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 week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
