About On The Derekh

I have been blessed to be part of the Helsinki Jewish Community now for over a year. In my job, I have gotten to know the practice of Jews here in Finland deeper, but also have gotten to travel throughout Europe to youth leadership conferences, as a scholar-in-residence, and to visit colleagues. The project On the Derekh is an attempt at recording my thoughts, musings, and reflections so far and as I continue being here. It feels important to share how much I am seeing Judaism flourishing and thriving in the Diaspora, and in particular as a practioner of Halakhah, when often culturally being religiously observant is a barrier to travelling and living in more remote Jewish communities as opposed to a guiding path.

On the Derekh literally means "On the Path", alluding to my own travelling. But it is also a reference to being "off the derekh", a colloquial Orthodox Jewish phrase indicating someone has left religious life and deviated from Halakhah. Being "on the derekh" is a challenge to this notion of halakhic practice in its affirmative phrasing, suggesting that sometimes what looks like leaving religious life is actually just leaving religious life as we see it normatively practiced. Being "on the derekh" alludes to Halakhah (הלכה) being connected to Halikhah (הליכה), which means "walking" or "The Way". When Halakhah as a Jewish legal practice is talked about as this walking path, it becomes an orientation that people are guided towards throughout their lives and at different contextual moments. By being "On the Derekh" even when travelling and living in more "off the beaten derekh" places, this binary of "off" or "on" becomes problematized, since sometimes being in these places is what helps us move forward and trailblaze new pathways that still stem from the old ones. Halakhah is very much my guiding practice in life, and continues to be even when my life here in Helsinki does not always look like my life in the Modern Orthodox bubble of Toronto, New York or Jerusalem from earlier times in my life. I hope sharing this approach to Halakhah here makes its practice one that is more accessible (and maybe even enticing) even in its concreteness and guidelines.

I hope to use this space as an opportunity to record what I have seen and how it has shaped my own shifting halakhic worldview over the past year and beyond. I hope it can also be pragmatically useful, especially to those like me, who are newer to finding Godliness in all places and communities both experientially and in the details of halakhic lifestyle. This means sharing local anecdotes about navigating kashrut as I go, but also sharing locations of Jewish sites I found meaningful on my trips or local traditions and liturgical flourishes that stood out to me. Feel free to subscribe if you would like updates to appear in your inbox.

I hope that in my own use of self, I am providing the opportunity to welcome you into walking in my shoes with me in how I have seen the world through these experiences, and that you glean what you wish from this journey. Phenomenology as a philosophical practice tells us that this sharing of perception is the most authoritative way that conveying truths can ever be. It is an invitation to unique perspective, as opposed to claiming absolute knowledge and jurisdiction when it comes to navigating and learning about the Jewish communities I have visited. They themselves have far better knowledge of their own practices and ways of life than I ever could.

This project is funded by the Bronfman Alumni Venture Fund.