God is in The Place

“God is The Place”

Jacob flees from his brother Esau’s anger and his death threats.

He follows his mother Rivkah’s instructions to seek refuge with his uncle Lavan.

Night falls, he finds himself alone on the road, and he lies down to sleep.

He dreams of a ladder stretching from earth to heaven, with angels ascending and descending.

At the top of the ladder is God, promising protection, companionship, and a future return: “Know that I am with you. I will guard you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have fulfilled My promise to you.”

Jacob wakes up and exclaims, “Surely God is present in this place, and I did not know it!”

The word for “place” in the text is Makom, one of the names of God.

God is the Makom, the place of the world, yet the world is not God’s place.

We exist within God’s oneness: totally held, supported, and surrounded, even when we feel adrift.

Like Jacob, when we are alone, unsure of our future, or frightened by the darkness around us, let’s remember that God is near and available.

God is our Rock, our Place, the One we can always turn to for comfort and reassurance.

As we say in our daily Adon Olam prayer: “God is with me; I shall not fear.”

Much love, Shabbat Shalom,

Elissa