Your Presence Matters

When I was 20, I went on a Birthright Israel trip.

During the trip, I attended a class taught by a Kabbalistic rabbi. I don't remember his exact words, but I remember their impact.

He said something like:

"It is your presence that matters. Children will not remember every present their parents gave them. They will remember their parents' presence."

He shared an example about reading to a child.

Twenty-year-old me felt something settle in my body.

Now, at 46, that idea is still here.

What I remember most from that trip is not a historical site or a lesson about religion.

It's the understanding that presence matters.