Vayishlach: Seeking the name of mystery

Parshat Vayishlach

Gen 32:25 - 31 

25. And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break  of dawn.
26. When he saw that he could not prevail against him, he touched the  socket of his hip, and the socket of Jacob's hip became dislocated as he wrestled with him.
27. And he (the angel) said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking," but he  (Jacob) said, "I will not let you go unless you have blessed me."
28. So he said to him, "What is your name?" and he said, "Jacob."
29. And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you have commanding power with [an angel of] God and with men, and you have prevailed."

30. And Jacob asked and said, "Now tell me your name," and he said, "Why is it that you ask for my name?" And he blessed him there.

31. And Jacob named the place Peniel, for [he said,] "I saw an angel face to face, and my soul was saved."

When Jacob asks the angel's name, the angel replies with a question. Apparently, Jacob never learns the name of the angel, even though he saw the angel face to face and received the angel's blessing. This is the reverse of Moses' encounter with God when Moses is in the cleft of the mountain. At that time, God told Moses that Moses can not see God's face, but that God will proclaim God's name before him.

In each of these encounters, the person is seeking to know the divine more deeply, yet the divine holds back from being completely known. The angel holds back telling his name. God holds back showing God's face. This reminds us that the closest encounter with the divine necessarily includes an element of mystery and of incompleteness. We are a finite vessel into which the infinite is poured, and we cannot contain the entirety of the flow. 

But although we can never know the divine completely, we can appreciate the desire that impels us to know the divine just a little more.

May we be blessed to have our unanswered questions and our unanswered desires fuel our search for closeness to and alignment with the divine.

Naso -

 Parshat Naso 
Numbers 6:23-26 – "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, bless the children of Israel, saying to them: May God bless you and keep you.  
May God’s face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.  
May God’s face be lifted up to you and give you peace.”

At Fabrangen, we teach that we are a nation of priests all capable of blessing each other.  If we look at Torah not only literally as peshat, but metaphorically as drash, remez and sod, what does the priestly blessing mean to us?  How can we allow the priest within us to bless and experience the spaciousness and timelessness within us and share that with others?  How can we harvest the fruit of that blessing - security, radiance, graciousness, and peace?  There are many paths – the majesty of words, the beauty of music, the steadiness of breath, and the sound of silence.     

May we find the path that is right for us in each moment, as we rise, as we walk along our way, and as we lie down, to help all of us as a nation of priests to experience the blessing of the infinite and eternal within.  

Parshat Vayyechi: The blessing of radical acceptance

Parshat Vayyechi: Gen Ch. 49:28. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them and blessed them, every one according to his blessing he blessed them.”  

Reading Jacob’s deathbed pronouncements to his sons can be troubling.  We call these blessings, but many of the statements seem harsh, even belittling. In what way can we see these statements as blessings?  Assuming that these were accurate assessments of each son, and assuming that Jacob delivered the statements without blame, perhaps the value is in having someone see you accurately and clearly.  Being seen completely by another person can be uncomfortable, but it is also intimate and, in some ways, freeing. It is a great gift when someone sees us and accepts us as we are.

May we be blessed to see clearly and accept our whole selves, just the way we are. And from that acceptance, may we grow.

Sukkot Blessing

Listening to the wind rustling in the schach,
glimpsing the stars,
smelling the tang of the etrog,
I sit
and bless.

Parshat Ki Tavo - hearing your heart's song

Parshat Ki Tavo - Deut. 28:2 "And all these blessings shall come upon you, and overtake you, if you hear the voice of the Lord your God."

"Listen, listen , listen to my heart's song; listen, listen, listen to my heart's song, I will never forget you, I will never forsake you.  .  ."  May we each listen to and hear the voice of our heart's song.

Massey - return to our noble selves

Haftorah Massey

Jeremiah  Ch. IV: 1-2: The second of the three readings of admonition before Tisha B’Av, ends with the consolation:  “If you will return, O Israel, says the Lord, Yes, return to Me; and if you will put away your detestable things out of My sight, and will not waver; and will swear: ‘The Lord lives in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; then shall the nations bless themselves by Him, and in Him shall they praise.’”

How do we return to the Lord?  First, we must return to the most noble parts of ourselves.  Then the blessings we receive can flow to others.  May those blessings flow freely and lead to praise.  

Vayigash - Jacob's blessing of Pharaoh

Parshat Vayigash

Gen. Ch. 47:7. “So Joseph brought his father Jacob and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.”
Gen. Ch. 47:10. “So Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left Pharaoh's presence.”

In between these blessings, Pharaoh expresses his amazement at Jacob’s age and Jacob responds that he is not nearly so old as his fathers, and that his years have been “few and miserable.” The man who dreamed of angels ascending to heaven, who knew that “god was in this place”, who wrested a blessing and a new name from an angel, and who has just been re-united with a beloved son -- sums his life up as short and miserable. And yet from this glass-half-empty perspective, he summons not one, but two blessings for the half-god ruler in whose presence he stands. Does Jacob’s ability to bless even a Pharaoh in some way come from his embrace of the common griefs and pains that are present in all our lives? Instead of being over-awed by Pharaoh's splendor, Jacob connects to Pharaoh's ordinary, flawed human nature through the shared human experience that life is short, fleeting, and full of sorrow. It is from this empathic, compassionate, and human connection that Jacob’s blessing of Pharaoh arises.

May we also learn to hold our own mortality, shortcomings, and sorrows lightly and with compassion, so that they may empower us to connect with and bless all whom we meet.

Vayeshev - speaking in peace

Parshat Vayeshev
 Gen. Ch. 37:4.  “When his (Joseph’s) brothers saw that it was he whom their father loved above all of his brothers – from then on they hated him, and could not speak to him in peace.”  

This week of Thanksgiving, when many of us are with family, we have a parsha about family strife.  Joseph’s brothers were so caught in their feelings of anger, jealousy and resentment that they were unable to be at peace with him.  These feelings were understandable since Joseph lauded over them and recounted to them dreams in which they bowed down to him.  Yet the brothers were enslaved by their feelings.

As we spend time with family can we notice our feelings and expectations for how we want people to be with each other?  Can we see the histories of the relationships and have compassion for where each one is, as well as for ourselves?  Can we wish each person simach (joy), chesed (lovingkindness), rachamim (compassion), and shalom (peace)?  May the holiday be a blessing. 

{thanks to Morechai Liebling for inspiration for this drash)