{"id":39078,"date":"2018-09-02T11:11:12","date_gmt":"2018-09-02T08:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=39078"},"modified":"2022-03-27T23:34:01","modified_gmt":"2022-03-27T20:34:01","slug":"and-jacob-settled-but-for-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/and-jacob-settled-but-for-what\/","title":{"rendered":"And Jacob Settled – But For What?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[361,363],"acf":{"old_id":"39078","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":38049,"related_cahpter":"37","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"How often do we try to \u2018settle\u2019 on something that\u2019s not truly right for us? \u00a0","content":"

Vayeshev<\/span> Ya\u2019akov<\/span><\/em> \u2014 and Jacob settled.<\/span><\/p>\n

The word <\/span>vayeshev<\/span><\/em>, and he settled, has both an external and an internal dimension of meaning. The root (y-sh-v<\/em>) can mean to sit, to dwell, to settle (see here<\/a> about this root) \u2014 physically, or externally speaking \u2014 and can also signify an internal settled-ness or peace of mind, as in the term <\/span>yeshuv<\/span> hada\u2019at<\/span><\/em> (settled-ness of the mind).<\/span><\/p>\n

Settling physically in a place, or even sitting down, is often an expression of inner settled-ness: one has identified one\u2019s place, a place one can <\/span>be<\/span><\/em>, rather than moving around in search of one\u2019s self and place in the world. It is difficult to sit when we are not internally at ease; a lack of inner settled-ness uproots and pushes us into motion.<\/span><\/p>\n

A midrash explains that as soon as Jacob felt this internal settled-ness, God challenged him with the story that follows: the loss of Joseph, his beloved son.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of this chapter, Jacob feels the precise opposite of settlened-ness: he is unable to be consoled for his son\u2019s loss; he can\u2019t fully accept the situation and be at peace with it. The midrash explains here that Jacob\u2019s lack of settled-ness and inability to be consoled stemmed from the fact that Joseph was actually still alive. The internal settled-ness that generally comes from accepting a situation for what it is depends on the situation actually <\/span>being<\/span><\/em> that way \u2014 we can only settle on accepting the <\/span>truth<\/span><\/em>. Trying to accept a falsity cannot result in peace of mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

And so Jacob is challenged out of his initial settled-ness into an unsettled-ness he can\u2019t resolve \u2014 into a situation that he can\u2019t fully accept as truth, because it isn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n

How often do we try to \u2018settle\u2019 on something that\u2019s not truly right for us? To settle in a situation, or on a life choice, that isn\u2019t really true to who we are? This midrash teaches us that we can only really <\/span>settle<\/span><\/em> \u2014 be truly internally settled \u2014 on a truth. <\/span>Yeshuv<\/span> hada\u2019at<\/span><\/em>, literally the \u2018settling of knowledge,\u2019 or peace of mind, must involve <\/span>knowledge<\/span><\/em>, not just belief. It reflects and requires an inner knowledge that one is in the right place and connected to one\u2019s inner truth \u2014 sitting, or having settled, on solid ground.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":false,"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"And Jacob Settled - But For What?","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"How often do we try to \u2018settle\u2019 on something that\u2019s not truly right for us? \u00a0","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":false,"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"old_create_date":"","links":false,"send_noty":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39078"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39078"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103429,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39078\/revisions\/103429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}