The book of Numbers, called “Bemidbar,” or in the wilderness, has led us to think about the Jews as a wandering people. True, they were in the wilderness for 40 years, but they weren’t lost. They knew where they were going as long as God and Moses led them. Had they had Waze (invented by Israelis), they would have surely arrived sooner, but their destination was always assured by God’s promise to them. Rabbinic commentaries explained that the way was long to give the Israelites time to rid themselves of their slave mentality formed in Egypt, and grow in faith with Adonai.

To this day, we’re not a wandering people, either, even if the way is still long and the destination is a place of peace we still need to reach. The fact that we’re not lost can be a source of comfort. Like the past, there’s nothing unusual about being uncertain or wrestling with faith on our way to our destination, literally and figuratively. Though we might wrestle with faith, we often live by both Torah and secular teachings for our time. The challenge has become that our times have strained our ability to lean on familiar secular teachings for strength and clarity. When secular teachings threaten our values and moral compass, we need to come closer to Torah for deeper understanding about what we should be doing and why.

For example, the subject of immigration is fraught, today. There are many opinions accompanied by facts, figures, and strategies, but none of them have made a significant difference on the well-being of immigrants, themselves, or the communities in which they and we live, or the moral position of our nation.

In California, I learned firsthand about a grandfather who drove his grandchildren to school for the day, then made his way to the gas station to fill up his car. While pumping gas he was apprehended by ICE. Confused and scared, he left his keys and wallet in his car when they took him away and deported him, forthwith, to a city in Mexico, without identification or family nearby. In Texas, a woman who lives at home and cares for her family hasn’t left the house in more than 30 days because she’s afraid of being picked up by ICE. Without access to healthcare, groceries, and her daily routine, she’s isolated, scared, and unwell. They are not criminals even if they’re not thoroughly documented. They are often, however, taxpaying individuals who are in the pipeline for citizenship that takes too many years to achieve.

On this subject, alone, our secular norms have changed, but not our Torah values, which Torah repeats 36 times “to welcome the stranger for we know the heart of the stranger.” In Midrash, the rabbis admonish us, “Do not fault your neighbor with a fault that is also your own.” The fault to which they refer is the fact that we were once strangers in Egypt. We can’t shake it off.

When we talk about education, healthcare, equal rights, or Israel and all its complexities, we are also not lost. If we believe that some secular teachings have confused or failed us in any way, then it’s high time to regard Torah and its teachings as the moral compass to which we must return. I’m not just recommending greater ritual observance than you may be ready to do; I’m urging us to know our Torah lessons that have led us through every wilderness we have ever encountered.

From redemption from slavery in Egypt, to revelation at Sinai and the wilderness journey, the Israelites persevered but were never lost. God and Moses led the way. It’s a great story. It’s our story. It’s America’s story, because we’re all descendants of immigrants who found in America a promised land. Now the time has come for us to learn from our best secular lessons and from Torah lessons, which are always our best lessons. They’re filled with moral clarity, honed by years of trials and precedents, and filled with justice, which is truth, and with compassion, which is humanity.

Our journey begins in our hearts and souls where we make the right choices for the right reasons. Then our destination will surely follow, as it has in the past, and the eternal promise will be honored, as we work and pray for the future.

L’Shalom,