Parashat Vayetze
10 Kislev 5773 / 23-24 November 2012
Torah: Genesis 28:10 – 32:3
Haftarah: Ashkenazim - Hosea 12:13 – 14:10
Sephardim - Hosea 11:7 – 12:12
Torah: Genesis 28:10 – 32:3
Haftarah: Ashkenazim - Hosea 12:13 – 14:10
Sephardim - Hosea 11:7 – 12:12
Dedications and calendar follow below.
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source
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Holy Dreams
"And Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'Surely the Lord is in this place and I, I did not know.' And he was afraid, and he said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.'" Gen. 28:16-17
Rashi: For had I known, I would not have slept in such a holy place.
Shlomoh of Radomsk: "My I, I did not know." I erased everything that was in me; my self-awareness; ego consciousness; self-intention.
Jacob dreamt of angels going up and down a ladder. He realized that God was beside him, speaking to him, reaffirming the promise made to Abraham and Isaac. Then Jacob awoke. Had Jacob known that the place was holy, he would have slept elsewhere, according to Rashi. But then, perhaps he would not have had the dream. Perhaps God would not have spoken with him, and what would have become of the covenant with Abraham and Isaac? Was it mere ignorance through which Jacob came to sleep in such a holy place? How then did he merit a visitation from God?
Shlomoh of Radomsk, a mid-19th century Polish chasidic rebbe, suggests that it was not ignorance, but rather, intentional and practiced suppression of the ego, through which Jacob merited the dream and the promise. This seems to be the opposite of Rashi. Perhaps not.
By not being self-focused, Jacob became God-focused. Jacob became more attuned to the holiness around him when he stopped thinking of himself as the center of the universe. By living a minimalist physical (outer) life (he was using a rock for a pillow), Jacob maximized his spiritual (inner) life. Read Rashi, then, as, "Had I known (i.e., had I in my egocentric way been looking to know such a place), I would not have been able to sleep in such a holy place."
Holiness and communion with God come not when we look for them as entitlements, but rather, when we recognize the potential for holiness in every place and every person, and empty out our egos in order to become vessels for receiving that holiness.
Have a wonder-filled Shabbat!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom – ZSRS ‘00
Burbank, CA
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source
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Holy Dreams
"And Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'Surely the Lord is in this place and I, I did not know.' And he was afraid, and he said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.'" Gen. 28:16-17
Rashi: For had I known, I would not have slept in such a holy place.
Shlomoh of Radomsk: "My I, I did not know." I erased everything that was in me; my self-awareness; ego consciousness; self-intention.
Jacob dreamt of angels going up and down a ladder. He realized that God was beside him, speaking to him, reaffirming the promise made to Abraham and Isaac. Then Jacob awoke. Had Jacob known that the place was holy, he would have slept elsewhere, according to Rashi. But then, perhaps he would not have had the dream. Perhaps God would not have spoken with him, and what would have become of the covenant with Abraham and Isaac? Was it mere ignorance through which Jacob came to sleep in such a holy place? How then did he merit a visitation from God?
Shlomoh of Radomsk, a mid-19th century Polish chasidic rebbe, suggests that it was not ignorance, but rather, intentional and practiced suppression of the ego, through which Jacob merited the dream and the promise. This seems to be the opposite of Rashi. Perhaps not.
By not being self-focused, Jacob became God-focused. Jacob became more attuned to the holiness around him when he stopped thinking of himself as the center of the universe. By living a minimalist physical (outer) life (he was using a rock for a pillow), Jacob maximized his spiritual (inner) life. Read Rashi, then, as, "Had I known (i.e., had I in my egocentric way been looking to know such a place), I would not have been able to sleep in such a holy place."
Holiness and communion with God come not when we look for them as entitlements, but rather, when we recognize the potential for holiness in every place and every person, and empty out our egos in order to become vessels for receiving that holiness.
Have a wonder-filled Shabbat!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom – ZSRS ‘00
Burbank, CA
Blogging at: rav-rich.blogspot.com/
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"For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of
Jerusalem I will not be still" Isaiah 62:1
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Candlelighting: 4:27 PM
Lunch and Learn is an ongoing
Adult Education program that meets most Tuesdays to discuss Jewish texts and
other topics of Jewish interest. It is open to all regardless of affiliation.
Next meeting is December 4, 12:00 noon, at Congregation Beth
Meier, 11725 Moorpark St., Studio City, CA 91604. Thank you to Rabbi Aaron
Benson and my fellow Beth Meier congregants for offering the space. We will be
learning about Hanukkah. NO Lunch and Learn this Tuesday, November
27, as I am unavailable. Apologies for the
inconvenience.
This d'var torah is offered in honor of my
sister, Lorrie Flom Goodman, whose birthday falls on Thursday. Mazal
tov!
This d'var torah is offered in memory of my
uncle, Daniel Flom, whose yahrzeit falls on Wednesday. Y'hi zikhro
liv'rakhah.
This d'var torah is offered in memory of Lynn’s
grandfather, Gabriel Stern, whose yahrzeit falls today. Y'hi zikhro
liv'rakhah.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah
shleimah for Bobbie Chasen, Selby Horowitz, Pamela Huddleston, Stephanie Kane,
Sara Lanxner, Emily Levin, Yitzchak Simcha ben Bayla, Steve Pearlman, Herman
Rassp, Helen Reiter, Len Reiter, Adin Ring, Gil Robbins, Rachel Robbins, Judith
Sakurai, Helen Tomsky, Betty Varon and Seymour Waterman.
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