Leah at Beit Sefer

 Letters from Leah

Oct 30, 2013

Dear Beit Sefer Families,

Within a few lines of the opening of this week’s Torah portion, Rebecca is pregnant with twins.   “Vayitrotzetzu” means they struggled.  I like the way Vayitrotzezu sounds!  Say it and you can hear the struggle in the phonetics of the word.  The twins struggled within her womb.   Rebecca says, “If so, why me?” also translated as “Why do I exist?”   God answers that she has two nations struggling in her womb, one will be mightier and the older shall serve the younger.   

I am struck by Rebecca’s calling out to God in pain questioning the meaning of her life.  We all experience pain in life in some way or another, sometimes through children or close relatives, sometimes in other ways.   At this moment, so many of us are going through challenges at work, at home, taking care of parents, taking care of children, or just the challenges of day to day efforts to keep up with our busy schedules.   Do we seek comfort in God or other spiritual explanations?  God answers Rebecca and that gives me hope.   Perhaps if we listen to the world, we too can find answers to the meaning of our lives and the things that “Vayitrotzezu” inside us.  

Hopefully, Beit Sefer and TBI is a place where you and your children can come and ask the questions about the meaning of life and find respite from life’s challenges.    When we sing together, when we pray together, when we celebrate together, when we discuss the meaning of life together, we open new pathways for exploring the meaning of our struggles and of our lives.

Leah