Returning to Places of Connection
“I am sitting
In the morning
At the diner
On the corner
I am waiting
At the counter
For the man
To pour the coffee …” (Tom’s Diner)
There’s a small diner in Brooklyn on the corner of Washington Avenue and Sterling Place called Tom’s Diner. Passing by, you might not think much of it. Its interior consists of an eclectic collection of nicknacks, signed headshots, and antique Christmas decorations. Its exterior simply reads “Restaurant.” As a child, I would go there almost every Sunday morning with my mom and dad. I’d sit there eating my chocolate chip pancakes and recounting the week as my parents ate their omelets and sipped their hot coffees. As the years went on, my chocolate chip pancake order stayed the same, but now it was just my mom and I who sat at our table recounting our week and eating our brunch.
Last week we read in Parshat Vayetzei that Jacob, while fleeing from his brother, layed down, using a rock as a pillow, and dreamt of angels ascending and descending a ladder between Heaven and Earth. Once he awoke, Jacob took the rock and made a monument to remind himself that this place was holy, a place he would one day return to.
וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם יַעֲקֹ֜ב בַּבֹּ֗קֶר וַיִּקַּ֤ח אֶת־הָאֶ֙בֶן֙ אֲשֶׁר־שָׂ֣ם מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָ֔יו וַיָּ֥שֶׂם אֹתָ֖הּ מַצֵּבָ֑ה וַיִּצֹ֥ק שֶׁ֖מֶן עַל־רֹאשָֽׁהּ׃ וַיִּקְרָ֛א אֶת־שֵֽׁם־הַמָּק֥וֹם הַה֖וּא בֵּֽית־אֵ֑ל וְאוּלָ֛ם ל֥וּז שֵׁם־הָעִ֖יר לָרִאשֹׁנָֽה׃
“Early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He named that site Bethel but previously the name of the city had been Luz.”
—Genesis 28:18-19
And in this week’s Parshah, Vayishlach, we see Jacob returning to that place.
וַיָּבֹ֨א יַעֲקֹ֜ב ל֗וּזָה אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן הִ֖וא בֵּֽית־אֵ֑ל ה֖וּא וְכׇל־הָעָ֥ם אֲשֶׁר־עִמּֽוֹ׃ וַיִּ֤בֶן שָׁם֙ מִזְבֵּ֔חַ וַיִּקְרָא֙ לַמָּק֔וֹם אֵ֖ל בֵּֽית־אֵ֑ל כִּ֣י שָׁ֗ם נִגְל֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים בְּבׇרְח֖וֹ מִפְּנֵ֥י אָחִֽיו׃
“Thus Jacob came to Luz—that is, Bethel—in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. There he built an altar and named the site El-bethel, for it was there that God had been revealed to him when he was fleeing from his brother.”
—Genesis 35:6-7
So why does Jacob return? What was it about that place that pulled him back? Perhaps it was the dream of angels. Maybe he felt indebted to it. Maybe he was seeking to thank God for where he is. Or maybe he was trying to connect to his past. We all have places like Jacob. Places of importance. Places of memory. Places filled with emotion. And as our lives continue to move forward, Jacob teaches us that sometimes the way to continue forward is by going back to the places that remind us of how we got to where we are.
It’s strange how a place like Tom’s not only became the place for the best pancakes, but the place that helped keep my father’s memory alive. Years later, my mom and I still sit at our table recounting stories of my dad and eating chocolate chip pancakes.
—Cantorial Intern Lauren Roth