Every Land Is Holy

In 1854 President Franklin Pierce offered to purchase two million acres of Pacific Northwest land from the Suwamish and Duwamish tribes. Chief Seattle agreed although conditionally. He offered these words in response:

Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished. Even the rocks, which seem to be dumb and dead as the swelter in the sun along the silent shore, thrill with memories of stirring events connected with the lives of my people.

This week the Torah opens with Jacob running from his brother Esau who has vowed to kill him. As the sun begins to set, he lies down to sleep. He dreams of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels going up and down its steps. God stands beside him and promises to protect him.

Jacob awakens and exclaims, “Surely Adonai is present in this place, and I did not know it! How awesome is this place!” (Genesis 28)

The medieval commentator Rashi suggests that Jacob should have known he was resting on holy ground. He was after all journeying through the land of Israel. Our tradition believes this land holds extra holiness. Jacob however appears unaware of the holy land’s sanctity. Rashi imagines him saying, “If I knew God was in this place, I would not have gone to sleep.”

Then Jacob would never rest! And if we are to follow this counsel, we might become victimized by an unhealthy sleeplessness. In fact, in this land the ancient prophets become intoxicated with God. They become consumed by God’s message. They see nothing else but God’s commands.

The land of Israel continues to hold our souls captive. It thrills us with memories of past stirring events. I wonder if these memories blind us and intoxicate us. We ignore other prerogatives. We focus on finding the place where Jacob dreamed and that he then named Bethel. We run around saying “Can you direct me to Bethel?”

But there are plenty of places to explore. Why is every land not holy? Why do we not proclaim every parcel of land holds the potential for finding God?

The beauty of Jacob’s dream is that it happened in a “certain place.” It’s not about finding Bethel again. It is instead about finding a certain place.

Rather than chasing after named places or those that our ancestors declared as sacred, perhaps we might be better off inculcating an openness to finding holiness wherever we stop for the night.

Every part of every soil is sacred!