"And he (Jacob) dreamt, and behold! A ladder was set earthward and its top reached heavenward." (Genesis 28:12)
I have spent my adult life serving as a friend and guide to searching Jewish men and women who were in the process of studying Torah and rediscovering the mitzvos - Divine mandates - within the Torah. They greatly appreciated how the mitzvos enable us to

We can climb this ladder at our own pace, step-by-step.

sanctify and elevate our earthly existence; however, some of them became overwhelmed by the great number of mitzvos. They wondered, "Why so many?"
The beginning of an answer can be found in the vision that our father Jacob had of a ladder that was set earthward and that reached heavenward. According to Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, this vision is conveying to us the following message: "Everything on earth is summoned and destined to rise and ascend toward a lofty, Heaven-set goal." (Commentary to Genesis 28:12)
The many mitzvos of the Torah enable us to sanctify and elevate "every" area of our earthly existence. Each mitzvah can therefore be viewed as a rung on Jacob’s ladder. Yes, there are many rungs, but with each rung, we climb higher and higher.
 
Those of us who are in the process of rediscovering the "ladder" of mitzvos need not feel overwhelmed, for we can climb this ladder at our own pace, step-by-step. This is the advice of leading Torah educators; moreover, they often caution those returning to Torah not to take on too much at once, for this can cause too much pressure which can lead someone to abandon the climb. We therefore need to remember that a slow climb is better than no climb.


The Kotzker Rebbe, it is told, once asked: "Who is more worthy, someone on the 49th level of spiritual accomplishment or someone who is on the 1st?" His answer: "It depends on the direction in which each is heading."


In other words, you can have someone who seems to be very observant, but is in the process of descending, and someone who has only begun to be observant, but is in the process of ascending.
 
During the 19th century, there were Jews in Western Europe and America who wanted to develop a new Judaism by eliminating many of the rungs on the ladder of mitzvos. During the 20th century, some of their descendants discovered that the shorter ladder did not allow them to climb very high, and they therefore began to restore many of the rungs on the ladder. This trend is continuing today, and it is a reminder of the following prophecy of Moses, our teacher, regarding the end of the final exile:


"It will be that when all these things come upon you - the blessing and the curse that I have presented before you - then you will take it to your heart among all the nations

The shorter ladder did not allow them to climb very high.

where HaShem, your God, has dispersed you. And you will return unto HaShem, your God, and listen to His voice, according to everything that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and all your soul."


A Related Teaching
It is written, "A ladder was set earthward and its top reached heavenward." (Genesis 28:12) The Midrash discusses these words, and it states that the "ladder" represents Mount Sinai (Genesis Rabbah 68:12).


In what way did Mount Sinai represent a ladder that was set earthward with its top reaching heavenward? It was on Mount Sinai that we received the many mitzvos that enable us to elevate every area of our earthly existence and thereby connect Heaven and Earth.