At the end of last week’s parsha Yaakov is told by his parents to leave the land of Israel and go to a place called Charan where he is to find a wife from his mother’s family that lives there. This is a weighty task for Yaakov because he is being sent away from the security of his parent’s home to enter a hostile environment. He comes to a place where he goes to sleep and dreams of a ladder extending into Heaven with angels going up and down upon it. G-d then speaks with Yaakov and promises that He will watch over him and eventually return him to his father’s home. What Yaakov encounters in this episode carries some very important lessons for him and for his descendants.

Before he has the dream the Torah states,

וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם וַיָּלֶן שָׁם כִּי־בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו וַיִּשְׁכַּב בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא׃

He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. He took from the stones of that place, he put (them) at his head and lay down in that place. (28:11)

Rashi cites Talmud Chulin 91b that points out how the Torah states here he took from the stones that he placed at his head while later it states (Genesis 28:18), “And he took the stone that he had put under his head.” This is because the stones began quarrelling with one another, each one claiming, “Upon me let this righteous man rest his head.” Whereupon Hashem turned them into one stone.

There is a Midrash (cited in Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 119:2) that gives another explanation to this occurrence. The place Yaakov came upon was none other than Mount Moriah, the mountain upon which his father Yitzchak was bound by his father Avraham to be a sacrifice to G-d. Yaakov took twelve stones from the stones of the altar upon which Yitzchak was bound and placed them by his head. This was to make known to him that in the future twelve tribes would rise out of him. They were made into one rock to make known that they would all in the future be one nation in the land. What is the significance of these stones being from the altar upon which Akeidat Yitzchak (the binding of Yitzchak for a sacrifice) took place?

Rabbi Moshe Swift, of blessed memory, explained that Yaakov resting his head on the rock symbolizes that he and his descendants, the Jewish people must put their minds to what the rock represents and that only then can they be at rest as Yaakov was. If the Jewish people live with the legacy of Akeidas Yitzchak which is to totally dedicate their lives to serving Hashem as Yitzchak did by being ready to give up his life to fulfill Hashem’s will ,then they will survive and be secure even under the most trying times. However, if they forsake that legacy, then there will be no place for them to rest their heads.

Another important lesson comes from Yaakov’s dream. We read:

וַיַּחֲלֹם וְהִנֵּה סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה וְהִנֵּה מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹהִים עֹלִים וְיֹרְדִים בּוֹ׃

He had a dream; a ladder was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it. (28: 12)

Rashi comments that things appear out of order. Don’t angels first descend from Heaven to perform G-d’s duty and then ascend to return? He cites the answer of the Midrash that the angels who accompanied him in the land of Israel were not permitted to leave the land. Therefore they ascended to Heaven and angels which were to accompany him outside the land descended.

Rabbi swift suggested another explanation. We find in Pirkei Avot 4:11:

הָעוֹשֶׂה מִצְוָה אַחַת, קוֹנֶה לוֹ פְרַקְלִיט אֶחָד. וְהָעוֹבֵר עֲבֵרָה אַחַת, קוֹנֶה לוֹ קַטֵּגוֹר אֶחָד

One who performs a mitzvah acquires for himself an advocate. One who commits a transgression acquires for himself an accuser.

The commentary of Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartenura explains that the advocate is an advocate angel and the accuser is an accusing angel. This means that angels essentially originate from our actions here on earth. They then descend to bring down Hashem’s blessings to us.

That’s the message to Yaakov and his descendants from the ascending and descending angels.

You make your angels!

Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak