WRJ Voices: Vayeitzei

This week’s parashah, Vayeitzei (Genesis 28:10-32:3) is translated to “he went out” and begins with Jacob leaving Beersheba and traveling to Haran. On the way, he “comes upon a certain place and he passed the night there, for the sun was setting; taking one of the stones of the place, he made it his head rest as he lay down in that place.

“He dreamed, and lo- a ladder was set on the ground, with its top reaching to heaven, and lo-angels of God going up and coming down on it. God spoke to him and assured Jacob that his descendants will be like the dust of the earth and all the families of the earth shall find blessing. And here I am, with you. I will watch over you wherever you go… and will bring you back to this soil….

Waking from his sleep, Jacob said, “Truly, God is in this place and I did not know it!” This is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven. The Torah: A Women’s Commentary 28:10-17

In the morning, Jacob raises the stone on which he laid his head as an altar and monument and he pledges that it will be made the house of God - Beth El.

In Haran, Jacob stays with and works for his uncle Laban, tending Laban’s sheep. Laban agrees to give him his younger daughter, Rachel—whom Jacob loves—in marriage, in return for seven years of labor. But on the wedding night, Laban gives him his elder daughter, Leah, instead—a deception Jacob discovers only in the morning. Jacob marries Rachel, too, after agreeing to work another seven years for Laban. The parashah continues with a description of the children Jacob has with Leah and Rachel and the struggles with Laban over wanting to leave Haran and return home.

I would like to focus on Jacob’s dream of the angels of God going up and down the ladder and God’s promise “And here I am, with you. I will watch over you wherever you go… and will bring you back to this soil…”

I am inspired and touched by the image of Jacob’s dream. In our own spiritual development and quest, we are like Jacob watching our angels ascending and descending up and down our ladder. Our own ladder is the path we each have to hear God’s voice in our everyday lives. WRJ offers many opportunities for us all to strengthen our connection to our own holiness. Here are several ways to enrich your spiritual journey through WRJ:

The Covenant Book series including Covenant of the Heart, Covenant of the Soul, A Gift of Prayer, Covenant of the Spirit and Covent of the Generations, is a collection of poems, prayers and meditations written by our WRJ sisters to support us through our sacred journeys.

The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, published by URJ Press and WRJ in 2007 allows us to bring the voices of women scholars to our study of Torah to deepen our connection and understanding. We are blessed to be able to enhance women’s spirituality and to integrate Torah into our own lives through the commentary of biblical scholars and through contemporary commentary that links each Torah portion to our current social, philosophical and theological issues.

We grow spiritually stronger together in prayer, song and community through inspirational sisterhood Shabbat services, district convention services and Fried Leadership Conference worship. There is something so special about joining our beautiful voices together in worship, love and community. One of my special moments was chanting Torah at our WRJ Northeast Kallah in 2015 to honor my father’s memory shortly after his death and feeling the love and support of my sisters. We recently were honored with an aliyah at our district convention to celebrate and bless our new leaders. These are examples of the special moments we share as WRJ sisters as we ascend and descend our ladder - as Jacob did in his dream.

As we grow spiritually and share our connections to each other and to God, we are able to also further our connection and commitment to healing our world and each other.

Paulette Black is a new WRJ Board member and Vice President of WRJ Northeast District. Paulette has served as sisterhood president of Beth El Temple Center Sisterhood and has served on the WRJ Northeast District Board as Vice President and Area Director. Paulette served on the Board of Trustees of Beth El Temple Center, Belmont, MA for over 18 years and is a member of Beth El Temple Center sisterhood, Belmont, MA.