There is a Jacob in Each Generation

There is a Jacob in Each Generation


According to Midrash Breisheet Rabbah (56:7) there is a “Jacob” in each generation. Why would the Midrash say this?  Because Jacob is the most “real” of our forefathers in Genesis. He is the most accessible role model. Jacob is the Jew who struggles. 

 

In this week’s parasha we see Jacob evolve from a fearful youth on the run into a complex individual. Neither the passive actor in Rebekah’s plot to deceive Isaac, nor the naïve groom in Laban’s schemes, Jacob finally comes into his own. 

 

The turning point occurs when Jacob and his family flee the scheming Laban.  When Laban catches up with them he accuses them of stealing his traphim – the family idols. As he stands by silently, watching Laban search his wives’ belongings, Jacob’s anger grows until he can’t take it any more:  “What is my crime, what is my sin?!” Jacob is through being the victim. He stands up to his father-in-law, details what a faithful son-in-law and worker he has been and draws a real “line in the sand” by placing a mound of rocks between them.  

 

Whether it was this confrontation, his reunion with Esau or his wrestling with an angel, Jacob overcomes his fear and doubt and grows from the experience.  It is this personal, internal wrestling that resonates with us. It inspires us. 

 

You see, we also struggle: with belief and doubt, the new and the unknown. Spiritual growth is acquired through effort, a search for a truth, and through both painful and joyous experiences. 

 

Our growth, whether physical, intellectual or spiritual, follows a very individual path. Our spiritual make-up reflects our personality and personal investment in the process.  As we see with Jacob, spiritual growth is not always expressed in a consistent pattern of behaviors or beliefs. It is always a very personal endeavor and, therefore, not given to outside critique or approval.   Hence, those who would judge others based solely on patterns of ritual behavior violate Rabbi Meir’s well known admonition in Pirkei Avot not to “look at the jar but what is in it.”  Spiritual maturity is a process, not a product. 

 

Using the imagery of Jacob’s dream, we see that growth is a move up the ladder, using our own power. The Midrash tells us “God chose Jacob, yet did not draw him near. Rather it was Jacob who brought himself closer to God.”  Like Jacob, we have to bring ourselves closer to God. Sometimes we move up the ladder, at other times we fall down. Every move up involves stepping away from the ladder and into a void; moving away from safe and comfortable answers. The honest spiritual seeker understands and lives with “gray areas” and unresolved issues. What is important is that we keep climbing.  

 

 

The Talmud in Ta’anit tells us:  “Jacob never died. As long has his descendants are alive, so too will we be alive.” We are B’nai Yisrael, the children of the wrestler. Our Tradition demands serious questioning and rejects “easy” answers. Regardless of our affiliation or level of observance, we must keep reaching for the heavens, with courage and honesty, remembering our role model – Jacob.     

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