Shabbat Shalom!.
Vayeitzei
"And Yaakov went out from Beer Sheva and went to
Haran." [Bereshis 28:10]
This week's Torah portion, Vayeitzei relates how Yaakov,a single
and solitary Jew left his home and set out for a foreign land,
arriving there with nothing, save for his faith in G-d.
"For with only my staff I passed over this Jordan,"
Nonetheless, Yaakov's steps were sure and confident, as he had
full faith in G-d.
We then are introduced to the famous well story where he meets the love of his life Rachel. Yaakov works as a shepherd 7 years for Rachel's hand in marriage, only to have her father( his uncle) Laban switch daughters on him at the marriage ceremony. (This is why we have the bedekin, the lifting of the veil, at traditional weddings - to ensure one is marrying the right bride.)
In the beginning of the parsha( 28:10-22), Yaakov comes to Charan, where he spends the night. He gathers some stones for a pillow.
“He encountered the place and spent the night there because the sun had set; he took from the stones of the place which he arranged around his head, and lay down in that place.”
After his famous dream, Yaakov wakes up and
“took the stone that he had put under his head and makes it into an altar. “
It is interesting that the Midrash comments that Yaakov took 12 stones, representing the twelve tribes which would soon be established as the nation of Israel, to make a place on which to lie his head, however when Yaakov awakes after his famous ladder dream there is only one single stone.
Rashi maintains that the stones upon which Yaakov Avinu rested when he envisioned the angelic ladder were fighting with each other, all wanting to impress Yaakov, each stone proclaiming,
"The tzaddik should lay his head upon me."
After the dream he took THE STONE from under his head. The Midrash comments that the twelve stones melded together to become one, as a sign that Yaakov will be the one to establish this Jewish nation.
Many of us do not realize the potential that one person can have on this world. We might ask ourselves, “what can I do? I am only one person.” We see here that once in Charan, Yaakov quickly saw that there was no one upon whom he could rely, not even his relatives. His uncle, Lavan, repeatedly tricked and deceived him, yet never once did Yaakov lose his faith. Through outstanding service and dedication to G-d Yaakov obtained great wealth. But Yaakov's main achievement in Charan was that, despite their growing up in a hostile environment, every single one of his children was a pious and religious Jew.
The manner in which we conduct our lives, how we spend our time, where we decide to live, and what is really important in our value system is largely reflective of our belief system. We each have special qualities unique to us as Jews, just as these 12 individual stones represents the 12 tribes, so to each of us represent an important part of Judaism. We are all important links in the chain. We might practice differently, we might come from different backgrounds, and we might be on different spiritual levels of the ladder, however we are all Jews.
Yaakov individually was able to serve G-d in the most difficult of circumstances, he made sure that his twelve sons would not be affected by the negative influence of Charan. On the contrary, he strove to instill in them the Torah he had received from his father and grandfather and studied with his ancestors Shem and Ever. He proved that it was possible to live a Torah-true life even on the other side of the Jordan. This speaks volumes to us as Jews in the diaspora, some of us living in small towns, with few Jews. This is the key to establishing a nation which can withstand the test of time, one which will endure the trials and tribulations which we are encountering.
We all have the opportunity to make a difference in our own lives and those of the people we are surrounded by. As Yaakov made his way to Charan a land of spiritual idolatry he maintained his identity and that of his family, so to we need to fuse into one strong nation of unity and harmony-our existence depends on it.
Shabbat Shalom,
Miriam
This past shabbos we had the opportunity to meet a nice, young man who gave me this delicious recipe.
Eldad’s Chocolate Banana Cake
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)
1 cup sugar (or 3/4 cup maple syrup)
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized
bananas)
2 Tbls fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
hazelnuts or walnuts(optional)
chocolate chips (if you want them to float in the cake without sinking then grind them up before putting them in.)
Preheat oven to 350 F.Bake for about 1 hr.
Makes one 9" loaf pan.Enjoy!!!
Split Pea Soup (Vegetarian)
use vegetable stock in place of the water.
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 carrots diced
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2 cups dried split green peas, rinsed
5 cups water(broth)
juice of 1/2 lemon (reserve the zest)
a few pinches of paprika
olive oil to drizzle
Add olive oil to a big pot over med-high heat. Stir in onions
and salt and cook until the onions soften, just a minute or two.
Add the split peas,carrots and water. Bring to a boil, dial down the
heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the peas are cooked
through. Using a hand blender (or regular blender) puree 1/2 the soup .Stir the reserved (still chunky) soup back into the puree If you need to thin the soup out with more water (or stock) do so a bit at a time. Stir in the lemon juice and salt to taste.
Ladle into bowls or cups, and serve each drizzled with olive oil and topped with pinch of paprika and a touch of lemon zest.
Shabbat Shalom!.
