This week’s Torah portion is Vayetze, which means, and he went. Jacob, who had tricked his Father and stolen Esau’s blessing is travelling to Haran, sent away by his parents to avoid Esau’s rage and to find a wife with his Uncle Laban. He dreams of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. God promises to be with him and return him to the land of Canaan, informing him that it will be given it to him and his descendants. He arrives at Haran, sees Rachel, and fall in love with her immediately. He is welcomed with open arms by her Father, Laban, who says to him, “Nevertheless, you are my bone and flesh.” (Gen. 29:14)
It seems like a puzzling statement, as if Laban is not happy to see him, until we consider the last visit of Jacob’s family to Haran. When Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac, he sent camels, servants, gold jewelry, and presents for Laban’s family and the new bride. Jacob arrives with only his own two feet; and Laban puts him right to work. Jacob asks to marry Rachel and agrees to work for seven years as the bride price, which was customary in those days. This turn of events is very interesting if we consider Jacob’s Father Isaac’s words to him in the previous portion.
Isaac has just been tricked by Jacob and his own wife, Rebecca, into giving the blessing of the firstborn to Jacob, when it was intended for Isaac. Isaac seems to forgive Jacob, sending him off with a blessing, instructing him to go to Laban and find a wife there. Isaac says, “May El Shaddai bless you, make you fruitful, and make you numerous, and may you be a congregation of peoples. May God grant you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, that you may possess the land of your sojourns which God gave to Abraham. (Gen. 28:3-4) Apparently, Isaac has forgiven Jacob, but the old man has yet some tricks up his sleeve.
He seemingly goes with the flow, accepting what has been done to him with grace and no bitterness, not bearing a grudge and not taking revenge, which is a teaching for us. Allowing and accepting what is happening is great wisdom. And in addition, Isaac possesses even a deeper wisdom, sending Jacob off to learn the hard lessons of real life, similarly to what God did for Cain, after Cain killed Abel; sending him off to learn and grow. Isaac, who had his very difficult and life changing experience when Abraham nearly sacrificed him, in which he came face to face with God’s Presence, is preparing his son without anger, hatred, or resentment added. And this is where another teaching lies. We are all in Life University, God’s sacred University, undergoing trials and triumphs to teach us and to elevate us. We have some elective courses in this University, but also, some difficult courses are required. Our task is to allow and accept what happens, doing our best to find a way to learn and elevate ourselves as we study, as we live life.
Many people underestimate Isaac. Here, he knows just what Jacob needs in life. He sees Jacob for who he is: someone who is not above lying and scheming, yet he loves him and wants the very best for him. Acceptance plus love are two powerful allies. The first makes our lives so much less stressful. It is a product of faith and trust. The second, love, enriches us and all life immeasurably. May these allies: acceptance and love, guide us, that we, like Isaac, may attain what Moses called, a heart of wisdom.
Showing posts with label Vayetze. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vayetze. Show all posts
Friday, February 20, 2015
Friday, February 1, 2013
Two Models of Co-existence
This week we read the torah portion Vayetze, and he went. Jacob has just stolen the blessing from his brother, Esau. He leaves, being sent away by his mother, to find a wife among her family in Mesopotamia. He arrives, falls in love with the younger daughter, Rachel, but the trickster is himself tricked into marrying the older daughter, Leah, fist, and only after a week with Leah, can he also marry Rachel. He serves their father Laban seven years for each daughter, has twelve children with his wives and their two handmaids, and then serves six more years to build up his own wealth. As Jacob becomes richer his relationship with Laban and Laban’s sons deteriorates and he runs away from a conflict for the second time, departing to return to his native land. Laban pursues him and they make a pact not to come after or be at war with each other.
In light of all the destruction that has happened in Gaza and Israel we have to ask, what happens when you can’t run away? What has to happen when the world becomes so small that you have to stay were you are and you can’t leave your problems behind? This Torah portion actually gives us some guidance. First, let’s admit that wrongs were committed on both sides: neither Jacob nor Laban are totally innocent parties. They make a lasting peace, but are not forced to work out their differences. It’s important to remember that they are family, part of each other.
There is another great wrong in this portion: that which was done to Leah and Rachel. Neither of them can leave either. They are tied to the same man, or symbolically, can represent two peoples attached to the same land. Repeatedly we see the sisters’ unhappiness as each tries to capture the larger share of their husband’s love. Only once in the portion do their jealousies overflow onto the page and flare at each other, when Leah says, “was your taking my husband insignificant, and to take even my son’s mandrakes?” The sisters work it out with a compromise. Rachel offers that Jacob will sleep with Leah that night. This has to be the modern model for conflict resolution. Yes, great injustices have been done to both the Israeli’s and the Palestinians – by outside forces and by the players themselves. Neither people is leaving. Neither people can leave. On a spiritual level the reality is that we are brothers and we are sisters. The aggressive territorial models of the past won’t work in our much smaller and more populated world.
Were Leah and Rachel happy being married to the same man? We know they weren’t But they didn’t try to kill each other. They knew they were sisters, forced to live together. It wasn’t just; it wasn’t pleasant; it wasn’t easy; but they made it work, and they were blessed by having many children who all got along well together. The old aggressive, territorial model won’t work anymore. A country has the obligation of defending itself, its rights, and of protecting its citizens, but no country has the right to destroy another country. It is only when we realize that there is only one soul, one life, and one earth to share, that we will be able to live harmoniously. May that time come soon, and in the meantime, may be allow each other to live, if not happily, at least to coexist peacefully.
In light of all the destruction that has happened in Gaza and Israel we have to ask, what happens when you can’t run away? What has to happen when the world becomes so small that you have to stay were you are and you can’t leave your problems behind? This Torah portion actually gives us some guidance. First, let’s admit that wrongs were committed on both sides: neither Jacob nor Laban are totally innocent parties. They make a lasting peace, but are not forced to work out their differences. It’s important to remember that they are family, part of each other.
There is another great wrong in this portion: that which was done to Leah and Rachel. Neither of them can leave either. They are tied to the same man, or symbolically, can represent two peoples attached to the same land. Repeatedly we see the sisters’ unhappiness as each tries to capture the larger share of their husband’s love. Only once in the portion do their jealousies overflow onto the page and flare at each other, when Leah says, “was your taking my husband insignificant, and to take even my son’s mandrakes?” The sisters work it out with a compromise. Rachel offers that Jacob will sleep with Leah that night. This has to be the modern model for conflict resolution. Yes, great injustices have been done to both the Israeli’s and the Palestinians – by outside forces and by the players themselves. Neither people is leaving. Neither people can leave. On a spiritual level the reality is that we are brothers and we are sisters. The aggressive territorial models of the past won’t work in our much smaller and more populated world.
Were Leah and Rachel happy being married to the same man? We know they weren’t But they didn’t try to kill each other. They knew they were sisters, forced to live together. It wasn’t just; it wasn’t pleasant; it wasn’t easy; but they made it work, and they were blessed by having many children who all got along well together. The old aggressive, territorial model won’t work anymore. A country has the obligation of defending itself, its rights, and of protecting its citizens, but no country has the right to destroy another country. It is only when we realize that there is only one soul, one life, and one earth to share, that we will be able to live harmoniously. May that time come soon, and in the meantime, may be allow each other to live, if not happily, at least to coexist peacefully.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Being Ready to Receive
This week’s Torah portion, Vayetze, means and he left. Jacob leaves his parents and brother Esau, to escape Esau’s rage after Jacob tricked his Father and stole the blessing from Esau. He travels to find a wife from his mother’s family in Haran. On his journey, he dreams of a ladder with angels going up and down on it. God speaks to him in his dream and promises to be with him, to guard him, and to return him to Canaan where he will have many offspring and inherit the land. On his arrival he falls in love with Rachel, the younger daughter of his Uncle Laban, and works for Laban 7 years, for Rachel. Laban makes a wedding feast and tricks him, by giving him Leah instead of Rachel. Jacob is outraged and Laban promises Rachel to him after one week of marriage to Leah, on condition that he work another 7 years. Over 20 years he has 12 children, and at the end of the portion, he leaves with them to return to Canaan.
Right after Jacob’s dream about the ladder, the text says, “And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and he said, Surely God is in this place; and I did not know. And he became frightened and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other but the abode of God, and this is the gate of heavens.” (Gen. 28:16-17) We might ask why Jacob was afraid. He had just had this wonderful dream about angels; and God’s reassurance that he would be protected. God has just repeated the promises made to Abraham and Isaac: that Jacob’s offspring would be as numerous as the dust of the earth, that they would be a great blessing, and that he would inherit the land. We never hear about Abraham or Isaac being afraid when they received reassurance or prophecy from God. So why is Jacob afraid? It could be that he had a guilty conscience from tricking his Father and stealing the blessing from his brother, for forcibly taking what did not belong to him. His actions showed that he was not ready for such communications from God. He was not spiritually prepared for such blessings. This is borne out by what God caused him to experience over the next 20 years. First, what he did to others, was done to him: the trickster was tricked. Since he had not learned enough about inner goodness from living with his parents, from mostly good models, he was put into a household where he had to learn from Laban: to do the opposite of what he saw. He, like Moses who came later, was afforded the opportunity to learn patience, and integrity, and compassion by long days alone, pasturing sheep and goats. Then he experienced another six years in the school of life, before God felt Jacob was ready to take possession of the gifts he had been promised.
This same situation can be seen in the different lives of Leah and Rachel. Leah, the compassionate one, whose eyes were tender, was the unloved sister. She was ready to receive the blessings of having many children (she had six); and to appreciate and enjoy those blessings properly. But Rachel, the beautiful sister, was barren. She needed to experience deprivation in order to grow in kindness. She could not be trusted to use great blessings the way God expected her to use them. She was just not yet ready. The Zohar speaks bout this: “ if one wishes to set in motion the powers above, whether through action or words, a person produces no effect if that action or word is not as it should be. All people go to synagogue to influence the powers above, but few know how to do it. God is near to all who know how to call upon The Eternal and to set powers in motion in the proper manner, but if they do not know how to call, God is not near… those who do know draw forth blessings from the place which is called Thought until upper and lower beings are blessed and the Holy Name is blessed through them. Happy are they in that God is near them and ready to answer them when they call..”(ZoharIII, 183b-184a).
The issue of preparation and readiness applies to our lives as well. Being ready was a quality that was well known among the ancient kabbalists. Rabbi Gelberman also wrote about it in his book, Nine lessons in Kabbalah: that one must be ready in body, mind, and soul, to receive: kabel, the word on which kabbalah is based. We can purify our bodies. The ancients did it by going to a mikveh. We can eat pure food, get exercise, turn away from negative influences and bad habits. Then to purify the mind, he suggests, just like the psychologist Carl Jung, that we must harmonize and accept our total selves, the yetzer hatov, the good impulse, and the yetzer hara, the negative impulse. We can speak words of kindness, patience and peace. We can perform acts of loving kindness. And for the soul we can sing, meditate, and open our hearts to live in joy, love, and goodness.
We desire so many things: most of us desire good health, some desire wealth or achievement, power, or fame. But God teaches us patience. What we wish for may not be good for us. God waits until we are capable of being a blessing. And then the things we have waited for just may appear. We can participate in our growth by intentionally engaging in the process of perfecting our inner natures: of setting about becoming more compassionate and caring, more deliberate and less automatic in our human interactions; less irritable, and less likely to be selfish and abrupt. It is a process of preparing ourselves to be ready for the blessings that we would be happy to receive. This preparation can be compared to any spiritual practice: of meditating for years, of studying an art form, like the Japanese Tea Ceremony, or like singing; or the discipline of regular Torah study or study of the Talmud. Any practice which opens us up to our own inner goodness and our connection with God and others makes a huge difference in our readiness to receive the goodness that is being sent to us. May we dedicate ourselves to participating in our spiritual growth, so that we, like Leah, may be ready to receive every blessing that God would like to send to us.
Right after Jacob’s dream about the ladder, the text says, “And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and he said, Surely God is in this place; and I did not know. And he became frightened and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other but the abode of God, and this is the gate of heavens.” (Gen. 28:16-17) We might ask why Jacob was afraid. He had just had this wonderful dream about angels; and God’s reassurance that he would be protected. God has just repeated the promises made to Abraham and Isaac: that Jacob’s offspring would be as numerous as the dust of the earth, that they would be a great blessing, and that he would inherit the land. We never hear about Abraham or Isaac being afraid when they received reassurance or prophecy from God. So why is Jacob afraid? It could be that he had a guilty conscience from tricking his Father and stealing the blessing from his brother, for forcibly taking what did not belong to him. His actions showed that he was not ready for such communications from God. He was not spiritually prepared for such blessings. This is borne out by what God caused him to experience over the next 20 years. First, what he did to others, was done to him: the trickster was tricked. Since he had not learned enough about inner goodness from living with his parents, from mostly good models, he was put into a household where he had to learn from Laban: to do the opposite of what he saw. He, like Moses who came later, was afforded the opportunity to learn patience, and integrity, and compassion by long days alone, pasturing sheep and goats. Then he experienced another six years in the school of life, before God felt Jacob was ready to take possession of the gifts he had been promised.
This same situation can be seen in the different lives of Leah and Rachel. Leah, the compassionate one, whose eyes were tender, was the unloved sister. She was ready to receive the blessings of having many children (she had six); and to appreciate and enjoy those blessings properly. But Rachel, the beautiful sister, was barren. She needed to experience deprivation in order to grow in kindness. She could not be trusted to use great blessings the way God expected her to use them. She was just not yet ready. The Zohar speaks bout this: “ if one wishes to set in motion the powers above, whether through action or words, a person produces no effect if that action or word is not as it should be. All people go to synagogue to influence the powers above, but few know how to do it. God is near to all who know how to call upon The Eternal and to set powers in motion in the proper manner, but if they do not know how to call, God is not near… those who do know draw forth blessings from the place which is called Thought until upper and lower beings are blessed and the Holy Name is blessed through them. Happy are they in that God is near them and ready to answer them when they call..”(ZoharIII, 183b-184a).
The issue of preparation and readiness applies to our lives as well. Being ready was a quality that was well known among the ancient kabbalists. Rabbi Gelberman also wrote about it in his book, Nine lessons in Kabbalah: that one must be ready in body, mind, and soul, to receive: kabel, the word on which kabbalah is based. We can purify our bodies. The ancients did it by going to a mikveh. We can eat pure food, get exercise, turn away from negative influences and bad habits. Then to purify the mind, he suggests, just like the psychologist Carl Jung, that we must harmonize and accept our total selves, the yetzer hatov, the good impulse, and the yetzer hara, the negative impulse. We can speak words of kindness, patience and peace. We can perform acts of loving kindness. And for the soul we can sing, meditate, and open our hearts to live in joy, love, and goodness.
We desire so many things: most of us desire good health, some desire wealth or achievement, power, or fame. But God teaches us patience. What we wish for may not be good for us. God waits until we are capable of being a blessing. And then the things we have waited for just may appear. We can participate in our growth by intentionally engaging in the process of perfecting our inner natures: of setting about becoming more compassionate and caring, more deliberate and less automatic in our human interactions; less irritable, and less likely to be selfish and abrupt. It is a process of preparing ourselves to be ready for the blessings that we would be happy to receive. This preparation can be compared to any spiritual practice: of meditating for years, of studying an art form, like the Japanese Tea Ceremony, or like singing; or the discipline of regular Torah study or study of the Talmud. Any practice which opens us up to our own inner goodness and our connection with God and others makes a huge difference in our readiness to receive the goodness that is being sent to us. May we dedicate ourselves to participating in our spiritual growth, so that we, like Leah, may be ready to receive every blessing that God would like to send to us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
