ויונה בצרת נפשו נרדם וישן לו. בא אליו רב החובל, אמר לו: הרי אנו עומדים בין מות לחיים ואתה נרדם וישן? מאיזה עם אתה? אמר לו: עברי אנכי.
Now Jonah, because of the anguish of his soul, was slumbering and asleep. The captain of the ship came to him, saying, Behold, we are standing betwixt death and life, and thou art slumbering and sleeping; of what people art thou? He answered them, "I am an Hebrew" (Jonah 1:9).
Did Jonah, according to Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, “shut down” because of the anguish of his soul?
Perhaps the seas are a metaphor for Jonah’s internal chaos.
Do you sometimes shut down when your life is tumultuous?
What do you do when you shut down?
Is it something you can control?
When the sailors ask Jonah who he is, how might that help him “calm the seas”?
How might naming your identity be calming?
Asking Jonah his identity seemed to rouse him to action. Does your identity rouse you to action?
If so, how? If not, why not?
Do you have more than one identity?
If so, what are they? Do you sometimes feel “betwixt” in terms of identity? How have you been challenged by and grown from having multiple identities?
Do you feel like you have to choose one identity over another? Why or why not?
The word “Ivri”, Jonah’s definition of himself, and the name of our people, “Hebrew” has a meaning: “one who transcends.”
What does it mean to be a people whose definition is to cross over boundaries? How might the state of “betwixt” be essential to our Jewish identities?
If you were Jonah, and feeling unable to face life, and the grown-ups around you were the sailors, what would you want them to ask you?
To tell you?
The captain describes their situation as “betwixt.” In what ways are you ”betwixt”?
Grades? Stages in life? Choices?
How do you make decisions when you are between two things?