Beth-El.
House
of God.
This
is where we are
Every
week
Or
maybe a few times a week
For
some of us....every day.
What
happens here can be inspirational
Educational
Worshipful
Or
regular and ordinary, anything from maintenance and administration
To
turning lights on and off.
But
it’s still the house of God.
So
Jacob left his home after receiving the first born son’s blessing
Though
he was a second-born
Incurring
the wrath of his twin brother Esau
But
fulfilling the desires and design of his mother Rebekah, who believed she was
making God’s will come to pass.
She
was probably right that it would be Jacob to carry on the spiritual legacy of
the family.
Part
of that legacy would be shaped as he set out on his own,
And
laid down in a particular place for a night.
He
set stones as a headrest
And
dreamed.
There
was a ladder reaching to the sky with angels going up and down on it.
And
God stood with him, right next to him,
Telling
him,
“I
will give this land to your descendants, who shall be like the
dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and the east and the
north and the south. Through you and your descendants all the families of the
earth shall find blessing. And here I am, with you: I will watch over you
wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this soil. I will not let go of
you as long as I have yet to do what I have promised you.״
Jacob
awoke from this night-vision.
He
was scared, excited, inspired and hopeful all at once.
He
realized.....the place was a BEIT EIL, a house of God, and this house of God
was a gateway or stairway to heaven....or to the divine.
How
did Jacob know that God hadn’t been with him all along?
What
was important was that, as he was alone, away from home, just when Jacob was
feeling the most vulnerable,
God’s
presence in his life came clear to him.
The
floodgates of truth and spirit had been opened for him.
Even
without a name change - that would come later- Jacob was different.
“Surely
God was in this place and I, I did not know,” he said.
At
this point, he knew, and would count on God’s support
For
the rest of his life.
How
do we know that a divine presence doesn’t accompany us along our life’s
journey?
How
do we know that our BEIT EIL - our congregation, Beth El, isn’t, for us, a
gateway to heaven
A
connection to the divine
Through
our prayers
Through
our study
Through
our building of community
Through
the ways in which we try to engender in one another
The
values of respect, justice, compassion, kindness, and peace?
How
do we know that every word we say, inside and outside this building, doesn’t
count in God’s eyes and in the eyes of others?
God
is in this place and sometimes, we, we do not know.
But if
we remembered, and recognized God’s presence every minute, every day,
we,
like Jacob, might be changed.
In
our own personal and communal vision, may the angels above us lead us to new
heights, lofty goals, and high standards for who we are, what we do, and who we
can become.
PHOTOS:
Above - Genesis Window with the Ladder in Jacob's dream theme at Temple Beth Sholom, Topeka, KS
Below - Neir Tamid/Eternal Light with Ladder in Jacob's dream theme at Temple Beth-El, Las Cruces, NM
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