Vayetze
Whilst travelling, Jacob dreams of a ladder with angels ascending and descending. He travels to Charan, meets Rachel and agrees to work for her father Lavan for seven years in order to marry her, but is tricked into marrying her older sister Leah, and works another seven for Rachel. Leah gives birth to many children, while Rachel is barren but eventually gives birth to a son. Jacob and his family eventually leave Lavan’s home.
Gideon Sylvester
Gideon Sylvester lives in Jerusalem where he serves as the United Synagogue's Tribe Israel Rabbi. He works at Ohr Torah Stone Educational Institutions and is a senior Jewish Educator at Merchavim – the Institute for Shared Citizenship in Israel.
How do we deal with the barrage of criticism currently facing the State of Israel? For many of us, it's profoundly uncomfortable. As Jews who love and care about the Jewish State, we hate to see it criticized and we fully respect its need to defend itself against enemies. Simultaneoulsy as Jews who carry a moral and religious outlook on life, we also want our state to be a "light to the nations" a source of pride and inspiration.
Judaism is about the quest to live a decent, honest and holy life. When the Talmud defines the hallmarks of our nation, it says that we aspire to be "merciful, modest people who perform acts of loving kindness" (Yevamot 72a). But while religious life is beautiful in theory, it's more difficult in practice. Our efforts are constantly tested by moral dilemmas. Is there precedent for dealing with these situations?
Jacob is the Biblical character who epitomizes our predicament. The Torah describes him as "pure hearted", but then reveals to us the numerous occasions on which he is surrounded by less scrupulous characters who compel him to use their methods to secure what is rightfully his.
Whether it is retrieving the birthright from Esau, marrying the woman he loves instead her sister, ensuring that he gets the right wages for his work or defending himself from Laban's threats of genocide, Jacob is constantly wrestling with moral dilemmas and engaging questionable methods to extract himself from difficult situations.
My teacher, Rabbi Riskin has a powerful essay in which he argues that employing the tools of corrupt people may be unavoidable, but it is always a high risk strategy. What begins as use of other people's methods can easily overwhelm us, overriding our moral and religious agendas.
He notes that when Jacob sets out on his journey, he has an inspiring dream with a celestial vision of angels ascending and descending a ladder with the Almighty at its summit. But, by the time he leaves the home of Laban, his dreams are far more pedestrian – he dreams of speckled and marked sheep. At this moment, Jacob realizes that he has been over exposed to the wily ways and materialism of Laban. G-d instructs him to go home and reconnect with his spiritual side and his wonderful vision.
The State of Israel was built on the highest ideals of justice and equal rights for all, but in practice, Israeli statesmen are forced to develop policies to respond to the violence of hostile leaders who are committed to our destruction. Like Jacob, we sometimes find that in the light of existential threats, the aim of being a "pure dweller of tents" must give way to more pragmatic military policies. But like our forefather we must also be aware that these tactics can be self destructive; forcing us to adopt non kosher means and distracting us from the most noble goals of the Jewish people.
We must always cling to our vision and take pride in its fulfillment. There is no dream nobler than the building of a Jewish State based on the highest Jewish ethics, and the achievements of our country are astonishing. Jacob also reminds us that we must always be on our guard, aware of our failings and striving for better.
Another Voice
In this parsha it's Leah who always strikes a raw nerve - the neglected, unloved wife who lives in the shadows of her sister. She's described as having weak (or dull) eyes. Her younger sister Rachel is supposed to marry Jacob, but their father Laban substitutes Rachel for Leah on their wedding night. Jacob does marry Rachel too in the end but the sisters have a long-running competition for his affection - and Rachel's the one he always wanted. Leah then has lots of kids while Rachel is barren and jealous.
A lot of people will relate to the sibling rivalry in this story.
This is a poem written in Leah's voice by my friend Ilana Kurshan who is a book publisher living in Jerusalem. And this is how Ilana explains the poem: "It echoes the language that the Torah uses to describe Jacob's ladder dream. I imagine what might have gone through Leah's mind as Dina (her daughter) was conceived."
The Conception of Dina
I've fallen asleep on your hard place
My body stretched out like a ladder
Your two hands, like angels, climb up me and down me
And pummel my insides to fine grains of sand
Too many to count, to tell one from another
(For I was in her place - and you did not know it)
Of all that you've given me, this one's for you.
