Parashat Vayishlach: The Sun Rose For Him

I was taking a walk the other day, feeling a little glum, when I noticed the ginkgo tree up the street. The sky was blue and the sun was shining on it just so, making its yellow leaves radiant and aglow. I stopped in wonder and thought, “Thank you, God, for this gift today.” I felt a tiny sliver of warmth enter my system. At that moment, it seemed that that tree’s beauty was created just for me, to give me joy and remind me of God’s care.

Was I wrong? Wasn’t the whole world created for each and every one of us? At all moments this is true; the world was created and continues at each moment to be created and to exist for our sakes; it runs off the energy of divine love. This is true at all moments, but we only perceive it on rare occasions.

Yaakov had such a moment in this week’s parsha. After his struggle with the angel on the night before he meets Esav, the Torah says vayizrah lo hashemesh, “The sun rose for him” (Gen 32:32). What does that mean -- “the sun rose for him”? Didn’t the sun rise over that whole part of the world and all the people in it? Why “for him”? Rashi explains that a miracle occurred and the sun literally did rise for him -- a little early that day – because God wanted to heal him from his limp injury.

God wanted to take care of Yaakov in his time of need, and the expression of that care was the shining of the sun. Miraculous sunrises don’t happen for most of us, but maybe this miraculous one is a symbol of all the regular everyday signs of God’s continuous care of us – the daily rising of the sun and blooming of the trees and flowers, the daily gifts of life and nurturing in us and around us.

Did Yaakov feel taken care of? Did he notice the sun rise early and think, “God did that just for me?” We don’t know. We only know that it was intended “for him.” So much may be intended “for us” that we don’t notice or appreciate, not just God’s love, but also the love and care of those around us. Sometimes we are in a place where we can take it in and sometimes, often when we most need it, we don’t see it and we don’t feel it; we are alone in our neediness. This sunrise of Yaakov’s is a good reminder in those low moments that there is always love and care “for us” available in the universe; it is always there; we just have to remember to notice it and feel it.