רפואה מן התורה
Healing from the Torah
Parashat Vayishlach, Genesis 32:4-36:43, continues the story
about Jacob. Last week we said that there
were some takeaway’s we wanted to embrace regarding Jacob’s journey, and while
there are many, let’s just reflect on two. First, there is Jacob’s expectation.
God in the narrative made the same promise to Jacob that was made before to Abraham and Isaac about
the land and their descendants. In
response Jacob replied, עמדי אם יהיה אלוהים, If God goes with me …,” a
statement that sure seems conditional. Thus the Midrash says that “If God
goes with me” means that God would keep Jacob from מלשון הרע, or words of “slander” (Midrash Genesis Rabbah, 70:4). Second, Jacob’s well known reaction to his encounter with God, יש יהוה במקום הזה ואנכי לא ידעתי, “Surely God is in
this place and I did not know it.”
Jacob left his home-town and headed to a place called Haran on the way
to his uncle Laban’s home, but ויפגע במקום,
“and he encountered a place” on the way that was not on his itinerary, a place that he did not know God would also be present.
When Jacob had his dream we learn in a Midrash that מעונו של עולמו ואין עולמו של מעונו, or that God’s “dwelling place is the world not the world is God ‘s dwelling place” (Midrash Genesis Rabbah, 68:9). In other words, God’s reign is not limited to the world as Jacob knew it but the expanse of a universe that he could not fathom. Surely unexpected on his trip was that Jacob would spend 20 years working for his uncle, learning about life, building his family, collecting his wealth, but also finding out that things are not always fair. Jacob, although he stood up to Laban, was also fearful of what he might to his family (Gen. 31:25-42). However, prior to that we read that God appeared to Laban in a dream and told him not to harm Jacob. Maybe for Jacob that was a needed “sign” that God was indeed with him, which gave him the boldness to stand up to Laban? Likewise, Jacob's earlier encounter with God came in the form of an a angel, so it makes sense the parasha begins by saying that Jacob "sent forth angels" (וישלח) before him in anticipating his meeting with Esau. Perhaps, the anticipation of this encounter revealed another fear in Jacob that was dormant?
The nature of Jacob's fear is different depending on who you read (Targum Yonathan says that his fear was based on not being mindful of his father whereas Rashi says it has to do with the potential deaths), but here we will just go with the text itself. Hence, Jacob's fear is because he is about see his brother Esau after many years, a fear that stems from the same fear he had two decades earlier. Jacob’s fear caused him to devise a plan based on his perception of what Esau could do to him, his family and all of his possessions. In his plan Jacob divides everything that he had into “two camps,” theorizing that even if Esau attacks one half, the other half will continue and Jacob's legacy will be secured. Then after sending away his family, Jacob lays down for what was surely an unsatisfactory sleep in anticipation of his encounter with Esau. When Jacob finally meets Esau he his pleasantly surprised when Esau hugs him and weeps upon him, glad to see his brother after so many years. But Jacob seems unsure of the legitimacy of his brother’s response, and even though Esau says no, Jacob has assembled a slew of gifts as tribute to give to his brother for a peace offering. In the end, Jacob and Esau despite the pain of the past reconcile before continuing on their own separate journeys. However, prior to that encounter Jacob during the night ends up wrestling with a “man” (angel) as he symbolically is seeking a sense of absolution and/or inner strength regarding his up and coming meeting with his brother. When the angel cannot defeat Jacob, the angel rewards Jacob by declaring his name change to Israel (Gen. 32:25ff). The name Jacob, which Rashi says means, “treachery and deceit,” is now Israel, which means “to contend with God.” We again encounter the same name change when God commends Jacob for destroying the idols and building an alter. Jacob's actions merited the change of name, a change that comes directly from God as opposed to an angel. The language of the two encounters differ in that the angel simply announces the name change whereas God tells Jacob that the name change means a dissociation from the past. The fact is Jacob is still called Jacob, but turning again to Rashi, the name change “connotes” a decisive change in person-hood.
Jacob on his journey has learned a few lessons to this point. First, God is everywhere and cannot be outran (we each have to deal with that our own way). Second, Jacob’s journey required his growth along the way, hence now as a husband, father and property owner, this was not the same Jacob who left his home single, unburdened with possessions and/or expectations, not on a mission ordained by God, but by his own choice. Jacob has now come to see that the presence of God is an active part of his journey, his own sense of spirituality is operative in his choices (such as the burial of the idols, cf. Gen. 35:1-5). And lastly, the power of fear and his plans to overcome it. Jacob concocted this plan of dividing up his household into two because he feared what Esau would do to him. Lets put that another way, might he also have done that because Jacob feared that God who made a promise to watch over him would not fulfill that promise? Let’s not be naive, and it is really not clear what Jacob thought, but could have this also not have been about offering up some type of test to God and hoping for the best? Yes, it worked out with his brother, and we can assume that Jacob’s building an alter for God was in response to what he perceived as his deliverance from Esau, thus for Jacob ביום צרתי, was the “day of my distress.”
In Vayetze, Jacob feared Laban after he left his service after 20 years, and that concluded with a covenant of peace. This week in Vayishlach, Jacob feared what Esau might do (also) after 20 years, a meeting that ended in an embrace and a peaceful separation. Jacob’s journey for the first 20 years was rooted in hard lessons and perceived dangers, but in the end what stood out was that he operated from a place of fear. Fear is a big part of life, a part of life that we need to learn to coexist with as opposed to trying to manipulate or even pretend it is not there. For Jacob, his fear became his teacher, but the lessons kept coming, more than likely because the important lesson of not letting fear control him had not yet been realized. Fear does not go away but how much credibility is it given? Last week it was said that Jacob ויפגע במקום, “and he encountered a place” that was not foreseen, but this place should not be read solely as a geographical location, but a spiritual one as well. Bad stuff happens, but fear can rob us of moving forward. In the end, can we not learn that Jacob's name change that asks him to disassociate from his negative past can teach us that we need to change our past (and present) narratives that our fear evokes?
When Jacob had his dream we learn in a Midrash that מעונו של עולמו ואין עולמו של מעונו, or that God’s “dwelling place is the world not the world is God ‘s dwelling place” (Midrash Genesis Rabbah, 68:9). In other words, God’s reign is not limited to the world as Jacob knew it but the expanse of a universe that he could not fathom. Surely unexpected on his trip was that Jacob would spend 20 years working for his uncle, learning about life, building his family, collecting his wealth, but also finding out that things are not always fair. Jacob, although he stood up to Laban, was also fearful of what he might to his family (Gen. 31:25-42). However, prior to that we read that God appeared to Laban in a dream and told him not to harm Jacob. Maybe for Jacob that was a needed “sign” that God was indeed with him, which gave him the boldness to stand up to Laban? Likewise, Jacob's earlier encounter with God came in the form of an a angel, so it makes sense the parasha begins by saying that Jacob "sent forth angels" (וישלח) before him in anticipating his meeting with Esau. Perhaps, the anticipation of this encounter revealed another fear in Jacob that was dormant?
The nature of Jacob's fear is different depending on who you read (Targum Yonathan says that his fear was based on not being mindful of his father whereas Rashi says it has to do with the potential deaths), but here we will just go with the text itself. Hence, Jacob's fear is because he is about see his brother Esau after many years, a fear that stems from the same fear he had two decades earlier. Jacob’s fear caused him to devise a plan based on his perception of what Esau could do to him, his family and all of his possessions. In his plan Jacob divides everything that he had into “two camps,” theorizing that even if Esau attacks one half, the other half will continue and Jacob's legacy will be secured. Then after sending away his family, Jacob lays down for what was surely an unsatisfactory sleep in anticipation of his encounter with Esau. When Jacob finally meets Esau he his pleasantly surprised when Esau hugs him and weeps upon him, glad to see his brother after so many years. But Jacob seems unsure of the legitimacy of his brother’s response, and even though Esau says no, Jacob has assembled a slew of gifts as tribute to give to his brother for a peace offering. In the end, Jacob and Esau despite the pain of the past reconcile before continuing on their own separate journeys. However, prior to that encounter Jacob during the night ends up wrestling with a “man” (angel) as he symbolically is seeking a sense of absolution and/or inner strength regarding his up and coming meeting with his brother. When the angel cannot defeat Jacob, the angel rewards Jacob by declaring his name change to Israel (Gen. 32:25ff). The name Jacob, which Rashi says means, “treachery and deceit,” is now Israel, which means “to contend with God.” We again encounter the same name change when God commends Jacob for destroying the idols and building an alter. Jacob's actions merited the change of name, a change that comes directly from God as opposed to an angel. The language of the two encounters differ in that the angel simply announces the name change whereas God tells Jacob that the name change means a dissociation from the past. The fact is Jacob is still called Jacob, but turning again to Rashi, the name change “connotes” a decisive change in person-hood.
Jacob on his journey has learned a few lessons to this point. First, God is everywhere and cannot be outran (we each have to deal with that our own way). Second, Jacob’s journey required his growth along the way, hence now as a husband, father and property owner, this was not the same Jacob who left his home single, unburdened with possessions and/or expectations, not on a mission ordained by God, but by his own choice. Jacob has now come to see that the presence of God is an active part of his journey, his own sense of spirituality is operative in his choices (such as the burial of the idols, cf. Gen. 35:1-5). And lastly, the power of fear and his plans to overcome it. Jacob concocted this plan of dividing up his household into two because he feared what Esau would do to him. Lets put that another way, might he also have done that because Jacob feared that God who made a promise to watch over him would not fulfill that promise? Let’s not be naive, and it is really not clear what Jacob thought, but could have this also not have been about offering up some type of test to God and hoping for the best? Yes, it worked out with his brother, and we can assume that Jacob’s building an alter for God was in response to what he perceived as his deliverance from Esau, thus for Jacob ביום צרתי, was the “day of my distress.”
In Vayetze, Jacob feared Laban after he left his service after 20 years, and that concluded with a covenant of peace. This week in Vayishlach, Jacob feared what Esau might do (also) after 20 years, a meeting that ended in an embrace and a peaceful separation. Jacob’s journey for the first 20 years was rooted in hard lessons and perceived dangers, but in the end what stood out was that he operated from a place of fear. Fear is a big part of life, a part of life that we need to learn to coexist with as opposed to trying to manipulate or even pretend it is not there. For Jacob, his fear became his teacher, but the lessons kept coming, more than likely because the important lesson of not letting fear control him had not yet been realized. Fear does not go away but how much credibility is it given? Last week it was said that Jacob ויפגע במקום, “and he encountered a place” that was not foreseen, but this place should not be read solely as a geographical location, but a spiritual one as well. Bad stuff happens, but fear can rob us of moving forward. In the end, can we not learn that Jacob's name change that asks him to disassociate from his negative past can teach us that we need to change our past (and present) narratives that our fear evokes?
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