By Steve Rubinstein
Two of my favorite songs are Hey Jude and Sympathy for the Devil, kind of representing the loftier and baser poles of aural experience. Yet, I am going to discuss Jacob’s Ladder, not by way of Stairway to Heaven but by referring to another favorite piece of music, Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians. During this almost 1-hour composition, Reich introduces themes and slowly phases them. To the first-time listener, it might appear that there isn’t any forward motion. However, the more I have heard it, formerly subtle shifts become more apparent. I end up in a very different place than I started.
This week’s Torah Portion, Vayetze, recounts Jacob’s vision of a ladder spanning from Earth to Heaven and then tells of his 20 years of labor for love as he unwittingly marries Leah before he can marry his true love, Rachel.
Jacob persevered for love. He waited for 7 years to marry Rachel, only to be told that he must marry Leah first, as was the custom (perhaps conceived on the spot) for an older daughter wed before a younger sister. During those 7 years, he was climbing closer to his goal. He didn’t realize that this was an extension ladder with slippery rungs.
Tonight’s meeting is my fifth Board meeting. And as I contemplated how to relate Vayetze to my nascent experience with this Board, I wonder if we are moving forward. Are we providing the necessary nourishment? Are we enabling this Temple’s rich heritage to be strengthened and further cultivated by the next generations, so beautifully illustrated in Vayetze through Jacob’s progeny – the future of Israel?
We live in austere times. Our fiscal budget is in need of monetary nourishment, but that is not enough and is only part of the picture. Some of you might say that money is the requisite fuel for the mission (in health care, the familiar saying is “no margin, no mission”). Chicken or egg? Are we endangering our collective spiritual climb by not viewing the entire picture? Angels ascend the Ladder; they emanate from within to disencumber us from our physical states to bring us closer to spiritual ones.
We are all angels.
