Toldot - Generations

Toldot - Generations: What Do Our Ancestors Have to Teach Us?

Rivka, struggling and in pain,
Seeks the Divine Presence
And asks,
         If life is filled with such hardship,
         If strife and contention
         Exist in me and in all the world,
         Why do I exist?Gen 25:22

The Divine Presence responds,
Not by denying pain or struggle,
But by raising up the challenges of being human,
And how easy it is for us to get stuck
In a paradigm of opposition.

         How can we be spacious enough to hold complexity,
         To be with paradox
         And not allow fear and contention
         To rule our hearts and guide our actions?

Rivka goes to the well,
She goes to the source
Again and again
Seeking sustenance and wisdom
That will help her embody generosity and courage
And act for the sake of generations to come.
 
Does Rivka do this perfectly?
Of course not, like all of us,
She is at times beset with confusion and fear.
 
And still Rivka teaches us:
         Don’t hide when you are
         Struggling and in pain,
         Reach toward each other.
         As you feel yourself besieged by conflict and contention,
         Turn toward the sacred mystery, seek the Divine Presence.
         Persevere in creating and revealing connections.
         And engage in practices that help you see beyond paradox and contradiction.

The ancestors are calling,
The generations to come are sending their prayers,
         May we be people who can experience complexity, pain,
fear and turmoil and continue to be guided by love.