November 14, 2013  / 11 Kislev,  5774

This past Shabbat, at Congregation Rodef Shalom, we went out … in the footsteps of our third Patriarch, who went out (Heb. Vayetze) from his home to a place of refuge. 

Unlike Jacob, though, we did not flee from an angry sibling (who was Esau).  Nor did we contract ourselves to work for a crafty father-in-law (who was Laban) for the better part of two decades.

Rather, it was Shabbat with a Backbeat, when we routinely leave the confines of our beautiful Sanctuary to pursue a Shabbat morning of spirited worship – whether through instrumental accompaniment in the Social Hall  or a more a Capella service in the Mizel Chapel.  These services, which are scheduled 3-4 times per year, enable our membership to experience a mini-retreat to a different space, where we discover energies and abilities that we did not necessarily know about.

For Congregations seeking to renew themselves, it pays to mix things up a bit, not by merely providing an alternative prayer service, but to enable everyone who attends to enjoy a break from the same-ness of logistics.

Thinking back to the Torah Portion, our Sages teach that Jacob succeeded in passing his legacy to all of his offspring because he was a blend of the best of Abraham and Isaac:

“ ... Abraham personified loving-kindness (chesed); he exposed his disciples to Divine concepts and experiences regardless of whether they were appropriately qualified to receive them, but he did so at the expense of conditioning them to absorb this Divinity. Isaac, on the other hand, personified restraint (gevurah); he elevated his disciples so they could absorb Divinity, but in doing so had to forgo letting them experience levels of Divine consciousness beyond their ability to reach on their own. Jacob personified reconciliation and harmony (tiferet); as such, he was able to blend these two diametrically opposed approaches, bringing the highest levels of Divine awareness down to people of even the lowest spiritual caliber, on the one hand, and ensuring that they absorb them as well, on the other.” (based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe)

Moreover, Jacob was able to relate to G-d in a more emotive way than his father and grandfather did.  He ventured beyond the realm of rationality, to the point at which he wrestled with God.

We, who bear Jacob's new name of “Israel,” might do well to recognize this trait of (w)restlessness in our approach to modern-day observance of Jewish Tradition:  a latent form of Jewish expression cannot sustain our communities.  Rather, we must take risks and be “out there” in our willingness to try new tunes, to move more than just our lips when we pray, and to enter other spaces in the pursuit of Godliness.

The ultimate goal, it follows, is to take back to our normal places the inspiration that had been drawn from the time away, and to infuse our routine with that great spiritual spice of renewal.