In this week’s parashah, Va-yetzei, Jacob flees from his home after receiving the blessing of the first-born and infuriating his older brother, Esau. On the journey to his uncle Laban’s home, he falls asleep and dreams of a ladder ascending to the heavens, and he hears the voice of God blessing him. Upon awaking he says the famous words, “Surely God is present in this place and I – I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16).
The commentators ask, is it possible that Jacob does not recognize that God is all-present all the time? Rather, several of them explain, Jacob’s question is intended to express his regret for sleeping in such a holy place, where he could better have experienced God’s presence if he had remained awake. So I wondered, isn’t it possible that Jacob, in fact, sensed God’s blessing only because he was asleep, such that had he been awake, he would not have heard God’s words? I scoured the regular commentaries for an answer – at least for someone who would have raised this question (I assume that all the questions have already been asked, even if not all of the answers have been offered). It wasn’t until I reached an 18th century commentary, the Or Ha-Chayim, written by Rabbi Chayim ben Attar from Morocco, that I found validation for my perspective. (To paraphrase one of my teachers, the commentator agreed with me!)
The answer is clear: if Jacob had not slept, he would not have dreamt of God’s blessing to him. Would he have felt the divine presence if he had remained awake? We do not know. But, I believe, we must conclude that God’s presence inhabits every place, and that is what Jacob should have realized. What he learns is that there are many ways to know God, awake or asleep, here or there. We should learn from Jacob’s experience and open ourselves to the possibility of feeling the presence of God in our lives at every moment and in every place.
Shabbat shalom.
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