A Wandering Jew

By Sherri Vishner
KOACH Associate
University of Florida, Gainsville

The timing for this article could not have been better as I finish up my work with KOACH and prepare for my next adventure. By the time this article is posted, I will be in the midst of not having a ‘home’ for a month. After two years in Gainesville, Florida working as the KOACH Associate at The University of Florida, I will be moving to Baltimore in August. In between I’ll be spending a month traveling to see friends and family I’ve not seen in a while.

Since graduating from high school, I have not lived in the same place for more than three years. I grew up in Amherst, NY and have now lived in Raleigh, NC, Vestal, NY, Washington, DC, Jerusalem, Israel and Gainesville, FL. I have also had the good fortune to visit many places during this time, including many cities in the US, traveling throughout Israel, spending some time in London, England and going on an Alaskan cruise.

While I hope at some time in my future to ‘settle down’ in one place, being so nomadic has given me the opportunity to meet lots of interesting people and make many more friends than I otherwise would have. What has kept me grounded is always having a local Jewish community to be part of and always learning from the experiences of our ancestors in the Torah. I try to read a little bit from the weekly Torah portion each night and while I have been doing this now for 3 years (and therefore have read through the entire Torah almost 3 times) I never cease to learn something new and find a way to relate to what the Israelites are going through.

The Torah portion I am currently reading though is Shlah, which begins with the sending out of scouts to the land of Canaan, to learn more about it before everyone enters. Despite God’s assurances that the land is "flowing with milk and honey," is meant to be ours and that God will help us achieve that reality, ten of the twelve scouts return with negative reports. The inhabitants are too big and mighty, "we were like grasshoppers in our eyes, and so we were in their eyes." Only Caleb and Yehoshua disagree, saying that we will overcome; the land is good and God will take care of us.

Similar to Moses sending out the scouts, during this past semester I have traveled up to Baltimore a couple of times- I wanted to visit some of the local synagogues and meet with students and faculty at the schools I would be attending. Like the scouts, I have found things I love about Baltimore (the abundance of Kosher food!) and also, things I am not sure about (will I find a community of like-minded Jews?). I have never lived in Baltimore before, so there is much that is unknown and that can be scary. But I am comforted to know that I am not the first person to move to a new place. We Jews have been wandering around for a few thousand years and we’re still going strong!

So, with excitement of what my new adventure will hold, I am packing up my things, saying l’hitraot (see you soon) to the friends I’ve made here in Gainesville and preparing for the next step in my journey. Come visit me!

[Posted 7/2/08]