As a rabbi, I have many opportunities to offer blessings. One of my favorites is just after loading a bus on its way to camp or a youth group event and reciting a blessing for the travelers before sending them on their way. No matter the trip, traveling always comes with a certain amount of uncertainty. Whether we’re embarking on a family road trip, sending a child off to camp, or even just navigating the busy demands of our daily lives, there’s always that flicker of anxiety: Will we be safe? Will we arrive well? Jewish tradition meets that uncertainty with ritual — particularly with blessing. One of the most beautiful examples of this appears in Parshat Beha’alotcha, reminding us that journeys are not only physical but also spiritual, and that we are never truly traveling alone.
Parshat Beha’alotcha is rich with movement and transition. The parshah opens with the commandment to Aaron to light the menorah and quickly moves into organizing the Levites for service in the Mishkan. But a pivotal moment comes when the Israelites set out from Mount Sinai, their first major journey since receiving the Torah. To mark this moment, we read:
Vayehi binsoa ha’aron vayomer Moshe, kumah Adonai v’yafutzu oyvecha…
“When the Ark would set out, Moses would say: ‘Arise, Adonai, and let your enemies be scattered…’” (Numbers 10:35).
This verse is so significant that it’s set off in the Torah scroll by two inverted letter nuns, framing it almost like parentheses — or perhaps like wings of protection — around the words. Moses’s words over the Ark are among our earliest Jewish travel prayers. They are echoed in Tefilat Haderech, our traditional “Traveler’s Prayer,” which we say before setting out on a journey, asking God to guide us in peace and protect us from danger. But the connection goes deeper: the Ark itself was more than just a physical object being carried — it was a symbol of divine presence, Torah, and purpose, traveling with the people.
We often think about protection as something external: a seatbelt, a map, a vaccine, an insurance policy. But Moses teaches that spiritual protection comes when we consciously invite God — and the values of Torah — into our journeys. The act of blessing transforms our travels from mere movement to meaningful passage. It reminds us that no matter where we go, we carry a sacred purpose with us.
We can cultivate the practice of offering a blessing — whether through formal words like Tefilat Haderech or simply a moment of gratitude or intention. Our lives are full of movement, but Beha’alotcha reminds us that we are never just traveling — we are journeying with blessing. May we go forward like the Ark, carrying the presence of holiness with us, and may all our paths be made safe and meaningful.
– Rabbi Eve Posen
Source: Traveling with Blessing
