As we were celebrating a beautiful Passover here in Sudbury, the historic mission of Artemis II mission was launched which has carried four crew members farther from Earth than any human has ever traveled, looping around the moon and now returning home, for a total distance of 252,756 miles.
While there have been creative images shared with me, of images of the Chabad of the dark side of the Moon, this journey is one of tremendous meaning and inspiration on so many levels.
When the Apollo 8 mission first orbited the moon in 1968, the Lubavitcher Rebbe reflected on several powerful lessons. One of the ideas which he shared was how rockets rely on massive fuel tanks, but once their job is done, those tanks are released. What once propelled them forward would otherwise hold them back and slow them down.
So too in our lives. We grow, we evolve, and sometimes what once fueled us can become a burden. Real growth means knowing what to hold onto and what to let go.
The path of Artemis II traces a graceful figure eight, using the moon’s pull and Earth’s gravity to guide it precisely home, no extra fuel required.
G-d charts our journey. He places within our lives the exact tools and strengths we need, at the exact moment we need them to max out the opportunities and challenges that lay before us. Our task is to trust, and learn to use them and to remember that even the sky is not the limit.
The greatest discoveries and opportunities await us in our journeys, as we remember the Divine power invested in each one of us individually, collectively as the Jewish people, and globally as humanity, we can remember that the best growth and opportunities for good for the world, are within reach, as we continue to push forward on our individual and collective journeys.
Wishing the Atremis Crew a safe landing!
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos
Yisroel