top of page

Va’yeitzei - Connecting Heaven and Earth

The Torah portion of parashat Vayeitze, “And he (Yaakov) went out,” begins in Gen. Ch.28:10. In the beginning of the portion, the patriarch Yaakov falls asleep and dreams of a ladder which was set upon the earth, but which reached into heaven. Hashem Himself stood over him at the top of the ladder. Verse 28:12 tells us that “angels of Hashem were ascending and descending upon it.” That may be an easier way to translate the words, but actually, there is a deeper level of understanding of the significance of these words. In Hebrew the verse states that the angels were ascending and descending bo, which can be understood not only to mean ‘on the ladder,’ but literally, ‘in him.’ Meaning, the angels were ascending and descending bo, in him... through Yaakov himself! As the holy book ‘Nefesh HaChaim’ by Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin explains, Yaakov himself was the ladder! He was a connector between heaven and earth. His life’s mission was for his own life to be a conduit to bring Hashem’s light into this world. On this level, the verse is alluding to the idea that he himself, through his deeds, was a ladder to heaven! Because the truly righteous are not removed from this world; they are very much a part of this world, firmly planted on the ground, but the far-reaching influence and consequences of their everyday actions, their good deeds and faith, connect heaven and earth and help to fill the world with the light of Hashem’s presence.

39 views

Related Posts

See All

In the Torah portion of Noach, after the earth had healed from the flood, we encounter the saga of the Generation of the Dispersion, the builders of the Tower of Babel. They sought to build a city and

The main focus in the Torah portion of Toldot is on Yitzchak and Rivka’s twin sons, Yaakov and Esav. There were vast differences between Esav and Yaakov. They are two diametrically opposing prototypes

In the Torah portion of parashat Vayechi, in chapter 48:1 we read “And it came to pass after these things that someone said to Joseph, ‘Behold your father is ill. So he took his two sons, Menashe and

bottom of page