When Yaakov Avinu awakes from his dramatic prophecy the ladder stemming from earth and ascending to the heavens, he makes the following proclamation:
אכן יש ה' במקום הזה ואנוכי לא ידעתי. For there is G-d in this place! And I didn't know.
Isn't Hashem everywhere? Doesn't Yaakov Avinu know that? This Nevuah took place on Har HaBayis, the temple mount. This is the holiest site in the world. Of course there is Hashem in this place.
 |
| The Beis Medrash of R' Avraham Yehoshua Heshel in Mezhibuzh |
The Ohev Yisrael of Opta explains based on what we are taught by Chazal that before arriving at this scene, Yaakov spent fourteen sleepless years in Yeshiva. He never went into a bed, rather he dozed as he sat erect and continued Shteiging as soon as he came back to his senses. These fourteen years were a spiritual bubble. The environs were perfect for growth. He worked non-stop without any counter force. What could be better? What emerges is that this is the first time that he properly laid down in much more than a decade! This was Yaakov Avinu's first good night sleep.
We don't have any recorded accounts of Yaakov having any sort of Nevuah at all during the years he spent isolated in his study marathon. Suddenly, now when he is sleeping does he perceive such majestic inspiration. This came as a total shock to a man who did not sleep for fourteen years.
This is the meaning of אכן יש ה' במקום הזה ואנוכי לא ידעתי, Yaakov was now privy to understanding that Avodas Hashem permeates the whole universe, even in the most unlikely of situations. He can come close to the Creator even through sleeping.
Life provides us with unexpected twists and turns, but Hashem is present in every scenarion.
No comments:
Post a Comment