, they create a panic among the Israelites, who are condemned to remain in the wilderness after wondering, yet again, why they had abandoned Egypt.
At Stephen S Wise Temple, we heeded the command to send forth, as we celebrated the graduation of Wise School’s Class of 2015. With song, video, and dance, 48 students emphasized the import of their Jewish education – our people’s values, traditions, and language – to their future.
Like our ancestors, these students enter a land flowing with milk and honey, with opportunity around every corner. Also, like our ancestors, they enter a world fraught with peril. Well documented are the prospects of assimilation and irrelevance that accompany Jewish life in America.
They enter this world, however, armed with the skills and fearlessness necessary to traverse a constantly changing global landscape and to create our Jewish future. The Jewish world they create will not resemble the Jewish world of today. However, they remain eager for the opportunities and undaunted by the challenges that await.
Unlike our ancestors, let us send forth our emissaries with confidence in the future they will create, as their path is the only way out of the wilderness.”
What choice will you make about how to educate your children? What choice will you make about how to spend your time? Will you worry about peril? Will you look forward to challenges? Will you worry less about how others see you and more about who you are and about who you are capable of becoming?
Share your story about how you are brave in the We Said Go Travel Summer Independence Writing Contest
Summer 2015
Independence Travel Writing Contest #8
We are looking for an article about your independence. Where do you feel free and the most true version of your self?
The movie, The Book of Life, asks us to have the courage to really live and to live life as if it is a song. “It is all right if it goes wrong, just keep calm and carry on.”
Will you write your own story? Will you follow your heart? Will you sing your song? Or will you play along to the script you think your parents and ancestors predetermined for you?
Maria Posada, the star-crossed lover from The Book of Life, says, “I belong to no one.” Please share a story about where you belong and if your family and country want you to play along or find your own path. Are you independent? interdependent? Where do you find freedom and joy?
In her book, I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t): Making the Journey from “What Will People Think?” to “I Am Enough” Brene Brown says: “When we tell our stories, we change the world.” Be Brave! Be Bold! Tell us your Tale.
DATE: Enter from May 18, 2015 to July 4, 2015.
THEME: Independence: A Place that Makes You Feel Free to be Yourself
**Over 1800 writers from 75 countries have participated in contests #1-7 since Jan 2013. Share your story!**
DEADLINE: Enter by midnight PST on July 4, 2015
To Enter: Submit your entry here
PRIZES: 1st Prize – $500 usd cash 2nd Prize – $100 usd cash 3rd Prize – $50 usd cash
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