When I turned seventy, I received the guidance to do a Praise-Walk in a beautiful place, to invite companions, and to treat myself to an experience that would be both challenging and luxurious.
As I prepared for this journey, friends asked me, “What’s a Praise-Walk?” I said that I didn’t know for sure, but I would find out.
The beautiful place that I chose was the Amalfi Coast of Italy. In June, 2024 there were eight of us, all willing, all curious, all mostly open to an adventure that would be framed and guided by a clear intention.
Three Themes
There were three themes that emerged: Praise, Revelation, and Blessing.
Praise
There was an outer adventure — hiking, enjoying the magnificent views, eating amazing meals, connecting with each other and with the people we met along the way. And then there was the inner adventure: Could we let our practice of praise lift us up above expectation, entitlement, complaint, preferences, fatigue, or mishaps along the way? We chanted HalleluYah each day, opening to the power and mystery of praise.
Revelation
It just so happened that our journey coincided with the holy day of Shavuot, so it seemed fitting that this whole trip would be an encounter with the mystery of Sinai… An opportunity to open to the revelation of this very moment. With each step our intention was to receive Torah and to make a commitment to live in the light of the wisdom that would be revealed. What was revealed to me was the possibility of meeting every challenge in my life with JOY — a deep inner joy that was my true nature and had always been locked inside me.
Blessing
It just so happened that our journey coincided with the week of Parshat Naso, which contains the ancient and powerful Priestly Blessing*:
And so, I thought, “That’s where we’re going. Our journey is taking us to the possibility of BEING a blessing.”
In Genesis 12, God says to Abram (and to us) “Go away from your land, from your birthplace, from your parent’s house, to the land that I will show you … (leave everything you know). I will bless you and make you great. You shall become a blessing…. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
Abram’s journey was the quintessential journey and the goal of that journey was to become a blessing. And so, we asked the question, “What does it mean to be a blessing?”
At our Torah service on Shabbat, I asked everyone to tell us a story about someone in their life who was a blessing for them. We sat on the terrace of our beautiful hotel overlooking the village of San Lazzaro di Agerola, the mountains dotted with villas, and the sea beyond. And each of us called in the souls who had blessed us with their very being. And I asked, “Could we be inspired by their example? Could this journey of Praise and Revelation inspire each of us to become a blessing?”
The Praise-Walk Journey
On the journey, I began to feel an inner unfolding: from Praise, through Revelation to becoming a Blessing. By making each step my praise, staying positive no matter what; by opening to the truth of each moment and letting go of what I know so that I might encounter the Mystery anew… the journey was leading me to the possibility that just by authentically BEING myself, that TRUE SELF could overflow and be a blessing for others.
*Priestly Blessing in English
May God bless you and protect you!
May God deal kindly and graciously with you!
May God bestow [divine] favor upon you and grant you peace!
© 2024 Rabbi Shefa Gold. All rights reserved. Photo credits: Shefa Gold