This week we read Parashat Vayetzei, which opens with Jacob fleeing from the wrath of his brother Esau, en route to finding safety in the home of his uncle. When the sun starts to set, he stops to rest for the night and has only a stone for a pillow. He has a dream about a ladder, with angels going up and down, and hears the voice of God. He wakes up and says “Truly, God is in this place, and I, I did not know it!”

Jacob’s surprise is understandable. He is in an unknown place. He is travelling alone, and with very little. He has no guarantee that he will reach his destination safely; he only knows that he can’t go back. He does not know when he will see his parents or his brother again. And his dream mirrors the movement and liminality of a traveller. It was in this dark, unfamiliar and uncertain place that he is amazed to recognize God’s presence.

And sometimes, so are we. It is hard to know what the coming weeks and months hold in store for us; we only know that we can’t go back. We need to be separated from many people we love in order to stay safe, without knowing when it will be safe to see them again. We do not have the comforts and security we once did. We seem to be in a cycle of going up and coming down. And yet this parasha and this season in our secular calendar call on us to be grateful. To perceive God in this place, even if we did not know that God is with us. To see God in brilliantly colored fallen leaves, to hear God in the voice of a teacher on a screen, to sense God in moments of hope.

Even in uncertain times and places, we can find reminders of the sacred. Wherever you are on your journey, may you arrive safely. And may you have moments of awe and gratitude along the way. Happy Thanksgiving.