Vayetzei

I've tried to put myself in Yaakov's emotional position as he flees Be'er Sheva at the beginning of this week's parashah. With an outraged and murderous brother chasing him, Yaakov runs toward Charan in tremendous fear. Trepidation propels his flight but other emotions accompany him as well. Yaakov has just bid a hasty farewell to his parents, one of whom he has just deceived, and he is forced to venture into the world alone, never to see his parents again. To add to his dread, Yaakov had recently been blessed with material wealth and the land of Canaan, but those blessings may be an illusion; Yaakov finds himself destitute and running away from the land he has been blessed to receive. Carrying this emotional burden, Yaakov sets out lonely and scared to face an uncertain future. After only hours of running, he faces an obstacle that only heightens his fright--the sun begins to set and darkness descends. In the absence of light, Yaakov's emotions loom large, magnified by the darkness. In the second verse of the parashah we learn that Yaakov arrives at  a place and goes to sleep. The Hebrew word for what is often translated as "arrives" in this context has a more complicated meaning and carries other undertones. Rashi comments that the word connotes prayer and it is from this verse that we learn that Yaakov established the evening prayer, Ma'ariv. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explains the word to mean encounter. At that dark place in that frightening time, Yaakov encountered G-d when he may not have been seeking Hashem. Yaakov encountered a transformative life experience, an epiphany, when he recognized that G-d awaited him in that place.

  

Current events have cast a dark shadow in recent weeks. After yesterday's news from Israel, I, along with the Jewish nation, feel alone and afraid--plunged into darkness. Yaakov Avinu provides us with one way (he will teach others next week) to seek light from the midst of the despair--through prayer--and perhaps through such prayer at difficult times we can find solace and community and the transformation that such an encounter with G-d can bring about.

  

Shabbat Shalom,