Sky & Water

 

This photo was taken in the middle of Stockholm in September 2007.

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Emotion-Packed Parshah

 

– Jacob finds himself in the middle of the wilderness fleeing from his brother, having left his parents behind with little hope of ever seeing them again.

– Just when he thinks he might at last get some rest, he falls asleep, has a weird dream (people are still commenting on it centuries later) and then God addresses him directly.

– Very soon, he falls in love with Rachel. He is the only man in the Torah who is reported to fall in love at first sight.

– After working for his father-in-law for seven years with a view to marrying the woman he fell in love with, Jacob discovers that it is his sister Leah he has married.

– Jacob spends years at his father-in-law but can never fully trust him. In fact, the two men seem to hate each other. Their relationship seems to be a never-ending chain of deception

– Rachel finds she is barren while her sister gives birth to six sons and a daughter.

In a lot of religious texts, the characters are near-heroes whose shortcomings are rare; not so Judaism as can be seen in this week’s Torah portion. I have always found it comforting. Who can identify with people who only have pure thoughts and never feel any hatred, jealousy or resentment? Strong emotions are part and parcel of our human lives, they are better acknowledged and dealt with than supressed and ignored.