The story of Jacob's flight -- and his adventures in the household of his uncle Laban -- is one of the most compelling in the Bible, one I related to strongly as a younger man as I left home and college to live on my own for the first time.
Jacob has his dream of the famous ladder, in which God promises to return him back home, to the place he is sleeping -- which, according to tradition, is the future Temple Mount. He then meets Rachel and falls immediately in love.
The story is familiar: he works seven years for Rachel, but Laban swaps Leah in at the last moment, under the veil; Jacob must work seven years more for his beloved. (According to an interpretation in the Talmud, Rachel actually knew her father was going to cheat Jacob, but went along with it because of her concern for her sister's sense of self-esteem. She is praised for her sensitivity, even if she caused her future husband some grief and seven years' more labor.)
Rachel and Leah then compete to bear children, and Jacob begins to strike out on his own, taking what appear at first to be inferior flocks and breeding them so successfully that they multiply rapidly into a strong and valuable herd.
Laban's jealousy causes Jacob to flee, as he pulls a trick of his own (a repeated story in Jacob's life). Laban pursues the family and there is a confrontation, leading to a deal: you on this side, and I on the other. Boundaries are good!
This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
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This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
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