In a parsha rich with allusions and echoes of other situations and stories, it’s hard to choose any single one to focus upon. But here’s one which jumped out to me. During his iconic dream of the angelic ladder, G-d tells Jacob (Genesis 28:14) that his descendants will be as the dust of the earth, spreading to the west, east, north, and south. What a curious metaphor to use in the context of a blessing! We’re used to poetic terminology to describe our progeny in the Torah; as numerous as the stars in the heavens or the sand on the beach. But the dust of the earth? Rabbi Ovadia Sforno (15th century) suggests a reason for the allusion. Sforno’s commentary says that only after suffering degradation can we achieve greatness. In other words, we must reach the low in order to achieve the high. The Zohar takes this concept to the extreme. Since Jacob (Ya’akov)’s name refers to his heel, the masterwork of Jewish mysticism equates Jacob with our constantly having the yetzer hara, the evil inclination, pulling us down by the foot. We, as did Jacob, will prevail, allowing the resultant triumph of good over evil to go viral. We will be pulled down, as a nation, a people, a religion, and a culture. But when we get up again, the benefits of what we have experienced will make all the difference for those who we can influence. We will all sink into the depths at some point. But we have the ability to use the lows to change the resultant highs. And then, the goodness we can add to the world will, indeed, spread like dust in every direction, carried by the wind of humanity.
Shabbat ShalomRabbi/Hazzan David B. Sislen
Shabbat ShalomRabbi/Hazzan David B. Sislen
