Rashi brings a very famous Midrash in his commentary to Parashat Vayetzeh, about Yaakov’s experiences when he ran away from the Land of Israel. The Torah says that when the sun set, Yaakov went to sleep, and he took some rocks on which to place his head as he slept. But when he woke up, there was only rock. The Midrash says that the stones “fought” with each other, as each wanted the tzaddik, Yaakov, to rest his head on it. Hashem made a miracle and the stones merged together into a single stone.
What does this mean? How can we explain this image of stones coming together into one?
In our lives, we have different “rocks,” different pieces, some good and some bad. One of the most important qualities that we need to have is the ability to take all the different pieces, combine them together, and reinvent ourselves. We need to be able to take everything we have, everything going on in our lives, the good and the bad, and create from it something new and beautiful.
I’ve seen so many people who have experienced some tragedy or crisis, and became “stuck.” They let themselves get caught in a rut because of it. Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job or a business, or some other crisis, people sometimes can’t bring themselves to move forward. Of course, I am not judging people who get “stuck” because of a personal crisis. But this just compounds the tragedy. We need to try to take the different “stones,” even our pain and grief, and create something new from it, reinventing ourselves and reinventing our lives.
Yaakov was all alone in a dreadful situation. He was already older, not married, and running away from his homeland because his brother wanted to kill him. As he faced this terrible situation, he resolved that he would take the good and the bad in his life and create something. And this is exactly what he did – he went to Lavan’s house, got married, and built the Nation of Israel.
Every Saturday night, during Havdalah, we recite a special berachah over a flame. We do this to commemorate the very first Saturday night in history. The Rabbis teach that Adam and Havah were created on Friday, and that evening, the sun did not set. The world remained light until the end of Shabbat, when it became dark for the first time. Adam and Havah were very frightened, but then Hashem showed Adam how to take two stones and rub them together to create fire, which provided light.
Adam was shown that when the world becomes dark, he must take the two “stones” – the good and the bad – and use them to create light.
Every week, after Shabbat, as we look ahead to the coming days, we recall this message. We know that this week will bring us different “stones” – some good and some bad, and we tell ourselves that we can and must take it all and create a brilliant, magnificent light.
Let us always have the faith in Hashem and the confidence in ourselves to take all the different “stones” in our lives and use them to create a truly beautiful, happy and meaningful life.