Yaakov places stones around his head when going to sleep on his way to Lavan. The symbolism: to protect his mind, his true goals, while working for the wily Lavan.
Jacob’s ladder is a poignant reminder that all of life actions create angels – leave spiritual effects. To make the world a better place we need to live meaningfully and act positively so that our angels heal a broken world.
Very few people are born perfect masters – Tzaddikim. But all of us are born with the potential to rise and overcome temptations – a status known as Beinoni. Jacob was an unusual blend of both.
When do we shine? When do we draw on stamina, courage and commitment? Inevitably it is while undergoing a challenge, in a state of stress, when the odds seem to be stacked against us.
Angels depicted by7 the Rennaissance painters are not an accurate reflecting of the Jewish teaching of what an angel is. And angel is an abstract force that is created also by our words and deeds. The angelic forces affect the world and become a positive or negative expression of who we are.
When Jacob left the comfort zone of Beersheva he trail-blazed the capacity for all of us to leave our own ‘comfort-zones’ to assist other Jews in more difficult settings.
What is sleep? It is the partial disconnection of soul from body. The purpose is for the soul’s consciousness to move to a higher plane. But the purpose is to return and be invigorated in its primary goal right here on earth. Hence his dream was of angels ascending but ultimately descending – descent is…
