Vayetze. What does it take to awaken?

"And he came out." (Bereshit 28.10) It often takes leaving home to find ourselves opening to something new. This is what happens to Yaakov in parashat Vayetze: as he leaves his father's home and travels alone towards taking refuge at his uncle's, Yaakov has a dream. In this dream, he has his first awakening: a vision of a ladder, and 'malachim', messengers, going up and down of it, connecting earth and sky, connecting him to God. And on top of the ladder, "the divine, standing above him', and speaking to him. In the Jewish mystical traditions, dreams are one of the avenus of nevuah (prophecy): the Jewish way of talking about spiritual awakening. Nevuah, prophecy, isn't about predicting the future or warning the People to repent, as is often depicted about the Prophets in the Bible. Being a prophet is making ourselves available enough so we can receive a deeper knowledge. It is uncovering the deeper truth hidden underneath the clothing of the world. All of us, the Piaseczno rebbe reminds us, are called to Prophecy. Then it is up to us to do the inner work, so that we can be ready to receive.

In Parashat Vayetze, we see two types of spiritual awakenings:

The first one is Grace: it is a gift. Yaakov didn't do anything to deserve receiving this divine vision. It just happens upon him, while he is asleept. And indeed, as the Piaseczno rebbe reminds us at the opening of his Hashkata meditation teaching, according to the Talmud, dreams are one of the royal paths to receiving a glimpse into Prophecy. And that is, he says, because when we sleep, our egos are as well. When we are broken, too, our egos can start becoming more quiet. Suddenly, there is nothing much to brag about. Suddenly, the defenses fall. Perhaps this is where Yaakov was at, feeling from his brother's anger, having lost his father's home and everything he knew. Perhaps because of that, he was more available to wake up. And then came the second awakening. And this one is coming from him:

"Indeed, there is God in this place, and I (my ego) didn't know.)

Acknowledging what has happened, choosing to connect to it and waking up to the true reality of Life, while recognizing that up until now he had simply ignored this, is Yaakov's second awakening. This one may be powerful because in it, Yaakov realizes his own limits. And that he is indebted to Grace.

So it goes in Prayer. It is difficult for us to open our hearts and connect to the Source of life. Especially when the world feels dark. Especially when we feel scared. For the Hasidic Master Sfat Emet, this human need for divine help is illustrated by the metaphor of the well in our Parasha:

On his way, after the episode of the prophetic dream, Yaakov finds "a well in the field."

The well, in the Jewish Mystical tradition symbolizes wisdom, that is, Torah.

And for the Sfat Emet, the field is us. Within us there is a well of wisdom- which to him is the Oral Torah. But in the biblical narrative, the well is covered by a stone, just like our hearts, the Sfat Emet says, are often closed up. Our hearts are often burdened by the stone of fear, the stone of resentment, the stone of anxiety about the future and regret about the past. Today, as the war in Israel and the situation of the Hostages keeps dragging in ways that are heartbreaking, this may be a good time, for this first shabbat of the month of kislev, to pray for help, that the stones that cover our hearts may be removed. After all, this is the month of Miracles. After all, the whole teaching of Chanukah, is that before the miracle, in the midst of destruction, there was a little flame that had stayed intact. This little flame is like our own inner well. Today is a good time to reconnect to it. And today is a good time to pray for help, that the stone that may cover it, may be removed. Perhaps we'll be guided in our dreams. Perhaps in the middle of our awake life. Perhaps all we need to do, just like Yaakov as he was alone in the night, is to make ourselves available to it.