At times we wander aimlessly, but most often we walk with purpose. Leaving some place, heading to another. Or to boost our heart rate or lower our stress. To be by ourselves or to meet someone else.
The Torah this week opens with a walk of purpose -- of approach and encounter. It occurs when Judah approaches the viceroy of Egypt who Judah does not recognize as his brother Joseph (yes, the same Joseph that Judah and their other brothers sold into slavery decades earlier). Their encounter with each other is dramatic and powerful. It is as if they were drawn inevitably toward reconciliation with each other by invisible threads of history, purpose, and family.
Those threads bring to mind author Anne Lamott's favorite story about the seemingly invisible threads that guide our lives. She heard the story on the radio about university research with adults who could not change direction, action, or focus. These subjects of the study had been unable to walk alone.
