Friday, November 12, 2010

Genesis Vayetzei 28:10-32:3

Unfortunately, the Torah did not line up with my high school's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. If they had waited one more week, the stories would have matched up. On this Shabbat, we explore how Jacob and Laban interact. First off, God appears to Jacob in his dream. Jacob sees a ladder to heaven where God promises Jacob and his descendants a land to live in. Next, Laban tricks Jacob into 14 years of labor. He forces him to marry Leah before he could marry his true love, Rachel. Once married, Jacob bears his twelve sons and one daughter. Finally, Jacob leaves Haran and comes back to Canaan with all his family,except for Laban.

Let us examine Laban and Jacob's character. Laban tricks Jacob into twelve years of hard work. He forces Jacob to wait for the love of his life. On the other hand, Jacob steals everything in Laban's possession. He steals his daughters, his maids, and his good sheep. Laban's sheep will probably turn into fortune later on too. Jacob, then takes it while he's hot and leaves for Canaan in the name of God. Who is right in this situation?

Neither. Laban tricks Jacob and Jacob steals from Laban. Did Laban deserve it? Think about it. Laban tricked Jacob first. The Torah explains that he may have been doing it for the right of his own daughter. Leah is sad and alone, while her younger sister has been swept off her feet by a man who crossed the desert just to find her. Jacob was just trying to get away and back to his home. Sure, Jacob could have asked Laban to go, but he did not.

Life is not a trade off. God does not strike every lie we tell with a bolt of lightning. Laban was wrong in the first place, but Jacob deceived his father-in-law. Revenge is no way to go about in life. Matches create fires, but water puts them out. Laban very well could have apologized for what he had done. Apologizing is always right. I tend to over-apologize. I thought it was a way to cover up everything I did. Now, I see that elaborating and dramatizing does not make it better. An apology must be sincere. As in, "You know, Jacob I am sorry for keeping yo here so long. I should have never forced you to marry anyone other than Rachel. I forced labor upon you and I am truly sorry." Perhaps Laban may have been reconsidered for the Promised Land.

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