Rabbi Weill's Blog

Dear Friends:

Jacob, in flight from his furious brother Esau, stops at "a makom," a non-descript place at the start of Va'Yetzei, this week's Torah portion. According to one commentary, "To Jacob...it is a profane place with no prior tradition of holiness, and he treats it with indifference" (JPS).

But that place soon assumes cosmic significance to Jacob. He lays down, places a rock under his head, and dreams his famous dream of a sulam, a ladder, with angels ascending and descending. The Lord, standing nearby, speaks to Jacob, promising, "Remember, I am with you." Jacob wakes, startled, and understands the significance of the moment. "Ma nora ha'makom ha'zeh! How awesome is this place!

This non-descript place treated by Jacob with indifference has now become a place vibrant with holiness. But note well: the place didn't change; rather, it was Jacob's perspective that changed. What he could not perceive before the dream he saw clearly afterward.

Every place and every moment has the potential to elicit from us that exclamation: Ma nora! How awesome! As Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, "Something sacred is at stake in every event." Our goal is to find that sacred something. Discovering it is the key to radical gratitude. Can we give thanks not only for our wonderful blessings of health, abundance, love, but also for every single moment and every single spot under the sun?

Shabbat Shalom and an early happy Thanksgiving!

Rabbi Jeffrey Weill