When I was part of the Jewish-Youth-Groups in Buenos Aires and we went to camps, we used to play a game. Half of the members of our group tied a scarf around their eyes and the other half of the group needed to lead them through the forest by taking their hands or by giving them indications how to walk. I always remember the anxiety of the game. If you wanted to be part of the game -and everybody wanted to be part of it- you needed to rely on the friend who was leading you among the trees. However, you always asked yourself: Will my friend lead me well? Will he not make me fall, just to make fun of me? Most of the time people incapable of seeing walk very slowly and their steps are insecure. That was also our case at camp. Always it is easier to trust ourselves than to trust others. Al least that is what people think most of the time, because who will care about ourselves more than we do?

Last week my daughter Daniela came with me to visit the sick. When we came out of the hospital I took her "piggy back". Suddenly she covered my eyes and told me: "Dadi: I will lead you to the car". It was a short walk on a safe place and still I was afraid. Would my daughter know how to lead me? Would she make me walk into a parked car? Would she stop me if I go astray? I decided to play the game and Daniela, by the way, did a great job. Most of the time, friends who lead us in this kind of game do a good job. However, it is difficult to trust. The test is not for the one who is leading us if he or she will do a good job (because most of the time they do), but for us if we will trust them, if we will rely on them without opening our eyes. Most of the time the test takes place even before the game itself begging. Will we agree to play it, to be led?

In a competitive society, people are afraid to abandon themselves to someone else’ care. Will he or she take care of me? Will he or she make me stumble? Will this person not take advantage of my weakness?

When we were little children we relied on our parents. Everybody who had a good experience as little children will be able to remember how pleasant the experience was to abandon ourselves to our parents’ care and love. However, once we grew up and faced the world, suspicious thought took the place of confidence, sometimes encouraged by our own parents: "Don’t trust anybody", "Rely only in yourself", "Nobody will care about yourself but you".

Bachya Ibn Pakuda, one of the greatest Jewish philosophers who lived one thousand years ago, wrote in his introduction to the fourth gate of his famous book "The Duties of the Heart":

Today we are finishing the book of Exodus. After the construction of the Tabernacle took place, we read in the Torah:

These three verses are the conclusion of the second book of the Torah.

In the desert it is not easy to find the way and even if someone knows the desert very well it is not easy to manage the right timing: when to camp, when to walk, how long to wait, how fast to ride.

During forty years, the Children of Israel walked in the wilderness day and night. God’s presence went with them for forty years, guiding them in the vast desert, setting their timing, most of the time not according to logical decisions but according to His divine plan. The cloud was "before the eyes of all of the Children of Israel". God’s presence was available for everybody. Everybody knew that the guide of their journeys, the same One who took them forth from Egypt and divided the sea for them, was a good one. By the way, here was visible "before the eyes of all of the Children of Israel" that God Himself was the real guide and not Moses, Aaron or the Elders of Israel.

Everybody knew the credentials of the guide. However, the Children of Israel didn’t rely on their guide very much. Their patience was limited and they always found any excuse to complain. When you loose your ability to trust, you start experiencing tension, stress and fear. On the other hand, once you can trust someone else –your friends, your spouse, your children, God- you start experiencing a wonderful feeling.

Because most of us have lost our innocence, we need to re-gain the ability to trust, to rely, to abandon ourselves to God and to the people we love.

The Torah is telling us "For the cloud of Hashem would be on the Tabernacle by day, and fire would be on it at night, before the eyes of all of the Children of Israel throughout their journeys" (Exodus 40:38).

God’s presence was always with us, in the wilderness of Sinai and in the wilderness of our life, throughout all our journeys. When we were up and when we were down, God’s presence was with us. In Israel and in the Diaspora, in our joy and in our distress. As one of the great Hassidic Masters said: "Wherever a Jew is, he is never alone because God is with him".

As we pray in Psalm 27:

Help us Oh God to recover our lost innocence, to rely on You and on Your Holy Torah. Guide us with your good counsel and be with us as You were with our ancestors. May we be worthy to feel your presence and to hear Your voice in the midst of our search.

Shabbat Shalom!.