PARASHAT VAYETZE (And he went out) – Genesis 28:10-32:3 “Ya‘akov left Be’er-Sheva and traveled toward Haran.” (28:10) Using a stone for a pillow, he lies down, goes to sleep and has a dream. In his dream Ya’akov sees angels going up and down a ladder (or staircase) to heaven. Suddenly ADONAI is standing next to him making wonderful promises (which he had already made to his father and grandfather) -- I will give you the Land of Israel, your descendants will proliferate and bless all the families of the earth, I will guard you wherever you go. And then Ya‘akov awoke from his sleep. (28:16) – It’s possible to be asleep while awake. We are responsible to wake ourselves up! ADONAI is in this place — and I didn’t know it! (28:16) Of course ADONAI is in this place and every place all the time. But when we’re asleep while awake we don’t recognize God’s presence. Poor us! Then he became afraid and said, This place is fearsome! This has to be the house of God! This is the gate of heaven! (28:17) Was Ya’akov overreacting? No. Expect to be bowled over by the real presence of God. When you are really, really, truly, truly conscious that God is really, really, truly, truly there, it’s normal to be afraid. But after the fear, pay attention to and love our really, really, truly, truly amazing, wonderful God! ADONAI, help us to wake up! The parashah goes on to tell of Ya’akov’s journey to his family in Paddan-Aram, where he meets his cousin Rachel at the well, falls in love with her, works seven years to marry her but is tricked by his uncle Lavan into marrying Le’ah first, then works another seven years for Rachel, and stays another six years working for Lavan and growing wealthy. He acquires two other wives, Bilhah and Zilpah and has twelve children – eleven boys and Dinah. (The twelfth boy, Binyamin, is born later.) Ya’akov takes his wives, children and livestock and sets out for home. Lavan chases him and there is a confrontation, but in the end the two men make peace. “Then Lavan left and returned to his own place. 2 Ya‘akov went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 3 When Ya‘akov saw them, he said, ‘This is God’s camp,’ and called that place Machanayim [two camps].” (32:2-3) Martha chose Genesis 28:11-13 for a wall installation to hang in our stairwell. It was purposely placed in the stairwell because the Hebrew word sulam means both ladder and stairs. The part of the picture showing Ya’akov illustrates verse 11, “[Yaakov] came to a certain place and stayed the night there, because the sun had set. He took a stone from the place, put it under his head and lay down there to sleep.” The next picture shows the angels going up and down the ladder, in keeping with verse 12, “He dreamed that there before him was a ladder resting on the ground with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of ADONAI were going up and down on it.” The sunburst in heaven represents God, as in verse 13, “Then suddenly ADONAI was standing there next to him; and he said, “I am ADONAI, the God of Avraham your [grand]father and the God of Yitzchak. The land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your descendants.” Shabbat shalom! -- David and Martha
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 08:07:16 +0000
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