Parashat Va-yetze (Genesis 28:10 - 31:34)

by Rabbi Janet Burden

Summary

Fleeing from Esau’s wrath, Jacob heads for Haran, where he seeks out his mother’s kin. En route, he has the famous dream of the heavenly ladder.  When he arrives at his destination, he marries into the family of Laban through the two sisters, Rachel and Leah.  Leah is fertile and gives birth to four sons, but Rachel has no child.  She gives Jacob her handmaid, Bilhah, to bear children on her behalf and Bilhah bears two sons.  Leah follows suit with her handmaid Zilpah, who also bears two sons.  Leah has an additional two herself, then Rachel finally gives birth to Joseph.  Thus with 11 children and 4 wives, Jacob decides it is time to return to Canaan.

Commentary

All of us have experienced, in one form or another, points in time which we can later identify as ‘watershed moments.’  These are the moments when life palpably shifts and it will never be the same again.  The opening of our parashah recounts just such a moment.  Through a dream, the patriarch Jacob has a powerful intimation of the connection between the earthly and the spiritual realms, represented by the sulam, the heavenly ladder or staircase.  He is given the one proof of God that is, in essence, irrefutable:  a personal experience.  It touches him deeply.  When he awakes from the heavenly vision, he knows that his understanding of the world around him will never be the same again.  He marvels at the transformation:  Achein yesh Adonai bamakom hazeh, v’ani lo yadati.  “Truly, the Eternal One is in this place, but I – I didn’t know it!”  The fact that he now knows calls upon him to respond.

So, what is Jacob’s response?  What does he do?  Anachronistically, I could say:  hey, he’s a good Jew…. Of course!  The first thing he does is to create an aide memoire, a mnemonic device as a reminder of this significant event.  Memory is everything in the Jewish tradition, as it is memory that links the present with the relevant past, adding layers of meaning to our life experiences.  Without memory, we simply don’t know who we are, either as individuals or as a people.  Thus Jacob takes something ordinary – the rock that he has used as a headrest, and turns it into something special.  He sets it up, presumably upon other stones, to form a pillar which he then anoints with oil as a symbol of holiness.  But that is not all.  He also gives the place of this momentous revelation a new name.  Previously known as Luz, this site is subsequently to be called by Jacob and all his descendents Beit El, which means ‘The House of God’.  (It is not surprising that this remains one of the most popular names of synagogues to this day.)  Finally, he takes upon himself a vow that will locate him in an ongoing relationship with God.

OK, so he hedged the vow around a bit with conditional clauses:  if this, and this, and this happen, then the Eternal One will be my God.  Well, what else would you expect?  He is Jacob the trickster after all, the one who first cheated his impetuous brother out of his birthright and then stole his blessing….  He isn’t going to change completely overnight – not even over this extraordinary night.  Nonetheless, this lad who has done nothing in his life but take, and take, and take, pledges that he is going to give something back.  And that marks a significant shift in his character.

Through these three acts:  the identification of a mnemonic device, a reframing through language and the giving of a pledge, I think the character Jacob has done something incredibly important.  He has – or more correctly, the Biblical writer has - created one of the first models we have for a Jewish ritual.  You will find these three elements in most ceremonies we use today, whether for a baby blessing, a bnei mitzvah celebration or even a wedding.   Look for them next time you witness a lifecycle event.

Rabbi Janet Burden

West Central Liberal Synagogue