It’s possible to define “spirituality” as engagement with direct experience of the holy, and “religion” as an established system for describing and accessing that experience. With these working definitions in mind, the first thirteen verses of Parshat Vayetze lay out clearly some of the tensions between spirituality and religion (Gen. 28:10-32).

On his way to Haran, Jacob sleeps with a stone for a pillow. That night, he has a numinous (otherworldly, holy) dream. After he awakes, the powerful dream stays with him and he declares, “God is in this place!” Jacob takes the stone and erects it as a kind of monument. He names the place “House of God.” Then, he creates his theology, in which God is protector and provider. If God lives up to this description, he says, I will commit to this God.

In just a few moments, Jacob demonstrates a process that, in real life, can take years. A spiritual teacher receives mystical experiences, then attempts to articulate them. Others wonder how they can find the same insight, and the teacher creates a system of self-development. The system becomes, in a sense, patented, and is offered to others in a controlled fashion, with strict rules for use.

Some people find they can’t attract an experience of God within a religious system. They may have to undo all the steps Jacob demonstrated. Let go of insisting the system perform for them; name God in their own way; seek God personally, sometimes outside of institutions; be open to the numinous dream or vision and its effects. Many of our Hasidic teachers led the way on this path, certain that the God Jews would find through meditation, nature walking, or self-examination is the same one who appeared in Jacob’s original dream.

Image: Detail from “Street Art, Nahlaot, Jerusalm.” Photographer: pinilev on Wikimedia Commons.

For more reflections on Parshat Vayetze, click here.