The Power and Perspective of Place
In this week’s portion, Vayeitzei, Jacob is on the run from family strife toward an uncertain future. In this liminal, limbo moment of fear and obscurity, he has a visionary dream of divine presence and promise. He awakens and famously exclaims, “Surely God was in this place and I did not know it.”
Rabbinic tradition and contemporary commentaries project their own personal and communal concerns onto this statement. But in our current, fraught moment, perhaps Jacob reminds us that despite the personal, professional, communal or global challenges that distract us and fill us with despair for an undetermined future, if we can embrace, even for a brief moment, a chance to reflect—opening ourselves to greater forces and insights that abound around us—we could sense God’s presence—a source of comfort, support, wisdom, and inspiration to face even the most daunting obstacles that lie before us.