And he dreamed, and, look, a

messengers of god were going up and coming down it.

(Bereishit 28:12)

Bar Kaparah taught: There is no dream that

has no interpretation: "And see, a ramp' – this is the [temple] ramp;

"Set against the ground" – this is the altar (Shemot 20) 'You

shall make for me an altar of earth'; 'With its top reaching the heavens; – these

are the sacrifices whose fragrance rises to the heavens; 'Messengers of God' – these

are the High Priests; "Were going up and coming down on it' – they who go

up and down on the [altar] ramp; 'The Lord was poised over him' – (Amos 9) 'I saw the Lord poised over the altar'. Our

Sages interpreted the ramp as a symbol of Mt. Sinai:

'And he dreamed, and look, a ramp' – this is Sinai; 'Set against the

ground' – (Shemot 19) 'They stationed themselves at the bottom of

the mountain'; 'Its top reaching the heavens' – (Devarim 4) 'The mountain was

burning with fire to the heart of the heavens'. Another interpretation, 'And

look, there was a ramp' – this is Sinai, the numerical equivalent (gematria) of

'ramp' and 'Sinai' being the same; 'And look, messengers of God' as in {Psalm 68) "God's chariots are myriads upon myriads,

thousands upon thousands' and we have learned that the prophets were called

messengers, as is written (Haggai1) 'And Haggai, the Lord's messenger, fulfilling

the Lord's mission'; 'And look, messengers of the Lord' – this referees to

Moshe and Aharon going up (Shemot 19) 'And Moshe went up to the Lord', 'and going

down' – this is Moshe (ibid.) 'and Moshe went

down'; 'and look, the Lord was poised over him' – (ibid.) And God came down on Mt. Sinai to the top of

the mountain'.

                                                                                                                                                                                (Bereishit

Rabba 68, 12)

The enlightened man cannot understand all

this unless he learned the knowledge of the cycles and knows the movements of

the sun and the moon, and he cannot know the wisdom of the cycles unless he

first attains knowledge of the measurements [geometry] for it is like a ladder

set against the ground and its top reaching the heavens, and when he

understands the cycles and the seasons then will he recognize the creations of

the Revered Name. So said our Sages [Shabbat 75] 'One who does not calculate the cycles and planetary courses, of him

Scripture says (Isaiah

5) "They regard not the

work of the Lord, neither have they considered the operation of his hands".

And furthermore, if he does not know geometry, he will not understand the

geometrical proofs in Eruvin nor the 49 measurements of R' Natan. Nor will the

enlightened man understand the five ways in which the soul of man resembles its

creator unless he first has wisdom of the soul, and he will not understand it

if does not first learn the wisdom of the history of heaven and earth, and this

is very profound. It is also essential that the enlightened man know logic, for

it is the basis of all wisdom, and our ancients cautioned us (Aboth 2:14) 'Be

diligent in the study of Torah and know how to refute the heretic'.

(Sefer

Yesod Morah by Avraham Ibn

Ezra – First Gate)

Flight and confrontation, three stones, two monuments

–      A message for generations

Shlomo Fox

"Yaakov was a simple man, staying among the tents". Really? His behavior implies not simplicity, but guile. His

intentional behavior (the purchase of the birthright from Esav for a pot of

lentils) and his action at his mother's behest (the taking/stealing of Esav's blessing) caused him to flee!

Rivkah is the one who explains that he must flee, again she 'commands' "And

now, my son, listen to me", whereas Yitzchak commands him to travel to

take a wife from the daughters of Lavan, brother of his mother. Father Yitzchak

does not seem to be aware of what transpired between Yaakov and Esav. Perhaps

Yitzchak is interested that his son Yaakov meet his twin – in – behavior;

Yaakov must understand the source of his behavior and its ramifications, and

only by looking in the mirror will he understand the ramifications. Parashat

Toledot concludes with a description – "And Yaakov harkened to his father

and his mother and went to Padan-Aram" – a

simple son, one who stays among the tents, obeys his parents' command!

Parashat Vayetzeh says repetitiously 'And he left… and he went…', his leaving, together with the dream about the ladder,

will teach Yaakov that he must scrutinize his actions. Is he leaving at his

father's command, or perhaps he is fleeing at his mother's order. Perhaps his

fleeing simply attests to his inability to communicate with his brother Esav?

Yaakov will have to pass a number of stations before he will realize

that that he is facing a struggle, that he must retrace his 'heel-steps', that

he must reject his deviousness [Trans. note: the root a'k'v'

is the basis for both 'heel' and 'deviousness']; he must prepare for

confrontation with his twin, for a meeting with himself! For generations!

The stone

– a monument in Bet-El

In his dream, Yaakov sees angels of the Lord ascending and descending,

and he senses and sees God poised over him. He awakes from his slumber and

understands, "Indeed, there is God in this place", and he proclaims

that he "did not know it"! What was his intent in saying that indeed

God is present, and so what if this is "the gate of heaven"?

His reaction to the revelation, his taking of the stone, the erection

of the monument, and his vowing all indicate that Yaakov understood that he

is not alone in the world, but in order to confirm this, he stipulates

conditions with the Almighty!

Why does Yaakov not say to himself: "God promised me in my dream '

and behold, I am with you and I will guard over you wherever you go and I will

return you to…' – if this be the case, let me return now, I will meet my brother

Esav and we will open a new page"? It seems that the future cannot precede

the present – Yaakov is not yet ready.

The stone

covering the well

Yaakov lifts his feet and sees a well with a large stone covering its

mouth! It may be said that in his sojourning Yaakov carries his "habits"

etymologically related], but the emerging reality will force him to cope with

his habits. After meeting Rachel "from afar", Yaakov rolls the stone,

waters the sheep of Laban and only then kisses Rachel, lifting his voice and

crying!

The removal of the stone from the mouth of the well would seem to

contradict the rationale of the stone. Only when all the shepherds arrive, will

they water the sheep equally. It seems that the placement of the stone is

intended to prevent unequal distribution. Why, then, does Yaakov act contrary

to custom – is it because of his strength? And what do the shepherds think of

this, did they say anything?

The stone

– monument in Gilead!

Yaakov's meeting Rachel will lead to his spending twenty years in Harran, part of which will pass over him as "a few

days". At Joseph's birth, Yaakov will ask of Lavan "Send me and I

will go to my place and to my land", but Lavan

convinces Yaakov to remain and to "do something for his household".

Why does Yaakov remain in Harran for so long,

what attraction does Lavan's home hold for him? He understands that Lavan's attitude

towards him was not as before, but he will make no decisions before God

instructs him "Return to the land of your fathers and to your birthplace

and I will be with you (Bereishit 31:3). Yaakov's understanding is expressed in

his conversation with Rachel and Leah; he explains to himself and to them, "Your

father has cheated me, changed my wages, made clear to me my standing as a

foreign worker, I belong to the family… but not really"! He recalls the

revelation of the angel of the Lord and is reminded of the monument and the

vow. Rachel and Leah give their assent – "So now, whatsoever God has said

to you, do!"

But between Yaakov and Lavan there is no confrontation, no open

discussion. This finds express confirmation in the acts accompanying Yaakov's

departure – "Rachel stole the terafim [perhaps "household gods"]

that belonged to her father… Yaakov stole the wits of Lavan the Aramean… that he was about to flee" (ibid. 31:19-20).

Lavan catches up with Yaakov, as though Yaakov meets up with the "the

Lavan in his heart" [Trans. note: The name 'Lavan" includes "lev",

heart].

Lavan explains and asks "you longed for

your father's house" (ibid. 31;30) a point

ostensibly made earlier; Yaakov leaves Harran "to come home to Yitzchak

his father in the land

of Canaan" (18).

We wonder, however, if this was indeed the motive for his departure,

why does the Torah not bother to describe the emotional reunion of Yaakov with

his parents, Yitzchak and Rivkah? The Torah will also inform us that Yaakov

went to Bet-El not immediately, but only after a divine reminder/command (Bereishit, beginning of Chap. 35).

In contrast, The Book of Jubilees (Chaps.

29, 31)

describes how Yaakov, upon reaching the Land, sends gifts from all his

belongings – clothing, food, meat, drink, milk, oil, cheese and dates of the

valley – four times a year… and he supplied all their lack, and came to visit

when Yitzchak said "Let my son Yaakov come so that I may see him ere I die"

(Ibid, 31:4).

His conversation with Lavan forces Yaakov to confront himself. He must

clarify for himself why he fled, what is that fear which accompanies all his

actions. Lavan tells Yaakov that the Lord appeared to him in a night vision

warning him not to harm Yaakov, and that he, Lavan, is aware that God is on the

side of Yaakov, but despite this Lavan asks – "Why did you steal my gods?"

Their quarrel lead to a covenant; the content is per Lavan's suggestion, whereas the act, the taking of the

stone and raising it as a monument and the building of the mound of rocks is

done by Yaakov and his brothers (sons), – is Yaakov in full accord with the

covenant?

Lavan details and clarifies the full import

of the covenant, Yaakov swears "by the Terror of his father Yitzchak"

and erects an altar. They eat bread and part with a blessing – "Lavan returns to his place and Yaakov goes on his way…"

What

message does this description of Yaakov carry for future generations?

The parasha began with the erection of a monument composed of stones

which unite into a single stone; it concludes with a monument of stone and a

mound of stones. In the middle is "the well" and upon it is rolled

the stone.

In Bet-el, Yaakov "wakes up" and understands that upon

arriving at the place "he did not know" about the presence of the

Lord; the meeting connects the stones with the stone, a kind of inner unity.

At the meeting by the well, Yaakov realizes that he must take action,

and rolls off the stone.

Until this point the pace is quick; from here on it is obvious that

Yaakov is pulled along by the realities of life. Twenty years will pass before

he understands (through a revelation of the Lord) that he must act. His actions

will prove to him that God is indeed with him. He seems to discover that he is

capable of coping with Lavan. Did he obligate himself to ask himself how it was

that in his innocence he knew how to handle Lavan? Did he discover the Lavan in

himself? Did he deliberate internally whether this was his pattern of behavior?

Was it also thus with his brother, his twin Esav? Was

it this insight that enabled him to come properly prepared for the meeting with

Esav?

The cutting of the covenant with Lavan at Lavan's

initiative will bring to the fore the question – why was no such covenant ever

made (or never will be made) between himself and Esav?

Was the covenant with Lavan a temporary arrangement, or was it forever?

The midrash will argue that the covenant with

Lavan was valid for then and continues to commit – the midrash

will bring 'proofs' via the descendents of Moab and Ammon.

For the leader; on shushan eduth. A michtam of David (to be taught). When he fought with

Aram-Naharaim and Aram-Zobah, and Joab returned and

defeated Edom – an army of twelve

thousand men – in the Valley

of Salt. (Psalm 60, 1–2)

…written "For the leader; on shushan eduth.

A michtam of David" (Psalm 60:1), "shushan

eduth" this refers to the Sanhedrin, as is

written "hedged about with lilies" (Song

of Songs 7:3), "eduth" refers

to the Torah which is called "eduth" – testimony;

'michtam' is a reference to David who

caused himself to be 'mach" – impoverished; and "tam" because

he walked with his Maker in honesty. When? "When he

fought with Aram-Naharaim". To what does

this refer? When Joab went out to do battle with

Aram- Naharaim, they came towards him, saying to him 'You are a descendent of

Yaakov, and we are descendents of Lavan, and their compact still exists, as is

written "past this mound" (Bereishit 31:52). When

Joab heard this he returned to David and said: "What do you say? Was this

not the vow of our father Yaakov?" Immediately they appointed him to the

Sanhedrin "Shoshan Eduth",

teaching that they taught him, and they said 'so indeed it was, but they

were the first to violate it'. (Midrash Tanhuma (Buber) Devarim 3)

"When

David sent Joab to Aram-Naharaim and to Aram-Zobah, he met the Edomites; they requested

that he attach them to him, showing their proofs " Long enough you have

swung around this high country" (Devarim 2:3); he met the Moabites and they requested

that he attach them to him and they showed their proofs "Do not oppress

Moab" (Ibid ibid. 9). He sent all

this information to David. At that moment, David did not act as king, but he

removed his rich cloak            and his

crown and wrapped himself in his prayer shawl, and went to the Sanhedrin. He

said to them: My masters, I have come but to learn, and if you will permit me,

I shall teach. He related all that Joab had forwarded

to him, and they were not the first to breech the covenant "And he gathered

to him the sons of Ammon and Amalek etc. (Judges

3;13)

"And he sentmessengers to       Balaam" etc. (Bemidbar 22:5)… (Midrash Bereishit Rabba (Theodore-Albeck), Parasha 74, 52)

The "Mound of Witness" established by Lavan and Yaakov will

accompany the masters of the midrash from the days of

David down to their own times!

Scripture and midrash obligate us, as it were,

to ask which of the patriarchs' actions were significant for their times and

which have import for all generations!

"All

which glitters was created for its time, but only the authentic will never be

lost" (Goethe, Faustus)

Shlomo Fox teaches in the Hebrew Union

College

God Cares

for the Weak

And God saw

that Leah was hated.

(Bereishit 29:31)

Concerning

that which is written: The Lord supports all who stumble (Psalms 145:

14) – The qualities of

the Holy One Blessed be He are unlike those of humans.

When a human has a wealthy friend he sticks to him and submits to him, and when

he sees that he has faltered and become impoverished, he no longer values him,

but rather places a stone on him. But when the Holy One Blessed be He sees someone who has been subdued and faltered, he

lends him a hand and stands him upright, as it says, The Lord supports all who

stumble and makes all who are bent stand straight.

(Agadat Bereishit, 49)

And the

first-born son is of the hated wife – scripture here speaks with factual

certainty, as it said and the Lord saw that Leah was hated – for God looks at

the broken hearted to support them.

(Or HaHayyim, Devarim 21: 15)

Fairness in Labor Relations is Required Equally

of Both Employer as well as Employee

In the same way that the home owner is warned not

to rob the poor-man's wage or delay its payment, so too the poor-man is warned

not to rob the employer of work by repeatedly taking breaks from work so that

he spends the day dishonestly. Rather he is required to be strict with his own

time. See how they said he should not recite the fourth blessing of the grace

after meals [so that he would get back to work quickly], and so he is required

to work with all his strength, for the saintly Jacob said I have served your

father with all my might. That is why he took his reward even in this world,

for it says so the man became exceedingly prosperous.

(RaMBaM Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Sekhirut 13: 7)

"And this stone, which I have set up as

a pillar, shall be God's abode" – What Is God's Abode?

As a memorial

of the hour, when I stood as a destitute pauper at the crossroads, and I

looked out at my blessed future – this stone will be a house of God, in which

life will be sanctified unto God, and His divinity will be present. Only when

God is our Lord, only then can man's house also be a house

of God. A crooked, perverse generation, which glorifies in the temples

of its gods, will also warp this truth; it will – as in the words of the

prophet "When they placed their threshold next to My threshold and

consumed them in My anger" (Ezekiel

43:8) – build its house alongside My house; everything

is in his [man's] domain, even God will have a house, but let not our house be

His house! We will visit God in His house, but let Him not visit in our house –

His Presence and His demands will only make life difficult for us!

But this is not what is said about the cornerstone

of the first "House of God"! The holiness of the home is the

condition for the holiness of the house of God; it is called "Mikdash" –a holy place – not because the

place has been set aside for holiness – but because it is the center from which

holiness will penetrate the realm of humanity and social relations.

(Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, Bereishit 28:22)

Holiness

is the area which cannot be approached and controlled directly; therefore,

'holiness of a site' implies the prohibition against transforming the

place into a tool for human exploitation. The sanctity of a synagogue is

expressed also through the prohibition against using the synagogue space as a

shortcut, in the words of the Mishna: "One may

not enter the Temple

Mount with his staff, his

sandal, his moneybelt and

with the dust on his feet, and he shall not use it as a shortcut."

Essentially, kedusha, in its

various halakhic expressions, means withdrawal and

retreat. Its goal – the limitation of domination and

dominion. According to most Halakhic masters,

the area of the Temple

Mount itself is, because

of its sanctity, off limits to entry by Jews. How can one claim ownership of a

place where his foot may not tread?!… Without doubt, the tremendous effort

exerted by each side to wave its national flag over the mount is the 'placing

of an idol in the sanctuary' and the changing of a holy place into an area of

manipulation in a national conflict.

 (From an

article by Prof. Moshe Halbertal, published in Haaretz

5.1.01

– and in      the pamphlet "The

Temple Mount – Compromise in the Eye of the Storm")

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