From our Torah portion this week (i.e., Vayishlach) we read: “And Jacob called the name of the place “the Face of God” (i.e., Peniel: פְּנִיאֵל) saying, “For I have seen God face to face (פּנִים אֶל־פָּנִים), and yet my life has been delivered” (Gen. 32:30). And where did Jacob see God “face to face” except in the struggle of faith, while seeking the blessing, even in the midst of his own inner conflict? And here too may we find the Shining Presence, the Face of God, even in the midst of our troubled lives, as we struggle, refusing to let go until we are taken hold by God’s love…
“And Jacob called the name of the place ‘Peniel,’ translated “the Face of God.” The “name of the place” (שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם) here refers to the heart, the inner sanctuary, which is called the place of God. Where it says, “let them make me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst” (Exod. 25:8), the text literally reads, let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell within them (בְּתוֹכָם), that is, within their hearts. The place (המקום) is therefore the holy ground of the heart; the place within where God’s face is disclosed, and where we can apprehend God. It is noteworthy that the Hebrew word for “face,” i.e, panim (פָּנִים), is written the same way as the word for “inside,” that is, penim (פְּנִים). Indeed the word face comes from a root word panah (פָּנָה) meaning “to turn” (the Hebrew preposition “before,” i.e., lifnei (לִפְנֵי) comes from the same root and literally means turning toward or facing something). We can come to “the place of God” when we turn our hearts in respect before what is real and true. “Respect precedes Torah,” which means we cannot even begin to experience the Divine Presence apart from honoring the sacred, distinguishing it from the common, and understanding that we owe every fiber of our existence to the One before whom we shall give account (Heb. 4:13). The Spirit promises: “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me bekhol levavkha – with all your heart – and I will be found by you, declares the LORD” (Jer. 29:13-14).
Hebrew Lesson:
Jer. 29:13 Hebrew reading:
- Jer. 29:13 Hebrew page (pdf)
Note: “With all your heart” — with both your “good” heart and with your “evil” heart — that is, with all that is within you do you seek… You don’t wait until you are “cleaned up” to reach out to God, but come “just as you are” — in the midst of the messiness and sin of your life…
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