In last week's Torah portion, we learned that Jacob, on the eve of encountering his estranged brother Esau, wrestled with an ish, literally translated as a "man." Our tradition explains that this ish was not a mere man, but rather an angel of God, a spirit of Jacob's brother Esau, or Jacob's own conscience. At the end of this wrestling, the ish wrenches Jacob's hip and blesses him with a new name, Israel.
But, in this week's Torah portion, surprisingly, Jacob is NOT referred to by his new name, Israel. Instead, the Torah continues to refer to our troubled patriarch as Jacob. If Jacob's name change to Israel was supposed to indicate a change in character, why didn't it stick? The answer, I believe, lies in Jacob's journey.
In this week's Torah portion, Jacob follows up his wrestling match and reunion by returning home to his father's land. While the word "home" literally refers to a physical space, I believe the word "home" also speaks of an emotional/spiritual place as well. "Home" is the place of easy actions, old habits, and safe places. When we return "home," we return to old patterns.
You see, our Torah is painting us a very real picture here. Jacob's spiritual wrestling is NOT followed by radical transformation ("poof, you're Israel and you are now perfect"), but by regression and resistance to change ("poof, you may be called Israel, but your 'home' is still Jacob"). Israel followed up his dramatic performance by returning "home" to the Jacob he had always been, leaving him with the full potential to return to "Israel" once again.
I take comfort in knowing that Torah does not expect radical transformation or quick dramatic change. Torah is a caring counselor, recognizing our human tendencies, and a loving parent, ever-embracing our potential to leave "home" and find our "promised land."
May your Shabbat be filled with reflection and compassion.
November 23, 2007
November 16, 2007
Parashat Va-Yetzei 5768
At the beginning of this week's parashah, this week's Torah Portion, Va-Yetzei, our patriarch, Jacob, leaves Beer Sheva and sets out for Haran. Along his journey, Jacob comes upon "the certain place" and stops for the night. He takes a stone from the ground and puts it beneath his head. He falls asleep. As he sleeps, Jacob dreams of angels. The angels he sees are ascending and descending a ladder that leads up to the sky.
In the dream, God promises Jacob many descendents and says to Jacob, "Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land" (Genesis 28:14).
Jacob awakens from his dream and declares: "Why, Adonai is in this place, and I, I did not know it!" (Genesis 28:16).
What is remarkable about this story is its ordinariness. Jacob's actions are wholly mundane. He stops for the night. He prepares for bed. He sleeps. And yet, in a moment of deep consciousness, Jacob realizes that God is in "the certain place" with him.
I notice that the Torah gives no name to "the certain place" when Jacob arrives there (it is only later we learn that Jacob changes its name from Luz to "Beit El," "the House of God"). I wonder if "the place," in a physical sense, matters at all. If Jacob would have traveled on another mile or stopped a few minutes earlier, would God not have appeared to him? No, I believe the physical space matters little. It is Jacob's "place" that matters. It is Jacob who, finally, after fleeing his parents' home and confronting himself, becomes ready to notice God. "The place" is not the land on which Jacob lies, but the emotional/spiritual space at which Jacob arrives.
We are taught that God is present in every place. But, we often fail to notice the Presence. On this Shabbat, let us attempt to open ourselves to the Divine that is around us and in us. Let us be like Jacob who dreams of angels and who has insights of holiness.
In the dream, God promises Jacob many descendents and says to Jacob, "Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land" (Genesis 28:14).
Jacob awakens from his dream and declares: "Why, Adonai is in this place, and I, I did not know it!" (Genesis 28:16).
What is remarkable about this story is its ordinariness. Jacob's actions are wholly mundane. He stops for the night. He prepares for bed. He sleeps. And yet, in a moment of deep consciousness, Jacob realizes that God is in "the certain place" with him.
I notice that the Torah gives no name to "the certain place" when Jacob arrives there (it is only later we learn that Jacob changes its name from Luz to "Beit El," "the House of God"). I wonder if "the place," in a physical sense, matters at all. If Jacob would have traveled on another mile or stopped a few minutes earlier, would God not have appeared to him? No, I believe the physical space matters little. It is Jacob's "place" that matters. It is Jacob who, finally, after fleeing his parents' home and confronting himself, becomes ready to notice God. "The place" is not the land on which Jacob lies, but the emotional/spiritual space at which Jacob arrives.
We are taught that God is present in every place. But, we often fail to notice the Presence. On this Shabbat, let us attempt to open ourselves to the Divine that is around us and in us. Let us be like Jacob who dreams of angels and who has insights of holiness.
November 9, 2007
Parashat Toldot
This week's parashah, this week's Torah Portion, is Toldot. This parashah includes one of God's most profound commandments. God appears to Isaac and says: "Do not go down to Egypt; continue to dwell in the land that I tell you of, sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will give you blessing" (Genesis 25:2-3). Essentially, God tells Isaac: Don't move, stay put, and I will be with you.
What a surprising statement from the Divine! God is the master of telling people to move. God tells Isaac's father Abraham: "Go forth from your land, from your kindred, from our father's house, to the land that I will show you" (Genesis 12:2). And God tells Isaac's son Jacob: "Return to the land of your fathers, to your kindred! I will be with you."
But, to Isaac, God simply says "stay where you are."
Isaac is the biblical character best known for what is done to him. Isaac's father Abraham takes him onto a mountain to sacrifice him. Isaac's son Jacob tricks Isaac into giving him his older brother's birthright. So, what can we learn from Isaac, the classic middle-man, who God orders to stay put?
We learn that sometimes the best course of action is not to move. That there is a value in just "hanging out." That life does not always have to be so busy and so forward focused. Sometimes life is just about the here, the now, and the present.
On this Shabbat, may you and your family find moments of rest. May you cherish staying put and delight in not-moving.
What a surprising statement from the Divine! God is the master of telling people to move. God tells Isaac's father Abraham: "Go forth from your land, from your kindred, from our father's house, to the land that I will show you" (Genesis 12:2). And God tells Isaac's son Jacob: "Return to the land of your fathers, to your kindred! I will be with you."
But, to Isaac, God simply says "stay where you are."
Isaac is the biblical character best known for what is done to him. Isaac's father Abraham takes him onto a mountain to sacrifice him. Isaac's son Jacob tricks Isaac into giving him his older brother's birthright. So, what can we learn from Isaac, the classic middle-man, who God orders to stay put?
We learn that sometimes the best course of action is not to move. That there is a value in just "hanging out." That life does not always have to be so busy and so forward focused. Sometimes life is just about the here, the now, and the present.
On this Shabbat, may you and your family find moments of rest. May you cherish staying put and delight in not-moving.
November 2, 2007
Parashat Chayei Sarah 5768
This week's parashah, this week's Torah Portion, Chayei Sarah, meaning "Sarah's lifetime," begins not with tales of our matriarch Sarah's life, but with an account of her death. In the first verses of this parashah, we read how Abraham, her husband, tends carefully to the details of her burial.
Soon after Sarah's burial, Abraham begins attending to matters in his son Isaac's life, in particular, he sets out to find Isaac a suitable wife. After a series of trials, Isaac is matched with Rebekah. This first part of the parashah is a lesson in compassion and acting for the welfare of one's family.
A word on Rebekah: Rebekah is one of my favorite biblical characters and it is because of her that I look forward to Chayei Sarah each year. Rebekah is a woman of action. She takes an active role in deciding her own destiny and she is a model for the power that biblical women held and exercised in their lives.
I urge you to open up your Torah Commentary this Shabbat and read Chayei Sarah, Genesis 23:1−25:18. Delight in Rebekah's gumption, mourn with Abraham, grow with Isaac.
One of the Torah's purposes is to mirror our own emotions and experiences. May you find yourself in it always.
Soon after Sarah's burial, Abraham begins attending to matters in his son Isaac's life, in particular, he sets out to find Isaac a suitable wife. After a series of trials, Isaac is matched with Rebekah. This first part of the parashah is a lesson in compassion and acting for the welfare of one's family.
A word on Rebekah: Rebekah is one of my favorite biblical characters and it is because of her that I look forward to Chayei Sarah each year. Rebekah is a woman of action. She takes an active role in deciding her own destiny and she is a model for the power that biblical women held and exercised in their lives.
I urge you to open up your Torah Commentary this Shabbat and read Chayei Sarah, Genesis 23:1−25:18. Delight in Rebekah's gumption, mourn with Abraham, grow with Isaac.
One of the Torah's purposes is to mirror our own emotions and experiences. May you find yourself in it always.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
