Life Journey
Rabbi Ron Shulman
Shabbat Vayetzei 5772
This week, a number of people wanted to be sure that I read David Brook’s column in the New York Times about The Life Reports. Mr. Brooks sought life wisdom from readers over the age of 70 and is occasionally sharing their insights in his column.
For example, he reports happier people saw their lives as distinct chapters or phases rather than “an unbroken flow.” Some people over thought their situations while others moved on with less honesty about their circumstances. Taking risks brought more rewards than regrets. People who grew into their roles stood out to others over those with innate talent.
The one sentence, however, so many repeated to me over and over reads, “Very few of the writers hewed to a specific theology or had any definite conception of a divine order, though vague but uplifting spiritual experiences pepper their reflections.”
I interpret spiritual experiences to mean emotional moments for most people. We have many of them in our lives. They touch us and remain with us. We want to feel and to be moved by our experiences. Spirituality also means connection for some of us, feelings of harmony or unity with other people. Those of us who see our personal concepts of God tied to the experiences of our lives celebrate the spiritual dimension of religion. If David Brooks sampling is representative, this seems to be only a few folks.
A friend of mine defines spirituality this way, as “an introspective quest to live meaningfully by embracing a higher purpose.” I like that definition. To be spiritual is to turn within, to reflect on life’s mystery and beauty, and to reach out beyond ourselves so that we become a part of something greater.
This type of spirituality roots us in Torah. The Torah’s story of humanity begins where we live, in the place of instinct and emotion. In their surprise and variety, our moods and passions may be the most complex part of our being human. Expressing all that we feel within our hearts and minds reflects our individual characters, and enables us to sense God’s presence in the impact different experiences have on us.
We recognize and relate to the characters and events in the Torah because they are written in touch with the very same emotions and traits common to all of us, experienced by every human being. The Torah’s text explains who we are and why we strive as we do. This is what the Torah is about. It points us toward ethics and meaning, making us aware of God and rooting us in the history and destiny of the Jewish people.
Consider the story before us this morning. Like our patriarch Jacob, each one of us is on a life journey. We travel from day to day, place to place, activity to activity, idea to idea. When and wherever we pause along our way, at every step, we collect the truths and meanings that are our lives.
Psychotherapist Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, writes in his work, Man’s Search for Meaning, that “…the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour.” Dr. Frankl notes, “What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment.”
We see this in Jacob’s story. In Jacob’s travels through life we see the deepest emotions of our own lives: anger, jealousy, disappointment, pride and joy. All present in his closest relationships. In Jacob’s experiences we recognize competition, deception, and misunderstanding. All parts of his family and memory. These are all intimations of the spiritual in life. This is how the Torah writes all of us into its text.
As does Jacob, so do we meet people and respond to their personalities. We are drawn to some. We move away from others. We create with our hands, our minds, and our hearts. We strive to attain, to achieve, to give, and to appreciate. We succeed and we fail.
We see all of this in Jacob’s story, too. Journeying from Beersheba to Haran, Jacob is lonely and perplexed. He’s not sure what he’s supposed to become. Jacob becomes aware of God and the promise his life may attain. He discovers love. He works hard. Jacob creates his family. Only then can he return to the Promised Land, the place where his dreams and destiny await.
“After Rachel had born Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, ‘Give me leave to go back to my own homeland.’” Why then, after the birth of 10 previous sons and a daughter, after working for 14 plus years to honor his love for Rachel, after putting up with Laban’s mistreatment and remembering his earlier conflicts with his brother Esau, why after Joseph’s birth, the birth of his beloved Rachel’s first child, is Jacob ready to return home?
Rashi explains, “After Joseph’s birth Jacob trusted in God and wanted to return.” I interpret Rashi’s explanation. The birth of Joseph, Jacob’s first child with his true love Rachel, symbolizes the progress Jacob sought for the goals of his life. As he saw himself positioned and able to fulfill his particular role as a husband and father and his destiny as a patriarch, as he felt comfortable with those around him, Jacob grew confident. He felt secure. No longer lonely or perplexed, knowing who he is to become, Jacob is ready to find meaning and journey again toward his true destination.
David Brooks observes that “people get better at the art of living.” It’s true. Every accomplishment motivates us. Every mistake teaches us. Every disappointment humbles us. Every triumph encourages us. Every day surprises us. Every year brings more wisdom. Managing our moods, character traits, and passions is a complex art. That effort ties us to one another. It points us toward God.
Jacob’s life report teaches something important for when we sit down to write our own. Our lives acquire their meaning in concrete and real attainments, in the results of our endeavors and the goodness of our relationships. The path is uneven and we stumble along our way. Jacob’s life report shows that he kept on walking and trying. In our life journeys, we do too, grounded in different and real occurrences, some better and others worse, moments of spirit and meaning.
© 2011 Rabbi Ronald J. Shulman
