Yam L'Yam

This past week, I participated in yam l’yam, a five-day hike from the Kineret to the Mediterranean Sea. From hiking, to biking, to cooking our own food, I loved and appreciated every minute of it.

This past summer, I heard a rabbi speak about how Judaism teaches that as humans, we should feel both powerful and weak. While the entire human race began from just one human, at the same time, humans are just “dust and ashes”.  I had trouble grasping this contrast. How could humans have both so much potential and none at all? I quickly dismissed the concept.

Yam l’yam was my first experience of simultaneously feeling powerful and weak. When I saw the infinite number of clear stars in the sky, I felt as small as ever. I was reminded of the enormity of the universe, and how nothing I do will ever make a difference in the whole of it. But then I looked at my friends around me, and I realized the great potential of humans. All of them shaped my EIE experience, and many of their ideas helped form my own perspective on life.

 As humans, we may not have the power to influence the vast, star-filled universe. That’s how we are weak. However, humans do hold the power to influence individual “universes”; the humans on EIE certainly influenced mine.