Finding Jewish Connection: Lessons from Parashat Vayetze for Modern Wanderers

In Parashat Vayetze, Jacob has dreams that bring him closer to God, and he finds himself on the receiving end of trickery. He falls in love with his cousin Rachel (and her sheep!) but is deceived into marrying her sister, Leah. To marry Rachel, Jacob works another seven years for his uncle Laban. The portion also unfolds a saga of fertility struggles, concubines, and sibling dynamics, culminating in Jacob’s twelve sons (and one daughter) who will become the twelve tribes of Israel.

In their book It Takes Two to Torah, Rabbi Dov Linzer and journalist Abigail Pogrebin discuss the great emphasis placed on Rachel and Leah's abilities to have children in this chapter. Pogrebin reflects that “all our Jewish structures and simchas [joyous events] are heavily geared toward family and the tumult of many children, cousins, aunts, and uncles. If you’re excluded from that, you are, in a way, cut out of Jewish life.”

This insight struck a chord with me because Jewish culture, for me, has felt difficult to access while far away from my family. As a long-time traveler with a non-Jewish partner from another country, I’ve spent six years finding ways to keep traditions alive—sometimes carving new ones out on my own. 

I sometimes feel anxiety about the future. What will my connection to Jewish traditions look like as time passes? If I don’t have kids, who will light the menorah with me or lead the Passover seder decades from now? If I do have kids, how do I ensure that they feel connected to their Jewish identity while leading a global, possibly nomadic life? The experiences that shaped me—family holiday celebrations and Hebrew school—feel harder to replicate with the lifestyle I’ve chosen.

Places like Chabad and Jewish history trails have provided me with meaningful ways to stay tethered to Judaism while traveling, but the truth is, Chabad’s approach doesn’t fully resonate with my identity or values as a Jew. 

This all ties back to one of the core reasons I created L’Chaim. Jewish culture, as it has for thousands of years, continues to evolve—and it should. For those of us leading nontraditional or global lives, the idea of belonging to a local synagogue or tight-knit Jewish community isn’t always realistic.

So what do we shift to? How do we build meaningful connections and sustain Jewish identity when our lives follow paths our ancestors couldn’t have envisioned?

L’Chaim is my answer to that question. It offers personal growth as another entry point to Judaism. It’s a space for those of us who are wandering—metaphorically or literally—and looking to embrace the richness of Jewish culture and identity. It’s for anyone who wants to celebrate Jewish culture and bask in Jewish community but has struggled to access it. 

Jacob is on a journey at this point in the Torah, both physically wandering and spiritually transforming—he dreams, works hard, builds connections, and ultimately shapes quite the legacy. Like Jacob, we’re seeking more meaning and connection, trying to make sense of where we’ve been and where we’re headed.

If you’ve ever felt this tension between tradition and modern life, I invite you to join the journey and explore what it means to belong.