In the story of Jacob and his family, basically everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. He intends to marry Rachel, and he ends up marrying Leah as well, he intends to work for seven years for his father-in-law Laban, he ends up working for fourteen years, Leah is unloved, Rachel can’t give birth, and so on and so forth.
But still, even as the characters in the portion are constantly having to adjust and adapt to new circumstances, God is on their side, watching over them, guiding them, and helping them find new paths forward. A perfect example occurs at the beginning of the portion when Jacob is running scared from his brother Esau and he finds himself alone on a mountain top and has to spend the night in a very uncomfortable space, with only rocks for a pillow. That night he has a vision of a ladder with angels ascending and descending, leading him to remark, “God was in this place and I did not know it.”
Isn’t life sometimes like that? Even during our most planned out occasions, things end up going differently than expected. As the saying goes in Yiddish, “man makes plans, God laughs.”
In that vein, I would like to share a story from the life of Arlene Shappee, a woman from our community who recently passed and at whose memorial service I officiated just this past weekend. She and her husband, both Buffalonians, were spending the day in Niagara on the Lake in Canada. At the end of the day, they sat on a bench and had a lively discussion about life. They then got up and went to go to their parked car, when Arlene realized she had left her purse on the bench. The purse contained both of their passports, as well as all of their money and any form of identification. When they got back to the bench, the purse was gone. At that point, most people would have been frantic, but Arlene stayed calm, saying simply, “Well, at least we have our health.” She knew life has a way of working itself out and indeed it did, as they eventually found the purse and made it back safely to Buffalo. This is a woman who battled cancer for 37 years, only succumbing this past Thanksgiving day with her friends and family gathered round her. If only all of us could have her strength when life throws us a curveball.
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom, May Arlene’s memory always be for a blessing,
Rabbi Alex
PS: Here’s a link to my article in the Buffalo News this week: My View: Terrific neighbors are like our family
Last Updated on 12/09/2016 by wpadm