VAYETZE 28:10-32:3

 VAYETZE 28:10-32:3

      

                       

 

This week's Parshah is Vayeitzei.

Among other things we learn:

Jacob journeys from Beersheva to Charan.

 On the way he dreams of a ladder connecting heaven and earth.

 Hashem appears to him and promises that the land upon which he lies will be given to his descendants.

 Jacob works for his uncle Laban who agrees to give him Rachel as a wife, but Jacob must work for seven years in order to get this prize.  On the wedding night they pull a bait and switch, and Jacob ends up with Leah, and has to do an additional seven years of sheep herding

 Between Rachel, Leah and two handmaidens, Jacob fathers 13 children

 After 14 years plus an additional six, a prosperous Jacob and his family secretly leave Charan.

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 At 28:10-11 we learn:

“And Jacob left Beersheba, and he went to Haran”.

וַיֵּצֵא יַעֲקֹב, מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע; וַיֵּלֶךְ, חָרָנָה

Beersheva served as the launch point for Jacob’s Father and Grandfather.  So when Jacob leaves Beersheva to go to Haran it is reminiscent of Lech Lecha at 12:1 - “And the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house….”

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In the Parshah at 28:11, Jacob arrives at a place where he has a mystical experience in which he sees a ladder extending to heaven: 

“And he arrived at the place and lodged there because the sun had set, and he took from the stones of the place and put at his head, and he lay down in that place”.

וַיִּפְגַּ֨ע בַּמָּק֜וֹם וַיָּ֤לֶן שָׁם֙ כִּי־בָ֣א הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח֙ מֵֽאַבְנֵ֣י הַמָּק֔וֹם וַיָּ֖שֶׂם מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָ֑יו וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב בַּמָּק֥וֹם הַהֽוּא

The word “place”, מָּק֔וֹם is used three times in this verse.  Perhaps it is another name for Hashem as used in the Passover Haggadah or maybe a reference to the location of the future Temple, a place where Hashem will show you.

יִּפְגַּע could be translated as “meet” or “encounter”; מָּקוֹם  could be understood as “God”.

Jacob had an encounter with Hashem.  On Shabbat we have a similar encounter.  Isn’t Torah great?

Then there is Led Zeppelin: 

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Some people are slow in fulfilling a vow, and need to be reminded.  Jacob was one such person.

In the Parshah, after Jacob has his mysterious dream and Hashem’s promise, he erects a monument and makes a vow (28:21-22) –

“and this stone, which I have set up for a memorial, shall be God's house;”

  וְהָאֶבֶן הַזֹּאת, אֲשֶׁר-שַׂמְתִּי מַצֵּבָה--יִהְיֶה, בֵּית אֱלֹהִים

Did Jacob promise to build the Temple, the Mikdash?

“I will come back to my father's house in peace, and Hashem will be my God.”

וְשַׁבְתִּי בְשָׁלוֹם, אֶל-בֵּית אָבִי; וְהָיָה יְהוָה לִי, לֵאלֹהִים

Twenty years later Hashem reminds Jacob of his vow (31:13)

“I am the God of Beth el, where you anointed a monument, where you pronounced to Me a vow. Now, arise, go forth from this land and return to the land of your birth”.

אָנֹכִי הָאֵל, בֵּית-אֵל, אֲשֶׁר מָשַׁחְתָּ שָּׁם מַצֵּבָה, אֲשֶׁר נָדַרְתָּ לִּי שָׁם נֶדֶר; עַתָּה, קוּם צֵא מִן-הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת, וְשׁוּב, אֶל-אֶרֶץ מוֹלַדְתֶּךָ.ְ

Jacob is commanded to return to the land of his birth, an interesting twist on Lech Lecha.

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In this week's Parshah, the 4th Aliyah (30:14), Reuven finds a plant called the דודאים. Reuven gives it to Leah his Mother.  Rachel who is childless is desperate for this plant. The two women barter:  Leah trades the דודאים for the opportunity to sleep with Jacob. What is this plant?  What is going on here?  Did it work?

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We also find the דודאים in the Song of Songs 7:14 -

 הַדּוּדָאִים נָתְנוּ-רֵיחַ, וְעַל-פְּתָחֵינוּ כָּל-מְגָדִים--חֲדָשִׁים, גַּם-יְשָׁנִים; דּוֹדִי, צָפַנְתִּי לָךְ.

"The mandrakes have given forth fragrance. And on our doorways are all manner of sweet fruits, both new and old, which I have hidden away for you, my beloved."

Because mandrakes contain Hallucinogens, and the shape of their roots often resembles human figures, they have been associated with a variety of magical practices throughout history. 

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Rachel hiding idols,  Giovanni Battista Tiapolo, 1726-29

At 31:34, Rachel has hidden her father’s household idols that are called teraphim, תְּרָפִים.

וְרָחֵל לָקְחָה אֶת-הַתְּרָפִים, וַתְּשִׂמֵם בְּכַר הַגָּמָל

“Now Rachel had taken the teraphim, and put them in the saddle of the camel…”

What going on?  Did Rachel take the teraphim in order that Lavan not have idolatrous paraphernalia, or did she wanted to use them herself?

Five hundred years later we encounter teraphim again in 1 Samuel 19: Before he became king, David’s wife uses their large size teraphim as part of a ruse to protect David from King Saul’s soldiers  

Does this mean that there was a place for teraphim in every household?

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