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"Touch the Earth"- Parshat Vayeitzei

11/25/2014

6 Comments

 
Right now, as you read these words, how are you relating to this moment? Do you feel it to be a passage in time, a means to travel from your past toward your future? Do you feel that this moment is merely a stepping-stone from one moment to the next? 

Or, instead, do you encounter this moment in and of itself? In other words- are you present, or are you hurrying through the present?

This parshah begins with Jacob fleeing from his brother Esau and heading to Haran where he will get married and begin a family. The drama of the story portrays this scene purely as a transitional moment. And yet, at this time of hurrying from one place to another, from one stage of life to another, something remarkable happens: “Vayifga BaMakom- He encountered the place” (Gen. 28:11).

What does that mean?

The word for “encounter” (peh-gimel-ayin) means to “meet” or to “happen upon”, but it can also mean to “hit”, as in “hitting the bulls eye”. In other words, this seemingly insignificant moment becomes the “target”. Jacob has an encounter.

What does he encounter? He encounters the “place”. Not a particular thing or being, but the space in which things and beings appear. The word for “the place”- HaMakom- is also a Divine Name. So, when Jacob shifts his attention toward the space within which this moment unfolds, he encounters the Divine. Meaning, he encounters the Reality of the Space Itself, rather than his mental idea of the space as merely a temporal hallway between memory and anticipation.

How does he do it? He places stones around his head and lies down in the “place”. He brings that which is most ethereal and formless- mind and thought- to the most concrete and solid- stones of the earth. This practice of focusing on something physical brings the mind out of its constant stream of thinking, out of its ideas about what is going on, and into connection with what is really going on, right now. Awareness becomes presence by touching forms that are actually present.

Jacob then dreams of a ladder set on the earth, reaching toward the heavens, with angels ascending and descending upon it- “Jacob’s Ladder”. Hassidic master Rabbi Aharon of Karlin taught on this verse that the ladder itself is an instruction in presence. It teaches that when one’s feet are firmly rooted in the earth, one’s head can reach the heavens. Being “rooted in the earth” means that awareness is connected with the physical world, as it is. The “head reaching the heavens” means that, paradoxically, when awareness is totally connected to the physical, you can become aware of that which is aware; awareness becomes aware of awareness. As long as awareness is wrapped up in thinking, it dreams that it is the thinking. It dreams up the “me” that is defined by thinking. But when thinking subsides, there can be this realization: I am not this thought-based self. I am just this boundless, free, radiant awareness. The head has reached the heavens!

Jacob then awakens and exclaims: “Yesh Hashem bamakom hazeh- The Divine is in this place- v’anokhi lo yadati- and I didn’t even know it!”

Here, the Torah gives us an excellent description of what “awakening” is all about- it gives us a "Torah of Awakening". In the dream state, the mind-generated self imagines the Divine to be elsewhere. It is something to be reached, achieved, hoped for, given up on, disillusioned about. But even within the dream there are clues. Just as Jacob understood the message of the ladder, so it is with everything in our lives: If we look carefully, it is possible to see: That which we seek is That which is Present. But to see this requires becoming present. The present is whole, complete, Divine. To be present is to not be separate from that wholeness.

Then, as you journey in the world of time, you can stay connected to that wholeness. You can draw from the wellspring of renewal, even as you do your work in the world, as it says a few verses later- “vayar v’hinei v’er basadeh- he looked, and behold- a well in the field!”

To be sure, as Jacob’s ensuing twenty years of servitude to his uncle Lavan shows, life can still be replete with challenges. But when you are rooted in the earth and your head reaches the heavens, the challenges are different. There is a lightness- as it says when Jacob leaves the “place” after his vision-“Vayisa Yaakov raglav vayelekh- Jacob lifted his feet and went”- it is as if he is flying. Actually, the things and events in time are flying- endlessly coming and going, while the Place remains endlessly the same. What is that Place? It is always where you are and it is also ultimately what you are: Divine Presence, living as this one, ever-changing moment.

Take a moment to connect with the Place through connecting with the Earth- take off your shoes, touch the Earth, bow your head to the ground... enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 Comments
Bruce Joffe
11/29/2014 06:14:25 am

Beautiful commentary, more reflective of Reb Brian's proclivity for finding opportunities to awaken - i think - than what the story actually tells. Do remember that this Jacob had just stolen his brother's birthright and was fleeing. Perhaps he was fleeing his sense of guilt as well as his brother's rage when he has this alleged "awakening" experience.

So after "awakening" what does Jacob do? Does he turn around and attempt to make amends with his brother? Or does he continue fleeing, this time with a self-selected story of a divine angle blessing him. Oh, the story reeks of self-justification.

Awakening? Pshaw! The truly awakened one was Brother Esau, who forgives Jacob in absentia so as not to carry bitterness in his own heart. It's too bad the Torah doesn't follow Esau's life instead of Jacob's. If it had, perhaps the Torah's words would truly be inspiring. As it is, inspiration comes only from inspired re-interpreters like Reb Brian.

Reply
Wayne M.
12/2/2014 07:34:00 am

I agree with the previous commentator that Reb Brian's commentaries are always instructive, inspirational, and provoke much to contemplate. The story of Jacob and Esau provides lessons beyond measure. The Awakened One is the title that was given to the Buddha.
Another teaching from the Eastern Tradition is that of the Dream of the Butterfly. There are man versions; the one I will use begins, "once upon a time, Chuang Tzu dreamed he was a butterfly, flying about enjoying himself. It did not know that it was Chuang Tzu. Suddenly he awoke, and was Chuang Tzu again. He did not know whether he was Chuang Tzu dreaming he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Chuang Tzu. What both teachings give us is an awareness of the magnitude of awakening. When I contemplate time, I realize the magnificence of the moment, and grasp a sense of the eternal. Today's teaching has shown another facet of the multitudes of ways of being, of seeing, and of being aware. The dream of Jacob's ladder, and the teaching of Rabbi Aharon give us so much to contemplate.
Whenever I read these teachings, I think and laugh to myself: I have the dual approach: The "aha" moment coupled more often with the "duh" moment. No matter what the response, I feel the blessing of having so many resources, so many teachers, and so I thank you again.

Reply
brian yosef link
12/2/2014 05:24:41 pm

Ha! How fun! Yes there are lots of ways to see thing story... but I would challenge- why is seeing a deeply flawed person demonstrate awakening not inspiring? To me, it expresses the truth that awakening is the ever available truth. It's not reserved just for those who deserve it... a fact which can be heartening for most of us!

Reply
Bruce Joffe
12/3/2014 01:29:05 am

Certainly, deeply flawed people can be awakened. Flawless people, perhaps, would have no need for awakening. But who, walking on this Earth, isn't deeply flawed? I'm questioning whether Jacob was actually awakened.

Did he change his behavior after awakening? Or did he simply find justification to continue with what he was already doing, continuing with how he was already living? He continued fleeing from the crime he committed, but after awakening with the self-justification that "god" or "an angel" was protecting him, he fled guilt free.

How did his so-called awakening make Jacob a better man, a man more deserving the revered place in the Torah that he holds? This is the man who, further on in the story presided over the betrayal of love and through mass murder of the men of Shechem.

Awakening is a wonderful blessing when it occurs. It is the confluence of predilection and grace. One must be open to the possibility, but one can not "make" awakening happen. It can happen, and sometimes, it happens. It can happen gradually as layers upon layers of scales are slowly, unevenly peeled away from the soul. Perhaps, as Rev Brian describes, awakening is made more likely when one is present, truly present with what is and with who one is with at every waking moment. Perhaps it can happen when one sees every thing and every person, every moment, as a manifestation of the Divine. But, I don't see this Torah story as illustrative of that happening to Jacob.

Perhaps the Torah is simply a Rorsharch blot that enables one to imprint whatever meaning one wants to project onto its words. But reading the words as they are written would imply an inherent and specific meaning. Hence, my quibble: Jacob does not act like someone who has had an awakening. Not after his dream, and not when encamped outside of Shechem and entreated by its king to allow the prince who loves her to marry his only daughter.

Reply
Wayne M.
12/8/2014 09:09:18 am

In response to your reply and challenge: why is seeing a deeply flawed person demonstrate awakening not inspiring? I find it deeply inspiring, as well as a relief that common folk such as myself can have the experience of awakening. It is a relief to know that we don't always get what we deserve, and most of us are given opportunity after opportunity to achieve the presence and fullness of the present. The inspirational aspect is what draws people such as myself to explore and gain from the experience and wisdom of others--some present, and many of the past who leave us a legacy. Thanks again!!!

Reply
brian yosef link
12/3/2014 08:16:06 am

Perhaps perhaps! Thanks for your comments Bruce!

Reply



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