How do you feel when you are told: “not yet, one more thing, just a minute” before you can attain what you have been waiting for? How do you react when the goal itself is a moving target? What is required of you to reach that goal? Joyce Meyer, an American author, wrote: “Patience is not just the ability to wait, it is how we behave while we are waiting.” We can learn a lesson from Jacob in this week’s parshah, Vayeitzei. Jacob’s mom, Rebecca sends him away to protect him after he steals the birthright from his twin brother and royally pisses him off. He travels to an unknown land to find a wife amongst his relatives. In twisted fairy tale fashion, he instantly falls in love with his cousin Rachel but gets duped by his uncle and gets stuck marrying her older sister by a slight of hand and has to wait 14 years to finally call Rachel his wife free and clear. It is another 6 before he can even take his bride(s) home. (Can you even call them brides if they were married for so long before the honeymoon?) And spoiler alert, there is not a happy ending.
So, what can this story of Jacob teach us? He teaches us about patience and trust in Gd. Jacob has to be patient to achieve what he wants. He also has to trust his dreams will come true. But, being patient does not mean being idle. He teaches us about perseverance. He is not merely biding his time until Laban gives him the green light to go. He is working “behind the scenes” to gain wealth and independence. He is learning to stand up for himself. He is cultivating a family. And all through it he is passionate and steadfast in his love for Rachel and in his trust of Gd’s promise that came to him in a dream- twice. Yowza, it is a lot of work being patient! Harriet Tubman must have been thinking of Jacob when she said: “Every Great Dream begins with a great dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
The practice of yoga gives us a space to study how we behave when we need to wait for something we want, or want to be over. Are you like me- Chomping at the bit, anticipating the next move, interrupting and impatient? Do you become lazy, bored or complacent? Maybe lulled into a false sense of security? Perhaps, we can find a balance, allow our breath to pace ourselves and use the moment in between the action to connect deeper to ourselves and Gd and trust that with strength, patience and passion we can be great dreamers; that dreams can come true and we can change the world.