GENESIS XLVII:28-L:26

YAAKOV AND THE HARMONY BETWEEN SPIRIT AND MATTER

The iconoclast who made a complete break with the idolatrous past was Avraham, the first patriarch. His son Yitschak (Isaac)became the factor in the continuity of the monotheistic ideal, through a behavior that highlighted his detachment from the earthly environment and that was revealed when he did not recognize the identity of the son who brought him food

to receive the paternal blessing.

Although Yaakov (Jacob) is the third of the patriarchs, he represents an intermediate position: he does not deny the validity of the earthly world, but he is aware that man’s task is to elevate the mundane to the heavenly. If so, why did God create man with a material content, from the dust of the earth? I could have created him as a purely spiritual being, just as in the case of the heavenly angels. The purpose was to demonstrate that there is a spiritual ingredient in what we perceive as the material world.

Let’s borrow a concept from physics: there is an equation, a relationship between matter and energy, as demonstrated by the illustrious descendant of the patriarchs, Albert Einstein, and that in the spiritual field would be Yaacov’s task. Man’s task is to search for this relationship: to uncover the layers that prevent us from seeing because they hide the spiritual ingredient that is the fundamental energy of matter. In Yaakov’s case, this conception is represented by the dream of the ladder that connects earth and sky: the purpose is to climb, step by step, to the heights.

By closely following the adventures of the third patriarch, we realize that most of the events that marked his life have to do with passions, deceit and loyalty, with the aggravating factor that in the last years of his life the drama of jealousy and envy develops among his children.

Was the patriarch overly busy with conflict between men instead of paying attention to spiritual space?

Biblical exegetes pointed out that the conflict that the matriarch Rivkah (Rebecca) felt in her womb during pregnancy with her twin sons was symbolic of the difference in orientation that their respective lives would take. Esav (Esau) became the man of the field and hunting, with the emphasis on the material world, while Yaakov set out on the path of spirituality. How can we explain the detail alluded to, the patriarch’s concern for events and facts, similar to those that many have to face?

Yaakov represents the stage of the reconciliation between the physical world and the universe of the spirit. While Yitschak’spersonality  is oriented exclusively towards the spirit, Yaakov represents the dialogue between body and soul, the harmony between the elements. For if God desired man to be a wholly spiritual creature, why then did He give him a body with carnal appetites?

If we consider that Yitschak represents the rejection of matter toopt for spirit, Yaakov represents the complementarity between these two concepts. Yaakov’s attitude is manifested in the Berachah (blessing) that is pronounced before eating bread, for example. Not only is God recognized as the determining factor in the preparation of food through the energy that the earth provides for the development of wheat, the Berachah is a way to elevate a biological act to the rank of a Seudah shel mitsvah, a consecrated meal.

The use of the product of the vine for Kiddush is another example of the use of an element that comes from nature for the sanctification of the holiest day: Shabbat.

Yaakov fought an angel-man before the encounter with his brother Esav, after a twenty-year absence. Ki sarita im Elohim ve’im anashim vatuchal, “for you fought with God and with men and conquered” is the blessing that the patriarch receives, a sign that Yaakov is the link between God and man, heaven and earth.

Now Yaakov lies on his deathbed and reflects on each of his children. Probably, his fundamental concern is whether they have learned the basic lesson that is the purpose of their leadership, the approach to divinity. The turning of the dining room table of the home into an altar through the Berachah.

Unlike the early patriarchs, the Torah does not mention that Yaakov died. The title of the reading is Vayechi: “lived”. Whether the patriarch is still alive depends on the behavior of his descendants, whether it is in accordance with the patriarch’s teaching.

Every generation must answer if Yaakov is still alive!