Vayetze
Genesis 28:10-32:3
Hosea 12:13-14:10
An oft-told joke pictures the prime minister of Israel and an important Arab leader at the Western Wall, Israel’s holiest site. Knowing that this is the place where Jews speak with God, the Arab stopped to pray, “May God grant us understanding in our protracted dispute,” and the prime minister responded, “Amen. Amen.”
The Arab leader said, “May our people find the paths to peace,” and again the prime minister replied, “Amen. Amen.”
The Arab continued, “May a long and lasting peace reign in the Middle East.” Again the prayer was met with “Amen. Amen.”
Finally, the Arab leader offered one more prayer, “May Israel disband all the settlements and surrender all the territory in the West Bank.” And the prime minister quickly retorted, “Now you are just talking to the wall.”
What is it about stone that provides people with a sense of the sacred? After all, when an observer looks objectively and rationally at the Western Wall, it is simply a stack of huge limestone blocks that formed the retaining wall around Mount Moriah, creating the plaza on which the Temple once stood. Nevertheless, it is more than a pile of stone because for centuries, Jews made pilgrimages and risked their lives to pray at that holy site.
Jews are not alone in their attachment to special rocks. Scotland’s historic Stone of Scone on which Scottish kings were crowned beginning in 839, was seized 700 years ago by Edward I of England and was not returned to Scotland until 1996. Since 1296, the stone had sat under the royal throne in London’s Westminster Abbey, where England’s kings and queens are traditionally crowned.
This 458 pound rough-hewn block of gray sandstone was sacred to the Scots as a symbol of sovereignty. Although quarried in Scotland, legend claims that it is the stone that the biblical patriarch Jacob rested his head on when he dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven, the story that is the centerpiece of Vayetze, this week’s Torah portion.
Americans visit Plymouth Rock, the supposed site of the pilgrims’ landing. The Irish kiss the Blarney Stone to gain the magical gift of gab. The faithful of Islam travel to Mecca, where the sacred black stone called the Qa’abah marks not only the birthplace of Mohammed, but also the direction toward which the faithful direct their daily prayers.
In the center of the Dome of the Rock Mosque on the Temple Mount is a rough-hewn rock, the pinnacle of the Mount Moriah, reputed to be the place where Abraham bound Isaac to the altar.
The Bible is filled with acts of setting up or tearing down stone altars as witness to memorable events. Jacob and Laban raised a monument upon Mount Gilead in memory of their covenant (Genesis 31:46). Joshua erected one at Gilgal made of stones taken out of the Jordan River to preserve the memory of his miraculous passage over the river (Joshua 4:5-7). The Israelites who dwelt on the west bank of the Jordan River raised a stone monument to demonstrate unity with their brethren on the eastern side (Joshua 22:10).
In the Bible, stone also provides rich metaphors. God is referred to as Tzur Yisrael — Rock of Israel, perhaps evoking the line in I Samuel 22:2: “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer.”
Psalm 118:22 utilizes stone as a metaphor indicating that the meek will become the mighty: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone.” This sentiment was adopted in Christian Scriptures as well. But in Parashat Vayetze, Jacob slept on a stone pillow and dreamt of a ladder that reached to heaven with angels ascending and descending to his headrest.
What is it about stone that provides people with a sense of the sacred? Rocks speak in a powerfully moving way, as Vayetze demonstrates. It was a rock that provided Jacob with a platform for his hopes and dreams.
May the call of Jacob’s pillow bring a sense of the sacred to the negotiating table when Israelis and Arabs meet to create workable and lasting peace.