A word of Torah:
We conclude our series with Jacob instituting the third daily service— ma’ariv /the evening service (Sephardim call it arvit). Jacob is the patriarch most like all of us. He wears his insecurities and flaws like a coat made up only of blacks and whites. Early on, he maneuvers to get what he wants. Later in life, the tables are turned and he is tricked by Laban into marrying the wrong woman and deceived by his children about Joseph’s fate.
Early on, he flees the wrath of his brother (and the anger of his father) after deceiving Isaac into blessing him instead of Esau. All alone he stops for the night. The rabbis read Gen. 28:11 as the moment of the first ma’ariv: "He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night/va-yifgav ba-makom va-yalen sham". That night he has an extraordinary vision—of angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven. Upon awakening, he proclaims how awesome is this makom/place; it is nothing less than a gateway to heaven.
You may remember Abraham’s verse also contained the word makom/place, but for Abraham he was on a journey to the promised place. Jacob has no idea where his life’s journey should take him. He has no clear purpose—he is just trying to make it through the difficulties of his experience. Despite that, he has the ability to recognize that this ordinary place has the potential to be a gateway to God. He understands that any place can be extraordinary.
On his return trip, again in the night, he will wrestle with a mysterious being and prevail. He will be given a new name Yisrael/the one who wrestles with himself, the divine and with life. He is now ready to meet his brother Esau after all these years. With his new found courage, he embraces his brother who is also ready to reconcile. Yet, he is still Jacob/Israel and so when his brother travels south, Jacob promises to catch up with him, but then heads off in the opposite direction. He is filled with contradictions just like us.
Yet he can find moments of holiness in the ordinary. Even in the darkness, he can find light, knowing that darkness rolls away the light, and light rolls away the darkness. Most of all, despite all the ups and downs on the ladder of life, he hopes to lie down in peace and rise up in peace even if too often his pillow is only a stone.
Similarly, Leah has all the children but not the love of her husband, Rachel has the opposite situation. They, Leah and Rachel, learn to live together. Neither needs the other to be banished. They model the spiritual life lived in makom-this challenging world, but they teach us how to live with the darkness. Theirs is the spirituality of imperfection.
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