Do you like to plan ahead?
Some of us barely plan for the next hour, some of us have our calendars scheduled till the end of 2020... Jacob, our forefather, took planning to the next level; He planned 210 years ahead!
In this week's Torah portion, Terumah, The Jews are instructed to build a portable Temple (Mishkan), to serve as the meeting point between the Jews and G-d.
One of the primary materials they used for its construction was Cedar Wood. But how did they get Cedar Wood in a barren desert?
The Midrash fills in the background: As our forefather, Jacob, prepared to travel from Israel to Egypt, he foresaw that the Jews will one day need to construct a portable Temple in the desert before they enter the Promised Land. So he took Cedar plants with him to plant in Egypt and instructed his children to convey to their descendants that they take it out with them by the Exodus.
The message of Jacob was certainly not just about the importance of planning ahead. There's a profound message here.
The enslavement and persecution the Jews were going to endure in Egypt would be brutal. How would they have the courage and will-power to survive physically, emotionally and spiritually? Jacob's Cedars were there as encouragement throughout their ordeal, as if to say: "Stay Strong! The seeds of Exodus are already planted within your midst, it is just a matter of it coming to fruition."
When we go through any challenge, big or small, we too must remember that the seeds to our personal redemption have already been planted. The power to overcome may lay deep within me, I need only to summon the strength from within!