Jacob travels to his uncle Laban. En route he stops at the place that, according to tradition, is the Temple Mount where God appears and assures him that he will return safely to the Land of Canaan. Jacob stays for twenty years in Charan before returning to Canaan. During his stay he shepherds Laban’s sheep, and survives and prospers despite all his uncle’s attempted deceptions. He marries Leah and Rachel, and the first eleven tribes are born.
Please stand with me while I read from the Parsha:
Gen 28:10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.
Gen 28:11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.
Gen 28:12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!
Gen 28:13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.
Gen 28:14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Gen 28:15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
The following is based on an article by Yossy Goldman.
In this passage from our parsha, we learn an important lesson in our approach to our relationship with God.
We read the story of Jacob’s dream and the famous ladder with its feet on the ground and head in the heavens. “And behold the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”
Let me ask you a seemingly rather simple question. Do angels need a ladder? Everyone knows angels have wings, right? So, if they have wings, why would they need a ladder?
There is a beautiful message here.
In climbing heavenward one does not necessarily need wings. Dispense with the dramatic. Forget about fancy leaps and bounds. There is a ladder, a spiritual route clearly mapped out for us; a route that needs to be traveled step-by-step, one rung at a time. The pathway toward God is gradual, methodical and eminently manageable.
Many people are discouraged from even beginning a spiritual journey because they think it needs that huge leap of faith. They cannot see themselves reaching a degree of religious commitment which to them seems otherworldly. And yet, with the gradual step-by-step approach, one finds that the journey can be embarked on and that the desired destination is actually not in outer space.
A Chinese proverb says that, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step.” Now that’s not only Chinese wisdom; I think we can all agree that it’s true. And it’s not limited to a physical journey, this idea that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing is especially applicable to our spiritual journey.
So, how do we encourage someone who wants to begin a walk with the LORD as a new believer. Do we throw the Book at him and say here is everything you need to know, start living your life just like Jesus lived His life. From this moment on you must attend church each week including Sunday school, then there’s the Wednesday night Bible study. Now you have to start giving charity and serve in the soup kitchen twice each month and help with the maintenance on the Church building and by the way, no more violent movies or TV shows. In fact, just get rid of the TV… Well, probably not. A commitment like that is usually here today and gone tomorrow. Our journey should be like this. Not a LEAP of faith, but a steadily growing faith.
The correct and most successful method of moving forward in our spiritual life is the slow and steady approach, as the parsha teaches us. Gradual, yet consistent. As soon as one has become comfortable with a certain level of commitment, it is time to start a new level, and so on and so forth. Then, through constant growth and keeping our eyes looking up, slowly but surely we become more knowledgeable, committed, fulfilled and happy in our faith.
In a yeshiva, a teacher once asked the following question: “If two people are on a ladder, one at the top and one on the bottom, who is higher?” The class thought it was a pretty dumb question — until the wise teacher explained that they were not really capable of judging who was higher or lower until they first ascertained in which direction each was headed.
If the fellow on top was going down, but the guy on the bottom was going up, then the one on the bottom was actually higher.
And so my friends, it doesn’t really matter what your starting point is or where you are at on the ladder of religious life. As long as you are moving in the right direction, as long as you are going up, you will, please God, and will succeed in climbing the heavenly heights.
May we all have a safe and successful journey.
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