Why Yaacov? That is the question we find ourselves asking repeatedly as we read through the stories in the book of Bereishit. Unlike Noach, Yaacov is not described as righteous, perfect in his generations, one who walked with God. Unlike Avraham, he did not leave his land, his birthplace, and his father’s house in response to a Divine call. Unlike Yitzchak, he did not offer himself up as a sacrifice. And he didn’t appear to have the burning sense of justice and willingness to intervene that we see in Moshe in his youth. Yet we are defined for all time as the descendants of Yaacov, Bnei Yisrael. Hence the force of the question: Why Yaacov?
The answer, it seems to me, is found in the beginning of this week’s parsha. Yaacov was in the middle of a journey from one danger to another. He had left home because Eisav had vowed to kill him when Yitzchak (their father) died. He was about to enter the household of his Uncle Lavan, which would itself present other dangers. Far from home, alone, he was at a point of maximum vulnerability. The sun set. Night fell. Yaacov lay down to sleep, and then saw the majestic vision of the angels climbing the ladder.
Nothing has prepared Yaacov for this encounter, a point emphasised in his own words when he says, “the Lord is in this place – and I did not know it!” The very verb used at the beginning of the passage, “He came upon a place,” in Hebrew vayifga bamakom, also means an unexpected encounter. Later, in rabbinic Hebrew, the word haMakom, “the Place,” came to mean “God.” So in a poetic way the phrase vayifga bamakom could be read as, “Yaacov had an unexpected encounter with God.”
Add to this Yaacov’s late-night wrestling match with the angel in the next week’s parsha and we have an answer to our question. Yaacov is the man who has his deepest spiritual experiences alone, at night, in the face of danger and far from home. He is the man who meets God when he least expects to, when his mind is on other things, when he is in a state of fear, and possibly on the brink of despair.
Avraham gave Jews the courage to challenge the idols of the age. Yitzchak gave them the capacity for self-sacrifice. Moshe taught them to be passionate fighters for justice. But Yaacov gave them the knowledge that precisely when you feel most alone, God is still with you, giving you the courage to hope and the strength to dream.
Sometimes our deepest spiritual experiences come when we least expect them, when we are closest to despair. We are at our point of maximum vulnerability – and it is when we are most fully open to God that God is most fully open to us. The most profound of all spiritual experiences, the core of all others, is the knowledge that we are not alone. God is holding us by the hand, sheltering us, lifting us when we fall, forgiving us when we fail, healing the wounds in our soul through the power of His love.
