I want to talk about the importance of family travel. Taking a trip with family is far more than just a vacation. Traveling with family builds connection, solidifies values, and creates meaningful memories. I first learned this lesson from Mitzi Perdue, author of How to Make Your Family Business Last. Attending Perdue’s lecture about her book, I expected very practical takeaways about corporate governance, legal documents, and tips for bylaws. Shockingly, Perdue revealed the number one tip for making your family business last: “Family Travel.”
Perdue explained the benefits of families getting away together, away from the day-to-day routine. Her side of the family (founder of Sheraton Hotels) does annual family trips, and her husband’s side (Perdue Farms poultry) does a trip every 18 months. Perdue’s ancestors were forward thinking and even set aside inheritance in a trust to endow the cost of this travel. I also advocate for a trust like that, which I call a FAST Trust (Family Advancement Sustainability Trust). Funds in the FAST Trust are used to pay for family enrichment, and are not available for HEMS (health, education, support, and maintenance) distributions to beneficiaries. I often propose to dedicate a life insurance policy as the source of funds for a FAST, so the rest of the inheritance can stay intact in traditional HEMS trusts.
In today’s post, I want take family travel and kick it up a notch. Plan a “roots” trip to visit your family’s homeland. Not only will you get all the normal benefits of being together, but the family can also learn about its heritage. Research shows that kids who know more about their ancestors and their stories (especially stories of resilience) grow up with a stronger self-esteem. They are also more equipped to handle adversity, knowing they come from strong ancestors who overcame obstacles. There’s no better way to discover your past than to go see it firsthand.
Raising a Jewish kid in the secular world (far from our biblical homeland), parents have to be intentional to connect their next gens with Judaism. To improve the odds, its often said there are three priorities: have a Bar (or Bat) Mitzvah, attend a Jewish summer camp, and make a trip to Israel. My first trip to Israel occurred in the summer after my second year of college. Israel was magical—the feeling of connection to my ancestors happened the instant I set foot on holy ground in the Holy Land. You literally feel it pulsing up through your body. There were many highlights, but number one was praying in Jerusalem at the Kotel, the “Western Wall” that surrounded the Holy Temple and still stands. Israel had only reclaimed possession of this holy site a few years before my trip, the result of winning the Six Day War in 1968. It was so significant that we no longer called it the “Wailing Wall,” as at last, we could celebrate there joyfully. It’s still the holiest site in the world for Jews.
Our daughter Lizzy Savetsky’s first trip to Israel came in the summer before her first year of college, courtesy of the Birthright program that provides Jewish kids a free first trip to Israel. Lizzy spoke of it recently at the Hadassah National Conference: “For the first time in my life, I felt that I was just… home. Like I was surrounded by family. Ten days in Israel, and I felt more whole than I ever had in 18 years. I knew Israel was important to my Jewish identity, to our Jewish survival, but I did not expect to feel so deeply connected to a place I had never been. Setting foot on the ground there changed me at my core. Suddenly I understood that there was no separating the Jewish people from the land of Israel—that the people, the place, and the mission are all one. And as I stood at the Kotel for the first time and touched the ancient stones, I thought about my ancestors and everything that they had to fight through for being Jewish and how despite it all, they passed down our legacy from generation to generation so that I could have the privilege of standing there, knowing in my heart what my purpose was in this world as a Jewish woman.”
Lizzy’s words just proved my point better than any I could write. A “roots” journey to your ancestral homeland connects you with the past and equips you to build on that legacy for future generations. I heartily recommend it.
Marvin E. Blum
A young Marvin Blum on his first trip to Israel in 1974, discovering his roots in the homeland of his ancestors.
