I grew up in Pennsylvania, on the lower edge of the Pocono Mountains, very near the Appalachian trail. I realized, just a few years ago, that I had never hiked a foot of the trail, even though it was practically at my back door. So I set out for an afternoon of hiking on the famous Appalachian trail.

I determined that I would hike up the mountain a few miles. Armed with a water bottle, bug spray, sturdy shoes, and of course, a hat and sunscreen, I set out on my way.

About half way into my journey, the questions began: Why was I doing this? Wiping sweat out of my eyes, I was worried about tripping over a root, or a tree, or a rock. I didn't think about the end of my journey—I was stuck right in the middle, bug bites and all.

During the journey, I lost sight of the valley below, and I had no vision of what lay ahead. My destination eluded me. I felt overwhelmed.

I lost my clarity on the Appalachian trail. I forgot, in my preoccupation with my immediate surroundings, to think about my goal. This proves a powerful metaphor for our busy lives today.

Our lives are like a climb up a mountain-we start our eager, excited, filled with goals and aspirations. Somewhere on the journey, however, it seems that two things happen to us:

1. We lose sight of our ultimate goals when faced with the roots and trees and rocks in our path. They become all-consuming. We lose clarity in our purpose.

2. Climbing—like our lives—is hard work. We get tired. It's enough to simply put one foot in front of the other, to make it from one step, to the next. It's enough to make it from carpool to work to after school activities or meetings to dinner, to chores, to bed.

In other words, we can't see the forest for the trees. Yet, only with clarity will we experience the fullness of our potential, and be able to embrace the blessings that fill our lives. Gaining clarity allows us to feel connected—it reminds us to look behind us, and to appreciate our accomplishments. Clarity enables us to look ahead and be invigorated by its' potential.

When I finally reached the summit of the Appalachian trail—the sweat, aches, pains, bug bites and sunburn exited my consciousness. Below me, lay the valley in which I had grown up, and as I gazed upward, my eyes enveloped the beautiful sky and lovely countryside. Clarity of purpose, pride in my accomplishment, and clear vision were once again mine. From this vantage point, I could ponder the entire forest.

Gaining clarity is important and beneficial. However— actually climbing a mountain to find that clarity presents serious obstacles, especially in South West Texas! There are other ways, however, to gain clarity on our journeys A wonderful little book entitled Jacob's Ladder by Noah Ben Shea, teaches this lesson, about a woman who had come to be taught by the wise baker, Jacob. Entering the story, Samuel, a worker in the bakery, has just introduced the woman to Jacob. Jacob called to her, " at last, my teacher has come to see me." She was perplexed, as she had sought out Jacob for instruction, not the other way around.

Jacob looked at the piece of tapestry the woman had been working on, still in her hands.

" There was a great teacher," said Jacob, "who told us that life was like a tapestry. I wondered about his for a long time," said Jacob. "And then, watching you over the last days, I discovered that one works on a tapestry from the back. That you work on it without seeing the larger pattern. That all you see are the colored stitches running at odds and angles to each other. That, indeed, is like life: One day is woven into the next. But we cannot see the implication of every stitch in time. And so we work blind. Courage is the required pattern in life. Courage and faith."

The woman looked at Jacob as if she had left the window of her life open a few inches, and he, somehow, has seen the bare, illuminated sadness of her rooms.

" I feel so overwhelmed," she said, barely speaking. " There never seems to be enough, time just to step back and take a loot at our lives."

"But that's why God has created a time-out," said Jacob.

"A time-out?" she asked.

"Yes," said Jacob. "It is the first law of time. The Sabbath. The Sabbath is spiritually sanctified time-out. The Sabbat affords us a perspective, even on time. It is an opportunity to see that our work of life is also a work of art. One day in seven we are to step back and turn our tapestry over."

"And what will we see then?" asked the woman.

"We will see," said Jacob, " that life has two sides, that there are grand patterns in small stitches. Strangely enough, by stepping back from life, we sometimes get a closer view."

For us, the Shabbat can offer the clarity found at a top of a mountain, the ability to step back and admire the tapestry of our lives.

Shabbat offers us a time out to step back and find clarity. Sometimes, the issues that arise in our lives need immediate attention. What tool does Judaism have to help us strive for clarity, even in the middle of the week? The Torah, and contemplation of it, offers a lens through which we can learn about ourselves and our actions. The timeless lessons learned from patriarchs and matriarchs, from the Israelites journeys up and down mountains, and from the values found throughout the books of our sacred scripture serve as a counterpoint to who we are, and who we want to become. From Abraham, we can learn about journeys and courage. From Dinah, about strength through silence. From Rebecca, about love. From the Israelites, we learn about perseverance through difficult transitions. These lessons, as we know, are timeless. Study of them and application to our lives will bring added clarity to our overcrowded lives. From them, we can look up from the rocks and roots and trees that take over our conscience, and see the valley below, and the summit ahead.

Through sacred time, and enlightening study, Judaism offers ways to aspire towards clarity. Central to Judaism, also, is prayer. Prayer is experienced by many of us by the words on the page, or the words offered by a service leader on the bimah. Prayer is that, and more. Prayer voices the words, the feelings, the yearnings of our heart. We pray for peace, for health, for safety: we can also pray for clarity.

Samuel H. Dresner eloquently offers this insight into prayer's ability to bring clarity: " The mind of one at prayer meets the imperishable ideals of faith: peace and righteousness, mercy and holiness, justice and humility, love for the Torah, love for God and love for our fellow humans. In the midst of wordly living, when our thoughts are scattered and our wills our weak, [prayer] keeps before our eyes what may so easily be forgotten. . . Prayers are signposts along the way, visible even in the fog, pointing the right direction and reminding us what to remember."

Judaism's resources are innumerable. Through Shabbat, study, and prayer, we can open our eyes to clearer vision of our lives, and our actions. We can reach the top of the mountain, able to gaze lucidly at the world around us.

In the middle of the journey, as we are climbing the mountain, we were filled with the sweat of our efforts. We forget to look up; we are encumbered by all that goes on around us. May the path of Shabbat, Torah and prayer, enable us to reach a vista where we can be renewed with clarity of vision and purpose.

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