Question:
 
It seems that my family are the modern day wandering Jews.  We have moved from city to city 5 times in the last 7 years. We like where we are now sort of, but we are always slightly on the edge (or not so slightly), making a living thank G-d, but unhappy with the schools, unhappy with the medical care, the weather, etc.  We have even gone back to the place we just came from, only to leave again when things don't work out.
 
We need to be in one place for our 13 yr old daughter, but I don't know which place it should be. What should we do?
 
Answer:
 
It is very clear where you need to be. You need to be where you are right now. G-d has put you there for a reason. Though you think you chose to be there, in fact you were directed there from above.
 
One of the names of G-d in Hebrew is Hamakom, which literally means The Place. There is a divine hand that leads us to the place we are in. So when the Talmud says, "Do not argue with Hamakom," it doesn't only mean you shouldn't have gripes with G-d. It means you need to make peace with the place G-d has put you. You are there because you couldn't be anywhere else.
 
You may never be completely happy with any place you live. But you will be able to settle, as soon as you decide that this is it, this is home, this is where G-d wants us to be and we are going nowhere. The very thought that you can always move, makes it likely that you will always move. But the acceptance that you are in the right place will itself help you see that you belong there.
 
Now of course, sometimes we do need to move. But only with a very clear message from heaven that it's time to go. Until then, put all your energy into making your little corner of the world a place where you and your family feel at home. Find out why you are needed there. And put your trust in Hamakom.

~ Rabbi Aron Moss

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