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Drash for Shabbat Vayeitzei By Howard Salmon - December 1, 2006 Parsha Vayetzei starts with Jacob using a stone as a headrest, falling asleep, and then waking to angels climbing up and down a ladder that leads to the sky. When I first heard this story, I envisioned Jacob looking out across the horizon, and seeing far away, a tall ladder leading into an opening in a ceiling of clouds; a bright yellowing light peeks out of this small opening in what is otherwise a sky that it saturated with clouds. And it's getting dark, so it's getting scary. I'd ask myself, "what's going on up there? What are they doing?" The angels on the ladder moved like worker bees, quick, single-file, and determined. But upon re-reading the text, there's no mention of clouds, no mention of bright light… and what was at the top of the ladder? It couldn't be God, because God was standing over Jacob telling him that his seed will spread all over earth, blessing the world's inhabitants. It's interesting how the text describes God as "standing over" Jacob. I can see, in my mind, a picture of Jacob lying on the ground with his head against a rock, with a large person literally standing over him, talking to him. If Jacob can see God standing over him, and at the same time, see angels ascending and descending a ladder, then it's quite possible that Jacob is situated at the base of the ladder. That way, lying on his back, he can see both God standing over him, and the action on the ladder without moving his head (which is resting on some stones). You then have to ask yourself, "What is Jacob doing at the base of this ladder?", and suddenly it seems obvious that Jacob is an angel who's fallen off this ladder. Later on in the Torah, Jacob will wrestle an angel. I wonder if he wasn't also wrestling with one on the ladder, and got thrown off, landing on his back? If so, it tells you something about his personality: he got into fights a lot. His proximity to the ladder also tells you that he's in constant danger of getting stepped on. Maybe that's why God is standing over him: to prevent that from happening. It's not disputed that Jacob was a visionary. What I'm suggesting is that in the dream with the angels and the ladder, his vantage point was a worm's-eye view: he was flat on his back, looking straight up. Shabbat Shalom. |
