In this week’s double Torah portion, B’har–B’chukotai, we are given a vision not of exactness, but of movement, along with the uncertainty that it brings. “If you walk in My ways…” begins the second parashah, before promising a series of blessings. The medieval sage Rashi teaches that to “walk” in God’s ways is not to arrive at certainty or precision, but to toil: to engage, to wrestle, and to grow through the journey itself. The Torah thus imagines a life shaped over time – step by step, choice by choice – guided by values, sustained by community, and open to discovery along the way. Should we comply, God promises: “I will walk among you.”
This is the sacred threshold our high school graduates – our confirmands – now approach.
The transition from youth to adulthood is not marked by perfection, but by courageous experimentation and the willingness to keep walking even when the path ahead is unclear. This is when inherited values begin to be tested, claimed, and ultimately lived. The questions become more complex. The world feels larger, and at times, more fragile. And yet, it is precisely here that the Torah’s promises appear apt: we are not expected to have it all figured out. Rather, we are asked to walk—with conviction in our values, but also with open-mindedness to new perspectives, toward growth.
Our confirmands have spent years learning, questioning, building relationships, and discovering what it means to live a Jewish life. Now, they carry those teachings forward into a wider world. They will encounter new ideas, new challenges, and new opportunities to shape who they are becoming.
What they must know before they depart is that they do not walk alone.
Just as God promises to walk among us, so too, must we promise to walk beside them. Our presence matters. Our support matters. Our community matters.
And so, I hope you will join us in person for Confirmation Shabbat this Friday, May 8 at 6:15pm in the Sanctuary, not just to celebrate our confirmands’ achievement, but to surround them with the quiet, powerful message that this community will always be beside them, wherever their path may lead.
– Rabbi Josh Knobel