In the Image of Jacob
Parashat Vayishlach Drash by Rabbi Ken Aronowitz
January 4, 2024
I was working with a Bar Mitzvah student years ago and was surprised to see that his Devar Torah consisted entirely of a series of questions. After thinking about Abraham questioning G-d and Korach questioning the authority of Moses and Aaron, I read through the Devar Torah and told the young man “This is so Jewish, don’t change a word!” In keeping with this tradition, I would like to pose the following question to all of you… Are you the same person you were 5, 10, 20 years ago? Are you the same person in terms of the way you look at the world and interact with it? If you think you are the same person today that you were then please raise your hand. If you think you are not the same person today that you were then please raise your hand.
To all of you who raised your hand for yes congratulations on the continuity and constancy in your life. But to all of you who raised your hand for no I believe that you are not only created B’tzelem Elokim, in the image of G-d, but also B’tzelem Yaakov, in the image of Jacob.I say that after looking at the words Jacob speaks to HaShem in last week’s parashat Vayeitzei as compared with the words he speaks to HaShem in this week’s portion Vayishlach; which show a significant change in Jacob. In last week’s portion Jacob leaves his home and family in Beer Sheva because that is what you do when your brother who you tricked out of his birthright blessing is threatening to kill you. Alone on this journey at night in a place he didn’t know, Jacob has a dream of angels ascending and descending on ladder or stairway which reached from the earth to the sky and G-d appearing beside him speaking words of comfort, Hinei anochi Eemach Ushmarticha, here I am with you and watching over you. Wherever you go I will bring you back to this land. I won’t leave your side until I have done all that I have promised you.
Jacob awakens and exclaims Achein Yeish AdoShem Bamakom Hazeh v’anochi lo yadati, G-d is in this place, and I didn’t know it. But if you were thinking that this is a transformative moment for Jacob…it’s not. Jacob’s words tell us that he is still Yaakov, the heal, the follower, the manipulator. In response to G-d’s promises Jacob plays let’s make a deal; If You G-d remain with me on my journey giving me bread to eat clothes to wear and return me safely to my father’s house, if you do all for this for me, then You HaShem will be my G-d.
Moving to this week’s parashah, Vayishlach, Jacob leaves the house of his uncle Lavan blessed with cattle, servants, two wives and twelve children. But his journey home is complicated by dark thoughts about encountering his brother Esau and the mess he left behind at home.Vayishlach, Jacob sends messengers to help smooth things over only to be informed that Esau was on his way to meet him with four hundred men.
Feeling anxious and uncertain on how things will go Jacob divides his family and possessions into two groups before once again turning to G-d but this time with more mature words of prayer. Gone is the bravado and the bargaining from his previous prayer. Instead, Jacob shows humility saying Katonti Mikel HaChasidim, I am unworthy of the kindness you have consistently shown me G-d, I have nothing to give you except to do what you ask of me. In this moment Jacob realizes that seeing his brother Esau is something that he needs to do in fulfilling G-d’s plans for him and keep the story of the Jewish people moving forward. Because Jacob understands that this was something he couldn’t do by himself, he needed help that only G-d could provide.
As a hospital chaplain I am constantly asked to pray for patients and when I ask a patient or family member what they are seeking through prayer, it’s usually G-d please bring about a healing, in some cases a miraculous healing. This represents how many people think of G-d and use prayer; G-d I need you to do this thing for me which reminds me of Jacob’s first prayer .
Why not? As School of Studies director I led many a model Passover Seder praising G-d who parted the waters of the Reed Sea saving our ancestors from Pharaoh’s army. And the children hearing this each year grow up thinking of G-d doing all the work when it comes to things we pray such as healing, peace, or doing well on a final exam. People think of G-d like my mother who made my bed through my high school years. Maybe that is why at SJS we made a big deal about Passover and didn’t spend much time talking about the Shoah where G-d wasn’t there parting the waters for us.
Jacob’s prayer in this week’s parashah teaches us that praying is not a spectator sport but instead it’s about asking G-d to bless us with what we need for us to do the thing that needs doing. In fact, Jacob’s words of prayer this week speak to my personal prayer practice. When I pray as Chaplain, Rabbi, Cantor, husband or father for myself or someone else I ask G-d for two things. Koach (strength) and Chochma (wisdom) to do what is needed for the task set before us.
G-d answered Jacob’s prayer in granting him the Koach and Chochma needed to win his wrestling match with an Ish appears, a man whom most commentators believe was an angel.The angel blesses Jacob with a new name, Yisra-Eil, one who wrestles or contends with G-d. And it is the Koach and Chochma that G-d grants Jacob makes the difference in making it possible for him to show up for his reunion with Esau.
So next time you need to do lead a community in prayer for Shabbat, deliver an important presentation, work through a time of illness or are faced with any other challenge or task, you can ask G-d to grant you the Koach and Chochma to do what needs to be done. It is what I pray G-d grants the members of the IDF in confronting those who seeks Israel’s destruction.
And what Jacob discovered, what I’ve found and believe you will find is that Amen, Eil Melech Neeman, G-d is a faithful sovereign when it comes to granting us the strength and wisdom needed for whatever needs to be done. Shabbat Shalom.
