Like Rain and Dew - Haftarat Vayeitzei
It strikes me every year, when we get to Parashat Veyeitzei, that Jacob’s interaction with the Holy One is… not particularly reasonable. Jacob, Ya’akov, in his time in the wilderness, essentially gives God an ultimatum. Fine, he says - I’ll let you be my God, as long as you keep me safe, fed, and clothed. What?! Ya’akov is the inheritor of the covenant with Avraham, and talking to the Master of the Universe. Surely there is no ‘if’! If Ya’akov wasn’t safe, fed, and clothed, would he really have given up on the covenant? Ya’akov is not the first person we see speaking with God in a slightly unreasonable manner. And, to be honest, I know for sure that he isn’t the last because I suspect I’m not always reasonable, either. And I recently stumbled across a short list of examples in the Talmud of unreasonable requests that people made of God in biblical literature. This can be found in Masechet Ta’anit, which I’ve been studying recently with Rabbi Roni Tabick of New Stoke Newington Masorti. ...