25 July, 2025 09:39

The longest double parshaOnce again the journey could have been… should have been. The poem that probably every US teen had to learn at some point is called The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost.

The world we are in is one of choices. We can truly never know what the other choice could have / should have led to.

There was a shorter path from Egypt to Israel … the hebrew nation [us] were afraid of war.

Makes sense we had just spent 200 [or 400 years] as slaves.

The spies did not have to give a bad report. The journey to Israel "could" have been shorter by 38 years! A whole generation of men 20-60 did not have to die.

But choice. Choice seals the path. The long [er] road.

It is a comfort of sorts to the one main memory of our grandfather being a good one. Perhaps the memory is a combination of many interactions? But … it does not matter. Could he have been more complicated than a memory I have from when I under 10 years old?? Sure. Of course. Humans are complex.

Perhaps a blessing?? That our journey …however long …. will leave a mainly positive memory on those who we interacted with

Even if it just 1x !!

Of course no one can control what the other person will feel / react to, remember…. all we can do is put our best foot forward and walk the long path