Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Vayetze
Rashi explains: Yakov never would have slept there, had he known that this was a holy place, the future site of the Bet HaMikdash. He would have continued on to a less holy site in order to rest his head.
However, Rav Moshe Feinstein says that Hashem davka wanted Yakov to sleep in that sacred spot! For what Yakov "did not know," & what G-d wanted very much to teach him – and us! - was that every activity we perform in life - be it eating, dressing, or even sleeping – can be a holy act, if only we have the right outlook, intent & attitude.
When we eat, for example, we glorify G-d by reciting a blessing acknowledging that He provides our sustenance. We show respect for others by talking - & especially by listening! – in a dignified manner as we sit around our table, saying "please" & "thank you" as the food is passed. When we dress, we carefully & consciously choose clothes that reflect the dignity of a tzelem Elokim; clothes that are at once attractive & clean, yet modest. And when we lay down to sleep, we ask ourselves if we have used our day wisely; we beg forgiveness for any wrongs we may have committed during the day, & we request Hashem to guard us during the night as we "re-charge" our batteries through the gift of sleep, so that we can serve Him again, at full strength, tomorrow.
Yakov awakens & immediately builds a Mizbeyach. He offers oil upon it & consecrates the spot as the "House of G-d." He calls the Bet HaMikdash a "house" for now he understands that which he did not know before: that our home is the essential "laboratory of learning" where we may perceive & practice myriad Mitzvot on a daily basis & strengthen our relationship with Hashem. In fact, even the inanimate house itself can be a holy thing, if it hosts guests under its roof; if its walls house books of Torah; & if its "airspace" contains the sounds of learning, prayer, friendship & love.
The Torah begins, interestingly enough, not with an Alef, as we might have assumed, but rather with a Bet - the very letter which means "house" (& is actually shaped like a house, with an open door to welcome others!) Hashem is telling us that living a Torah life begins with the way we conduct ourselves each & every day inside our own Bayit.
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Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
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