Our beloved Torah is rich in imagery, yet never more so than in the famous dream of Ya'akov's Ladder. What a marvelous metaphor this is - the angels going up and down as Hashem blesses Ya'akov on his journey.
Yet questions abound:
1) Why do the angels first ascend, then descend? It should be the opposite: angels come from Heaven; they should come down and then go up!
2) Why does the verse begin: "Vayifga bamakom..." ("and he encountered the place")? Vayifga is an unusual, negative term (as in the word for a terrorist attack, pigua).
3) And why does G-d identify Himself as "Elokei Avraham avicha," the G-d of Avraham your father; wasn't Yitzchak Ya'akov's father, and not Avraham?
To answer these questions, let us try to understand what Ya'akov is feeling as he lays down to sleep in Luz. Dreams reflect what our soul is feeling, what concerns us, and this is why Ya'akov dreams this particular dream. Here he is, the man who just was blessed as the next leader of Am Yisrael, fleeing his home, fleeing his homeland, leaving Eretz Yisrael. He is severely, spiritually wounded (pahga) by the fact that he is headed into Galut, an alien, unknown environment filled with shady, Lavan-type characters.
He is overwhelmingly depressed.
But then he dreams. He sees a ladder "mutzav artza" - rooted in the aretz (land), Eretz Yisrael. He is reminded that his roots will always be in Israel. He sees the angels of Eretz Yisrael first, the primary, ascendant angels, to remind him that he must always aspire to return (oleh) to Israel someday. But he also sees angels descending, angels of chutz l'aretz, reassuring him that he will not be abandoned by Hashem no matter where he goes, as long as he remembers to someday return.
Hashem blesses him as "the G-d of Avraham your father." Avraham, not Yitzchak, because Yitzchak never left Israel; Avraham, who did go into Galut, is Ya'akov's true role model. Avraham left, but he also returned. Hashem tells Ya'akov that he, too, will leave, but come back ("I shall return you to this Land"). This is why Ya'akov's final act is to make Yosef swear, unconditionally, that he will return him to Eretz Yisrael once and for all, and not leave him behind in Egypt.
Ya'akov makes a solemn pledge to return to Israel and consecrates the holy spot. He renames the place - once called Luz - "Bet El, the House of G-d," affirming that while Hashem is surely everywhere, His primary home is Eretz Yisrael.
As long as Ya'akov remembers his roots, remembers Israel, he will remain a faithful member of the House of G-d, and will never be a Luz-er. And that's no dream.
Yet questions abound:
1) Why do the angels first ascend, then descend? It should be the opposite: angels come from Heaven; they should come down and then go up!
2) Why does the verse begin: "Vayifga bamakom..." ("and he encountered the place")? Vayifga is an unusual, negative term (as in the word for a terrorist attack, pigua).
3) And why does G-d identify Himself as "Elokei Avraham avicha," the G-d of Avraham your father; wasn't Yitzchak Ya'akov's father, and not Avraham?
To answer these questions, let us try to understand what Ya'akov is feeling as he lays down to sleep in Luz. Dreams reflect what our soul is feeling, what concerns us, and this is why Ya'akov dreams this particular dream. Here he is, the man who just was blessed as the next leader of Am Yisrael, fleeing his home, fleeing his homeland, leaving Eretz Yisrael. He is severely, spiritually wounded (pahga) by the fact that he is headed into Galut, an alien, unknown environment filled with shady, Lavan-type characters.
He is overwhelmingly depressed.
But then he dreams. He sees a ladder "mutzav artza" - rooted in the aretz (land), Eretz Yisrael. He is reminded that his roots will always be in Israel. He sees the angels of Eretz Yisrael first, the primary, ascendant angels, to remind him that he must always aspire to return (oleh) to Israel someday. But he also sees angels descending, angels of chutz l'aretz, reassuring him that he will not be abandoned by Hashem no matter where he goes, as long as he remembers to someday return.
Hashem blesses him as "the G-d of Avraham your father." Avraham, not Yitzchak, because Yitzchak never left Israel; Avraham, who did go into Galut, is Ya'akov's true role model. Avraham left, but he also returned. Hashem tells Ya'akov that he, too, will leave, but come back ("I shall return you to this Land"). This is why Ya'akov's final act is to make Yosef swear, unconditionally, that he will return him to Eretz Yisrael once and for all, and not leave him behind in Egypt.
Ya'akov makes a solemn pledge to return to Israel and consecrates the holy spot. He renames the place - once called Luz - "Bet El, the House of G-d," affirming that while Hashem is surely everywhere, His primary home is Eretz Yisrael.
As long as Ya'akov remembers his roots, remembers Israel, he will remain a faithful member of the House of G-d, and will never be a Luz-er. And that's no dream.