My purpose. Our purpose.

Our students have bH arrived and began the process of developing lifelong friendships. Each year our students tell us that they have never had friendships like these before. And it always leaves me amazed that they connect so quickly, so seamlessly and in such meaningful way.

How can it be that young women from all different places can connect so quickly? How can someone defined as a stranger, the next day, be defined as a dear friend?

I think the answer is simply in the title of last week’s parsha, Ki Tetzeh.

Last week’s parsha is filled with many commandments. Over 70. It has rule after rule and can be extremely overwhelming if we lose the “Ki”, the “because” in “Ki Tetzeh.”

What transforms all of the commandments and instructions to be not only manageable, but meaningful and beautiful, is the “Ki”. It’s the reminder that I am not doing anything without purpose. Every single mitzvah that I received in last week’s parsha serves a purpose in my life. It is here to guide me, to better me, to turn me into the best version of myself. I am not simply “Tetzeh”- going out, venturing out, discovering. I am “Ki Tetzeh”- I am fully aware of my actions and the reasoning and purpose behind them.

This explains our students perfectly.

All of our students have come to MTC with their own “Ki”, with their own purpose. They have come to grow, to learn, and of course, to be there for a child. And when strangers share a common purpose, they are no longer strangers. They are bonded. They form a family.

We are very much looking forward to our first Shabbat together as an MTC family, and to a year filled with unforgettable experiences, each one made more meaningful by the people we share them with.

Wishing everyone a Shabbat Shalom and the ability to live life consciously. To be people who act, speak, react, all in ways that are thought out, and meaningful. It is through this lifestyle of conscious growth that we will iyH be zoche to grow daily and make this world a better place