שירת שלום

Song of Peace


Climbing the Ladder by Rabbi David Degani

27 Nov 2022 8:28 AM | Shirat Shalom (Administrator)

Nov. 27, 2022 The Torah portion for this week is called Vayetzei which translates as “He went out.” It includes the famous story of Jacob’s Ladder. *

Jacob is now journeying to his uncle’s home after deceiving his father and brother in order to receive the all powerful first born blessing which entitles him to inherit the leadership of the family. 

He stops in the desert to sleep and has a very vivid dream of a ladder going up to heaven with angels traveling up and down the ladder. He finds himself at the top of the ladder where G-D speaks to him. 

He is very much in awe of his experience expressing that G-D was in this place and he didn’t know it. He pours oil on the stone he used as a pillow sanctifying the place with the name, Beth El, House of G-d. 

To understand this story we need to be aware of Jacob's emotional state as he travels to an unknown place  where his mother's family lives. He is scared that his brother may be following him in order to kill him. He is scared to be alone on a dangerous road. He is frustrated from suffering the consequences of deceiving his old father due to his mother urging him to do so. 

Through Jacob's vivid dream, G-D demonstrates that even though Jacob is struggling emotionally, he is not alone, that G-D is always with him. 

There are many interpretations of the ladder that can help us in our lives. One is that it represents the corridor to ascend into a divine space where communication with G-D can take place. We travel up the corridor through meditation, dreams, prayer or by being in a higher state or vibration. 

The ladder is also a metaphor for our spiritual journeys throughout life. The angels are actually us, the Divine aspects of ourselves housed in a physical body. There are times when we are ascending and more easily living in a higher state aligned with our angelic or Divine aspects and times when we are in a lower state. We always have the option to ascend. 

The ladder also shows us that Heaven and Earth are connected. Our task as Jewish people has always been to bring heaven to earth. 

By tapping into or aligning with the energy of Vaytzei, we become more mindful of where we are on our own rungs of our personal ladders. 

Shalom,

Rabbi David

* Every week a section of the Torah is read throughout the week. There are always many levels of understanding with each week's portion. The Torah portions also have energies that can be utilized to help us navigate though our daily lives not only during the week the specific portion is read but any time it is needed.

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