This week’s Torah portion got me thinking about what it is that we idolize today and why. In my view, the story of the Golden Calf is about the need for leadership and purpose in our lives. When Moses ascends the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments and doesn’t return at the time he was expected, the people feel abandoned and lost.

Moses was their physical leader, the middle-man between the people and God. He was the voice and presence that led them out of the land of Egypt. He gave them hope, encouragement and support but now they felt alone and directionless.

The world we live in today is in a constant state of flux and uncertainty. We yearn for order, for a clear path to follow that will lead us to our desired destination. However, too often we forget that life is not merely about arriving at the destination, but to fully realize and experience each and every step of our journey along the way. We start off focused and clear on the priorities of our life—our direction, and then as things typically happen we get sidetracked and lose our way.

It’s easy to get swept up in the belief that money, fame, big houses, fancy cars and good looks will make us successful and bring us fulfillment and happiness. Just like the Hebrews in the desert over 3000 years ago, the need for something real, tangible and visible is what makes us feel we aren’t powerless. Today’s youth has privileges generations before them did not experience. They brag of the newest and most expensive accoutrements like ipods, iphones, wii and xboxes. When they are old enough to drive, they get a car. We indulge them and the result is they begin to idolize the wrong things. I would have thought that after all this time we would have learned something from this story.

The people in this ancient story were looking for inspiring religious leadership, a vision for their future and a strategy for executing their plan. In its’ absence they created a faulty replacement. Then it was called the “Golden Calf”; today it’s all the relatively unimportant materialistic things that we thought would be the key to everlasting contentment but only defines idolatry. Isn’t this the type of thinking and behavior that has resulted in believing it’s more important to have things then to do things?

As a mother of five children, a Jew, a member of my community I feel I have a responsibility for making sure that the temptation of the golden calf is diminished. Believe me, I’ve been as guilty as the next person for catering to my children’s desires. I need to set an example for my own children and the young adults I work with in my role as Director of Admissions for the Alexander Muss High School in Israel. I believe that it is our destiny, as it is written by ancient scribes, that we continue to serve as a light unto the nations. That we (the collective we) set an example of taking on the challenges to make this world a better place for all. That we do things! Achieving this ambitious mission must first begin at home.

I’m always learning from my children. They are thoughtful and wise. Two of my sons who have spent time in Israel over the past couple of years came back home with an enlightened perspective. Both described being in Israel as a place they most felt “at home”. After learning about the history of Israel; its people, the land, the culture they had a new consciousness of what is truly important and “what really counts” during the short number of days we have to live and breathe. There was a new spirituality about them, a sense of belonging, a connectedness that encompassed a deeper understanding of their past that will now enable them to navigate a straightforward path for their future.

These are difficult times we are facing and if there’s a “silver lining” in all this, I’d say it’s made me reflect on “what I can do rather than what I can have”. This is a time when we all must examine the most basic human values and ensure we formulate a positive vision of and for the future. This is NOT the time to be apathetic, to allow false measures of self-fulfillment—that golden calf that might still exist within us to thrive.

I have a passion to send our youth to Israel. These individuals are our future. They are the next generation of Jews who will spread that light with a deep commitment to make this world a better place for all humankind. It’s paramount that they understand what Israel means to them now and for all tomorrows. As a parent assessing and prioritizing what I can and cannot afford I’ve come to the conclusion this is one thing that is not negotiable! I am sending a message, loud and strong, that if we fail to provide the means to send our children to the place they can most feel “at home”, where they have the opportunity to discover their past and explore the present so they may embrace and shape their future than we have not extinguished the allure of the golden calf.