When the direct line to God is blocked

In this week’s parsha, Toldot (Genesis 25:19–28:9), just after stating that Rebecca’s children struggled in her womb we read, “Vatelech lidrosh et Hashem/ She went to inquire of God.” (Genesis 25:22) 

What does it mean “vatelech/she went” to inquire of God? Rashi (11^th century, France) posited that if we interpret the verse to say that Rebecca prayed to God, then the word vatelech/she went is inappropriate because God is everywhere and therefore one needn’t go anywhere to pray.

So what does vatelech mean? It must mean that Rebecca indeed went somewhere to inquire of God. Where would she go to seek out God? Rashi decided that she must have gone to speak to a person of God, a wise person.

Nachmanides (13^th century, Spain) took the more conventional approach and understood the word vatelech to mean that Rebecca appealed directly to God in prayer as she was feeling such anguish about her pregnancy.

I normally have a constant and fluid dialogue with God. I speak directly to God as Nachmanides wrote that Rebecca did. However, in May, my husband, daughter and I were in a very serious accident while we were on our way to say our final good-byes to my mother in New England.

The period of time when I would normally have been comforted by the mourning rituals of our tradition was preempted by hospital stays and the road to recovery.  

Since that fateful night, I find that my open access to God has been obstructed. I am operating more along the lines of Rashi’s interpretation of vatelech -  I seek out a person of God to speak to instead of direct prayer as I used to.  

Who might that person of God be? It could be my mentor or another wise clergy person of most any religion. It might be my husband, children, siblings. I find that my family contains great wisdom and guidance in this situation even if we all have different conceptions of God and prayer. I often find myself turning to the seniors who I serve as a chaplain. It is a privilege that I am able to learn from their lives and their wisdom.

Recently I conducted prayer-‘writing workshops with of the Charles E Smith Senior Living Communities. They were some of the most exciting prayer writing sessions I’ve ever experienced. The format was that of Six Word Prayers that I learned from the poet and liturgist Alden Solovy, though many of our prayers were not exactly six words.

Here are a few examples:

Prayers from residents of the Assisted Living included:  I’m happy that I can feel [again]; Make the most of what is; Let me accept the differences in life; and Allow me to see all clearly. 

Prayers from residents of the Memory Care House included:  Thank you Adonai I am Grateful. I am grateful for getting up every morning, for good health, for friendship and joy. I am grateful for my children who teach us what love feels like. I am grateful that we can argue [with our family], make up and still love each other.

I can only imagine that Rebecca’s prayer practice vacillated quite a bit over the course of her rather unusual pregnancy as it might with any major life event. Yes, God may be all around us but sometimes we have to seek God out in order to find God. Then we can find God inside us or in those around us. As it says in Psalm 145, “God is near to all who call God, to all who call God with sincerity/earnestness.”

Some food for thought: 

Which approach to God and pray speaks to you – Rashi’s or Nachmanides?

Do you find your approach to God and prayer changing with time and experience?

This Dvar Torah is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Harriett Venetsky Goldstein, may her memory be for a blessing.

*This dvar appears in the Washington Jewish Week, November 28, 2019

As Jews we live in cyclical time. We read the Torah every Shabbat in the course of a year and instead of starting a new book when the next year rolls around, we make a big deal of ending the last chapter of the Torah and then immediately beginning again. So here we are, beginning anew with Genesis/Beresheit. 

We have the 6 days of creation and the 7^th day of rest, Shabbat. We learn that human beings were created towards the end of the 6^th day - therefore EVERYTHING was created before we were. It is true that Adam, and therefore all of humankind, were given the charge to be stewards over the earth and all that lives, breathes, grows upon it. (We can discuss at a later time whether or not we are doing a good job at that.) But what a lesson, what a realization that even the smallest of creepy crawly insects and garden weeds were here on the earth before we were. It should make us think, keep us humble – but as we are human, we are not always the best at doing what we know is right.  

Take Adam and Eve for example. The first humans. They are on the earth for maybe a New York minute before they break the only rule given to them and eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  They had reason for doing so – Eve listened to the “still, small voice” that we talk about on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur: “The great Shofar is sounded and a still, small voice is heard.” But what is that still, small voice? God? Our conscience? The voice of the universe? Or… the snake in the Garden of Eden?  A voice that is pleasant and sounds reasonable but really isn’t. 

The Sages of Old might call it our Yetzer Hara, the evil inclination. However, that doesn’t work well because sometimes the still, small voice actually gives good advice if we are smart enough to listen to it. It’s when the advice leads us onto the path that we should not travel that we get into trouble. As did Eve when she listened to the snake and ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. As did Adam when he allowed himself to be persuaded to also eat of the fruit.

The kicker is what they did after God confronted them about their actions. They didn’t accept responsibility but passed the blame. Eve blamed the snake and Adam blamed Eve (the snake remained silent). Neither stood up and said, “Hey God, I listened to the wrong voice and did something I shouldn’t have. I apologize and I’ll do better next time.”

What is our lesson in all of this? We need to pay attention to the still, small voices within and around us. We need to make good choices, or at least the best ones that we can. Finally, we need to own up to our errors because the consequences of our actions can have ramifications on more than just ourselves. 

Take a few minutes and read the text of this week's Torah portion, Genesis 1-6:8.  Genesis is a book of amazingly interesting stories that just happen to have lessons, both positive and negative, within them. 

A final note: A year ago this Sunday, October 27, 2018 an event occurred which, for many American Jews, changed their – our- thinking about what it means to be Jewish in America. 

Eleven people were shot and killed because they were Jewish at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. It is our responsibility to remember them, not only because of who they were but because their deaths changed the way we American Jews see ourselves. This link takes you to an article containing some prayers that were written on Hanukah last year, just after the end of Shloshim (the first 30 days of mourning) ended. Please take a moment to read them, to perhaps add your own to them and then, as my colleague Alden Solovy writes, “May these prayers be heard in the highest heavens, for the Jews of Pittsburgh, for the Jewish community worldwide, and for all the nations of the earth.”   https://www.ritualwell.org/blog/12-one-line-prayers-pittsburgh-jews

Shabbat Shalom, 

Rabbah Arlene