Vayeitzei

Rabbi Len Levin

“Indeed, God is in this place!”

This week, the Torah tells of the first of two climactic encounters that the Patriarch Jacob experienced, both of them occurring at transitional points of his outward career and inner growth. This week we read of Jacob’s dream of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven. The place — Beth El (House of God) — later became (not coincidentally) one of the major cultic centers of the Israelite kingdom.

The rabbis were so impressed by the image of the ladder connecting earth and heaven that in a rather creative interpretation they conflated Jerusalem and Beth El, understanding them to represent one central connecting point, the umbilicus or navel of the earth, the point from which the creation of the world proceeded. They declared the location of the Jerusalem temple to be Even Shetiyah, the Foundation Stone, for on it the world was founded. This idea was Read More >

By Rabbi Isaac Mann

Parashat Vayeitzei speaks of Jacob’s sojourn in Haran after fleeing from Eretz Canaan (the Land of Canaan) to escape Esau’s wrath. As he comes into Haran, Jacob engages in a dialogue with some of the shepherds of that town who have just arrived at the watering well with their sheep and are waiting for others to come and help them roll off the heavy stone that sits atop the well (Genesis 29:1-8).

The dialogue begins with a greeting of “My brothers, where are you from?” They respond that they are from Haran. He further asks them, “Do you know Laban son (actually grandson) of Nahor .” They respond, “We know him.” Jacob continues with, “Is he OK (more literally: Is he at peace).” Their response: “He’s OK (literally: Peace).” At that point Rachel appears on the scene, but the dialogue continues: “And he [Jacob] says, ‘The day is still long; it Read More >

By Sanford Olshansky 

The beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Vayeitzei talks about how our ancestor Jacob, from whom we get the name Israel, found God. Many people today doubt the existence Read More >

By Jill G. Hackell

In Parashat VaYeitzei we read, “When Rachel saw that she had borne Jacob no children, she became envious of her sister; and Rachel said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” Jacob was incensed at Rachel, and said, “Can I take the place of God, who has denied you fruit of the womb?” Rachel cries out from the depths of her anguish, and her husband, who loves her, is angry, and hurtful to her. What is going on here, and what can we learn from this interaction?

Parashat Vayetze begins and ends with Yaakov encountering angels; first in a dream, and then, presumably, in a vision or daydream of some sort.

A commentary in the Etz Chaim Chumash suggests that these encounters serve as bookends, or parentheses, bracketing Yaakov’s 20 years in Laban’s home. I will return to that thought.

But we also know that angels appear for a reason. Sometimes it’s to bring good news, such as telling Sarah she will have a child. But, sometimes, the news isn’t so good, as in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah.

This second possibility gives a 1968 movie its title – “Where Angels go, Trouble Follows.” In that movie, Rosalind Russell plays an old-fashioned Mother Superior who takes the young nuns and girls of her school on a cross-country trip. It’s a comedy of errors as they have multiple bus mishaps, are forced to stay at a Catholic school Read More >

Mountain, Field and House
By Rabbi Yehonatan Chipman

“How awesome is this place! This is naught but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven . . .” (Gen 28:17

This week’s parashah describes Yaakov’s unexpected and numinous encounter with God, en route from his home to the unknown land of his ancestors ‘ a meeting that was to be both a turning point in his own life, and a paradigm for future generations. “Indeed, there is God in this place, and I did not know it” (28:16). In several Talmudic passages, the Sages discuss this passage in relation to events in the lives of the other two patriarchs. One (Berakhot 26b) portrays the fathers introducing each of the three daily prayers. (See my discussion at: http://hitzeiyehonatan.blogspot.com/, under the heading: Hayyei Sarah). Another (Pesahim 88a) speaks of the three patriarchs relating to God Read More >

Escaping What You’ve Embraced
Peg Kershenbaum

What does it take for us to see ourselves as we really are? How do we become aware of the impact we have on the lives and well-being of others?

Jacob’s meeting with Laban was probably the incident that had the most impact on him, up to that moment. Up to that time, Jacob’s character had developed almost unchecked. From before birth he had wrestled with his brother in utero; his emergence grabbing his twin’s heel had given him his name, ‘supplanter.’ In his youth he had tricked his hungry brother by means of some food, gaining the birthright he had coveted. And as a young man he had deceived his blind father regarding what they both thought might be the father’s final blessing. Both to avoid the murderous rage of his brother and to find a suitable wife, Jacob had fled back to his mother’s family in Haran. Read More >

The Quality of Gossamer
By Linda Shriner-Cahn

Jacob comes to an unnamed spot, running to an ill-defined future,
from a traumatic past. Everything is unsure. He has no moorings. He is
untethered, and then he puts a rock on the ground, rests his head,
dreams, and is transformed.

‘God was in this place and I, I did not know it.’ (Gen. 28:16’as translated by Rabbi Lawrence Kushner)

Jacob has a dream, a strange dream. It disconcerts him; it makes him
shudder. What does he dream? He dreams of a stairway that goes between
heaven and earth, with angels going up and down and God standing next
to him. It is almost too much, but there is more. God speaks and
promises him the future.

‘God was in this place and I, I did not know it.’

Jacob wakes from his dream and knows that he has experienced
something truly extraordinary, but he can’t hold on to it, can’t
sustain it. So he tries to make it last Read More >