Judaism
Parashah of the week: Vayetze
“Jacob awoke from his slumber and said: ‘Surely God is in this place and I did not know’” Genesis 28:16
December 2, 2022 08:59
“Jacob awoke from his slumber and said: ‘Surely God is in this place and I did not know’” Genesis 28:16
December 2, 2022 08:59Every so often, it is possible to find yourself in a place that is so beautiful, powerful, serene or special that you cannot help but to feel moved.
However, such experiences beg the question: are these spiritual places truly that rare, or are we just poorly attuned to how common they actually are?
Our liturgy would lead us to believe that miraculous events are far more common than we realise. Whenever we recite the Amidah, we say Modim anachnu lach: “We are grateful to You, God, for the miracles which are with us every day — evening, morning, and noon.”
The problem is most of us are desensitised to the existence of such miracles — even the greatest among us suffer from such obliviousness.
In this week’s parashah, Jacob prophesies in a dream and, on waking, says: “Surely God is in this place and I did not know.”
According to Rashi, Jacob is embarrassed to realise that he allowed himself to fall asleep in such a special place.
But the Or Hachaim (Chaim ibn Attar, 18th century) points out that had Jacob not stopped to sleep there, and instead continued on his journey, he might never have experienced this prophesy.
Therefore, Jacob’s statement simply indicates his regret at not having realised sooner the power of the place.
It is emotionally taxing to be hyper-aware of the world around us, so we allow ourselves to slip into a state of indifference: alert just enough to protect ourselves from danger, but oblivious to the minute details of our surroundings. While there are many benefits to this defence mechanism, it sadly diminishes our chances to be amazed by unique encounters.
The best way to counteract this tendency is by practising what Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel calls “radical amazement” — experiencing the world as if seeing it for the first time.
We can train ourselves to do this through the recitation of blessings: not only stopping to smell a fragrant flower, but acknowledging the spirituality of that moment; not just sitting down to enjoy a meal, but recognising our good fortune to have sustenance in our lives.
Even taking a moment before bed to express gratitude for one or two experiences from our day can help make us more aware of the beauty in our world, so that if we ever find ourselves in an uniquely powerful place, we won’t let the moment pass us by without appreciating its true grandeur.