(י) וַיֵּצֵ֥א יַעֲקֹ֖ב מִבְּאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ חָרָֽנָה׃
(10) And Ya῾aqov went out from Be᾽er-sheva, and went toward Ḥaran
Jacob sets out, sets out on a journey. Partly fleeing from his actions, partly going to Haran, to his family, to find himself a wife. Either way, he is starting a journey, setting out on the road to new places. Does the reason for setting out or its purpose affect the nature of the experience along the way? Does escaping create a different journey? Does the final goal color the entire path?
What does setting out enable, what does a goal enable, what is the right way to set out?
(יא) וַיִּפְגַּ֨ע בַּמָּק֜וֹם וַיָּ֤לֶן שָׁם֙ כִּי־בָ֣א הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח֙ מֵאַבְנֵ֣י הַמָּק֔וֹם וַיָּ֖שֶׂם מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָ֑יו וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב בַּמָּק֥וֹם הַהֽוּא׃
(11) And he lighted on a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep
.
Evening comes, and he chooses the place where he will sleep. Choosing the right place to spend the night is a critical moment.
(יב) וַֽיַּחֲלֹ֗ם וְהִנֵּ֤ה סֻלָּם֙ מֻצָּ֣ב אַ֔רְצָה וְרֹאשׁ֖וֹ מַגִּ֣יעַ הַשָּׁמָ֑יְמָה וְהִנֵּה֙ מַלְאֲכֵ֣י אֱלֹהִ֔ים עֹלִ֥ים וְיֹרְדִ֖ים בּֽוֹ׃ (יג) וְהִנֵּ֨ה יהוה נִצָּ֣ב עָלָיו֮ וַיֹּאמַר֒ אֲנִ֣י יהוה אֱלֹהֵי֙ אַבְרָהָ֣ם אָבִ֔יךָ וֵאלֹהֵ֖י יִצְחָ֑ק הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֤ר אַתָּה֙ שֹׁכֵ֣ב עָלֶ֔יהָ לְךָ֥ אֶתְּנֶ֖נָּה וּלְזַרְעֶֽךָ׃ (יד) וְהָיָ֤ה זַרְעֲךָ֙ כַּעֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֔רֶץ וּפָרַצְתָּ֛ יָ֥מָּה וָקֵ֖דְמָה וְצָפֹ֣נָה וָנֶ֑גְבָּה וְנִבְרְכ֥וּ בְךָ֛ כׇּל־מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָ֖ה וּבְזַרְעֶֽךָ׃ (טו) וְהִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֜י עִמָּ֗ךְ וּשְׁמַרְתִּ֙יךָ֙ בְּכֹ֣ל אֲשֶׁר־תֵּלֵ֔ךְ וַהֲשִׁ֣בֹתִ֔יךָ אֶל־הָאֲדָמָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את כִּ֚י לֹ֣א אֶֽעֱזׇבְךָ֔ עַ֚ד אֲשֶׁ֣ר אִם־עָשִׂ֔יתִי אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁר־דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי לָֽךְ׃
(12) And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. (13) And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Avraham thy father, and the God of Yiżĥaq: the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; (14) and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. (15) And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places to which thou goest, and will bring thee back to this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
God appears to Jacob in a dream (what is this lack of respect? Why doesn't God speak to him directly?) and promises the land to Jacob.
If Jacob knows the land is promised to him, why does it take him so long to come back?
If part of the promise is that his descendants will dwell throughout the land, why does he say when he wakes up:
(טז) וַיִּיקַ֣ץ יַעֲקֹב֮ מִשְּׁנָתוֹ֒ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָכֵן֙ יֵ֣שׁ יהוה בַּמָּק֖וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וְאָנֹכִ֖י לֹ֥א יָדָֽעְתִּי׃
(16) And Ya῾aqov awoke out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.
”
God exists, and that he is correct, but God exists not only in this certain place. Revelation can happen anywhere, it is not limited to one place. Revelation may be the outcome of one's, or of a lineage that God has chosen. But it does not dependent on a certain place. God's promise does not speak of Bethel (which is Luz), but of the entire land.
The promise goes further than just the promise that you and your descendants will dwell in the promised land. The promise is that you and your descendants will be a blessing, the other people of the land will be blessed in you.
If Jacob had set out on his journey under a different context, would God's revelation be received differently? Would he have heard different things in the promise? Are we capable of hearing?
Sometimes journeys are forced upon us. Sometimes they burn within us.
And there are times when we even question what the role and purpose of the journey is, and who it is intended to serve.
Yehuda Amichai wrote:
"Death in war begins
with the going down the stairs
of one man,
young.
Death in war begins
with closing the door in silence,
Death in war begins
with the opening of a window to see.
So don't cry for the one who has gone
Cry for the one who goes down the stairs of his house
Cry for the one who puts his key
in his back pocket.
Cry for the photograph that remembers for us
Cry for the paper that remembers,
Cry for the tears that don't remember.
And this spring,
who will rise up and say to the ashes:
From man you are, and to man you shall return."
May we embark on worthy journeys. May our cry against journeys that are forced upon us, and lead to unnecessary death, be heard.
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Rabbi Noa Mazor was ordained in 2016. Her first rabbinical work was managing the interfaith department at Rabbis for Human Rights. Noa is an educator and activist, working in various ways to change social perceptions, out of the belief in creating connections and bridges between people of different denominations, ethnicities, and religions. She holds a bachelor's degree from the "Ofakim" program in Jewish Studies as a Culture from Tel Aviv University, and a master's degree in Pluralistic Jewish Education from the Hebrew University and Hebrew Union College.