It Was Not Supposed To Be ThIs Way

In this week's parasha, Jacob's life continues to seem to go from wrong to wronger. The wife he really wanted dies first, leaving him go on in a calling filled with danger and challenges after his heart has been cut out. We see Jacob rise here in the name he gave the son whose birth took away his beloved Rachel. The combination of reality and clarity-of-calling has great relevance for Two Testament Jews in the wake of the Hamas October Pogrom.