Guard our comings and our goings.
Meditation
Why a prayer for traveling? We find security in familiar settings, among the people and in the places we know well. Therefore, traveling outside our community can make us feel a little uneasy. We ask God to “lead us forward in peace” because life itself is an endless journey in which we never really reach our destination. As Jews, we are always journeying toward peace, for ourselves, for our people, and for all of humankind. (JCC Maccabi Games)
Ritual
As you prepare to depart on your journey, take a moment to reflect on the wonder of being able to move from one place to another, of being able to anticipate familiar and new experiences along the way. Now this part of the ritual is simple, but it must be done always: Buckle up!
Blessing
(After you have buckled up and are preparing to depart) Ye’hi ratzon, may it be Your will, Lord my God, to lead me on the way of peace, and guide and direct my steps in peace, so that You will bring me happily to my destination, safe and sound. Save me from danger on the way. Give me good grace, kindness, and favor both in Your eyes and in the eyes of all whom I may meet. Here this, my prayer, for You are a God who listens to the heart’s supplication and communion. Blessed are You, Lord our God, who hears prayer. (JCC Maccabi Games)
Teaching
What should one say on entering a city in the course of a journey? “May it be Your will, O Lord my God, to bring me into this city in peace.” When about to leave, one should say, “May it be Your will, O Lord my God, to bring me out of this city in peace.” When one is outside the city, one should say, “I give thanks to You, Lord my God, as You have brought me out of this city in peace, and as You brought me out in peace, so may You guide me in peace, support me in peace, and safeguard me from any danger along the way.” (Babylonian Talmud: Brakhot 60a)
— Rabbi Irwin Kula, editor, Vanessa L. Ochs, editor in The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices