“And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it
reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of G-d ascending and descending on it”
Genesis 28:12
THIS WAS A VISION which set out for Jacob a credo for life.
Fleeing as a fugitive from a brother intent on murder, to take refuge in the
home of a fraudster uncle, would be a predicament to depress the most resilient
of men.
Jacob, however, would be sustained as a human being rooted on earth only if his
aspirations reached heaven.
It is not one’s station in life that is important, but one’s direction. Ambition
reaching heaven may leave one starry-eyed without a route to get there. The
angels of G-d, in the form of the mitzvoth, provide that route.
These angels, therefore, begin their journey from earth, and return from heaven.
Man’s route through life leaves a trail of spiritual offerings to G-d, who
reroutes them earthwards in the form of divine blessings.
The twin threats of Esaua and Laban were not Jacob’s only concerns. His resting
place under the ladder marked a spiritual crossroads in his life.
Tradition records that Jacob had spent 14 years studying in the academies of
Shem and Ever. The life that beckoned must have been intimidating. Gone was the
secure environment of the study hall, to be replaced by a world of danger in
which Jacob would have to fight for survival.
As he rose from his sleep, his task would now be to apply the teachings of his
youth to the practicalities of life; to apply the words of G-d to the actions of
man.
Before his dream, Jacob had dedicated his life to the pursuit of spiritual
perfection, creating angels to ascend to heaven.
His road ahead required him to bring those angels back down to earth, to sustain
him and guide him in the realities of life itself.
Could it be said that angels who descend for such a purpose are not descending
at all, but –like the angels on the ladder- are set in perpetual motion?
