Dear TBZ community:
You probably have heard me say this before, but this week’s parasha, Parshat Vayetze, includes in it one of my favorite, if not MY absolute favorite verse in the whole Torah :
וַיִּיקַץ יַעֲקֹב מִשְּׁנָתוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר אָכֵן
יֵשׁ יְהֹוָה בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה וְאָנֹכִי לֹא יָדָעְתִּי
Jacob awoke from his sleep and said,
“Surely the LORD is present in this place, and I did not know it!”
Genesis 28:17
God is present in this place, and I DID NOT KNOW it!
What I love so much about this pasuk is that in the moment that Jacob awakes from his dream and realizes that God is there, something changes within him. Some might call it an Aha! Moment. He did not know it, but now he knows. He knows that God is in this place, in his life, in what comes next for him.
Jacob has just run away from his brother and his home, and has come to rest, to sleep, and to dream, his head upon a stone for a pillow. He dreams of angels going up and down on a stairway that reaches heaven. He wakes from his dream in profound awareness and amazement.
Interestingly enough. Yalkut Me'am Lo’ez (my new “friend” on my weekly N’kabla message) has a different take on the reading of this verse, he writes (quoting the medieval commentator Rashi):
“If I had known, I would have never gone to sleep in such a holy place”
(Yalkut Me’am Loez to 28”17, page 32 English edition)
Yalkut Me'am Lo'ez goes further to say that: “This teaches us how careful one must be not to sleep in the synagogue or other place of worship.” comparing it to the faux-pas of falling asleep in a royal palace! (Maybe I will quote Me'am Loez next time I see someone sleeping during one of my sermons!).
This comment, which made me smile and laugh, also invited me to think about what this metaphor of sleeping without knowing the presence of God in our lives could mean and in which ways all of us, at times, are too sleepy to feel and experience God in our lives. What do we need to be awakened to know God’s presence? What practices can we have or can we incorporate so we don’t miss it?
Our lives are so full -- full of activities and information and worries -- and too often we are asleep while we move through the steps of our day. How many times do we not notice what we just did or said? How often do we drift away in our minds from the conversation we are having with others? When do we look up from our screens and behold a beautiful sunset?
I am hoping, as we slowly move out from the crisis of the pandemic, that we can take this opportunity to reset and be intentional about how we live our lives more more mindfully OF G!d's presence (in whichever way we understand G!d!). Can we be awake in our daily lives? And even when we fall asleep (because we are after all human!) can we wake up ready to re-discover the Divine’s presence in our lives, in whichever way it manifests.
May this Shabbat bring renewal and blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity.
May we start the journey of learning Torah together again, in depth and with joy.
May all those who are ill find healing.
May we have a joyful and restful Shabbat!
Shabbat Shalom,
