Table Talk

In this parasha, Jacob fled from his brother and went to Haran. Along his journey Jacob stopped and slept at a future holy site. He had a dream of angels going up and down a ladder. The Midrash teaches that the angels that are going up are the angels that protected Jacob in the land of Canaan and the ones going down are the ones who will protect him in Haran. According to our tradition this site would be the future place of the holy Beit Hamikdash.

When Jacob arrived in Haran he is taken in by his uncle Lavan. Lavan has 2 daughters. The older one is Leah, and the younger is Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel and agreed to work 7 years for Lavan in order to marry Rachel.  After 7 years were over, Lavan went back on his promise and tricked Jacob into marrying Leah instead of Rachel. Lavan said to Jacob that to be able to marry Rachel he must work another 7 years. At the end of this 7 year period,  he finally was able to marry Rachel. Jacob then became a shepherd for 6 more years for Lavan before he finally decided to take his large family and return to the Land of Israel. 
            
We learned in this parasha that Jacob always believed in God and trusted him. When he left home for the first time he was scared, but he prayed to Hashem for His help and Hashem did help him on his journey.

When my grandpa, Don, had a heart attack, my grandma called 911 and luckily the paramedics were able to get to my grandpa in 2 minutes.  They helped him breathe again and took him to the hospital. I prayed everyday for my grandpa to be better and have a full recovery and I believed and trusted that Hashem would listen to me. My prayers came true and now he is fully recovered. Just like with Jacob, I prayed really hard to Hashem for something important and Hashem answered my prayers.

In this week’s parsha Jacob has to end up working very hard for 14 years to accomplish his goal of marrying Rachel. In my own life, I have had to work really hard as well at achieving my goal of making the swim team.
                                                                        
Every day for weeks before the tryouts I swam many laps, even when it was cold in the pool. I worked super hard to get on the team. I hoped that all of the hard work would pay off.  When I got to the tryout I saw some fast swimmers and some that were not as fast. I dove into the water and swam a few laps as fast as I could. Even though a few kids were quicker than I was, I got on the team and swam my personal best. Just like our Father Jacob, I worked very hard and I accomplished my goal!
 

Thank you and Shabbat Shalom!