Daniella Segall - Dvar Torah
My Torah portion is called Vayetzei. There is so much to grasp from it. Jacob leaves his home as he is running from is brother who is trying to kill him. He is deserted with no belongings. One night he has a dream… In his dream he sees a ladder with angels going up and down the ladder. This was a sign that God was with him.
After that he goes to the land were his uncle lives.
There, he falls in love with Rachel, his uncles daughter. He wanted to marry Rachel so his uncle makes him work for 7 years. After the 7 years his uncle does not give him Rachel, but his sister, His uncle deceived him. To marry Rachel, Jacob had to work another 7 years. At the end of my portion Jacob does get to go back to his hometown with all his wives and children.
Jacob’s dream was a sign of hope, his salvation. The ladder could symbolize his uplifting, a new journey. This all associates with dreams.
What is a dream? Can we put a definition behind it?
I think a dream is just a word that can be interpreted differently. Goals, thoughts and sometimes, even nightmares.
What do dreams mean to me?
I set myself goals everyday. My dream is to be a professional soccer player maybe in America. With determination, hope and a lot of hard work this can become reality. Like everyone, I also have nightmares and went through an unpleasant stage of anxiety and fear. Just like Jacob I think that sometimes you have to struggle so that you can learn and understand how to get through the situation. If I did not go through the struggle I would not have discovered my true strength. Maybe that was my salvation.
I am a bit of a perfectionist and sometimes dreaming relieves some stress or just gives me hope and strength for better days. Dreams are building blocks for me, I can learn from them no matter how old I get.
So on this day my Bat Mitzvah represents new beginnings, new hope. Through my Torah portion I have learnt to keep dreaming, set goals for the future, to aspire. Last year was a tough time and I worked hard and struggled a lot to get where I am. This is the start of a new journey for me, giving me hope for next year.
This is my celebration of entering the stages of adulthood.
Shabbat Shalom