Jacob had worked a lifetime to raise a family and now was at the point of his impending death. He gathered his family around him to offer his final words. He looked back at successes and failures, at good times and bad, at spiritual achievements and moral deficiencies.
In the midst of imparting his final speech, he paused and poignantly called out: “I wait for Your salvation O Lord” (Bereishith 49:18).
“And he [Jacob] lighted upon the place and tarried there all night because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven, and behold the angels of the Lord ascending and descending on it.” (Bereishith 28: 11-12)
“And Abraham was old, well stricken in age, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.” (Bereishith 24:1)
This is a remarkable statement: God had blessed Abraham “bakol,” in all things. Yet, in his old age, it would seem that Abraham had hit a nadir in his life, that almost everything had gone wrong for him.
I hope your academic year is going well.
Shalom uvrakha,
I hope your academic year is going well.
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Abraham must have been a very unpopular man in the society and family in which he was raised. He wouldn't likely have been elected to lead the citizenry of Ur Kasdim. He rejected their worldview, smashed their idols, repudiated their (un)ethical system. Who would vote for Abraham? He was a starry-eyed mystic and philosopher, not interested in pandering to the values and interests of his fellow citizens.
Thoughts for Parashat Nitsavim
by Rabbi Marc D. Angel
The first section of this Shabbat's Torah reading expresses God's concern lest the Israelites revert to idolatry. As in so many other sections of the Torah, we are warned not to worship false gods. This is a grievous sin with terrible consequences.
ANGEL FOR SHABBAT KI TAVO--by Rabbi Marc D. Angel