DECEMBER 5 • 2019 | 37

A

nd he dreamed, and 
behold a ladder set up 
on the Earth, and the 
top of it reached to heaven; 
and behold the angels of God 
ascending and descending 
on it.
”
Dreams have a unique 
capacity to inspire us to aim 
higher, to remain 
focused on a distant 
goal even when the 
present circumstances 
give us little reason for 
optimism. But what 
happens when the gap 
between dream and 
reality seems insur-
mountable? Jacob’
s 
dreams shine a light 
on this question and 
offer insights into his 
evolution as a person, 
as well as lessons about 
his descendants’
 mis-
sion in the world and 
destiny as a nation.
Jacob begins his journey 
from his father’
s home into 
exile with the loftiest of 
dreams: a ladder rooted in 
the ground while reaching up 
to the heavens. This symbol-
izes his and his descendants’
 
Divine mandate: to unify 
heaven and Earth so that the 
Divine Presence can be mani-
fest in the world.
Unfortunately, Jacob’
s long 
sojourn with his father-in-
law, Laban, has a corrupting 
influence on him. To hold his 
own with his devious employ-
er, Jacob perfects the art of 
deception; and, in time, the 
bright nephew even out-La-
bans his clever uncle, becom-
ing wealthy in his own right.
His new dream after a peri-
od in Laban-land: “
And I saw 
in a dream and behold, rams 
that leapt upon the sheep were 
speckled, spotted and striped.
” 
Jacob now dreams of mate-

rial success devoid of any spir-
itual component.
He soon receives the 
life-changing command: “I 
have seen everything Laban 
is doing to you … rise, leave 
this land and return to the 
land of your birthplace.
” In 
other words, leave the land of 
obsession with material-
ism. Return to the land 
— and to the dream — 
of your forefathers who 
walked with God.
Jacob must have been 
devastated. He must have 
seen himself as an abject 
failure; he must have 
questioned whether he 
would ever succeed in 
achieving his original 
aspirations. 
When he leaves 
Laban’
s home, Jacob 
has a third dream. “
And 
Jacob went on his way 
and he was met there by 
angels of God …
”
This dream is a parallel to 
the one that opened the read-
ing. This time, however, there 
is no ladder, but instead two 
distinct encampments, family 
compounds, one outside Israel 
and the other in Israel.
The message is dramatic: 
Uniting heaven and Earth 
requires more than ascending 
a spiritual ladder. It requires 
making an impact on the 
world around us by building a 
family dedicated to God and 
Torah in the Land of Israel — 
and not to materialism as in 
Laban’
s house of exile.
Earth’
s mountain tops are 
that very ladder that connects 
the human with the Divine, 
and the Jew to his eternal 
dream of a united world. 

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is chancellor of 
Ohr Torah Stone and chief rabbi of 
Efrat, Israel.

Parshat 

Vayetze: 

Genesis 

28-10-32:3; 

Hosea 

12:13-14:10.

Rabbi Shlomo 
Riskin

Spirit
torah portion

Daring To Dream

How 
has
 
one 
of
 
 
t
he 
ol
des
t
 
cit
ies
 
 
in 
t
he 
worl
d 

become 
one 
of
 
 
t
he 
hot
t
es
t
 
cit
ies
 
 
f
or 
s
t
art
ups
?

AT 
A F H U . O R G /J E R U S A L E M T E C H

The 
Hebr
ew 
Uni
ver
si
ty 
of 
Jer
usal
em’
s 
r
esear
ch 

has 
l
ed 
to 
over
 
130 
l
i
fe-
enhanci
ng 
commer
ci
al
 

ventur
es that pr
ovi
de r
evol
uti
onar
y pr
oducts 

and 
ser
vi
ces 
to 
peopl
e 
ever
ywher
e.
 
Our
 
most 

successful
 
technol
ogy 
ventur
e 
i
s 
i
ntegr
ated 
i
n 

over
 
25 
mi
l
l
i
on 
vehi
cl
es 
wor
l
dwi
de.
 
Si
nce 
1925, 

Amer
i
can Fr
i
ends of the Hebr
ew Uni
ver
si
ty 

has connected the passi
ons of Amer
i
cans 

wi
th i
nnovati
on at the Hebr
ew Uni
ver
si
ty.
 

KNOWLEDGE 
MOVES 
US.

JUDITH 
SHENKMAN 
Mi
dwest 
Regi
on 

Executi
ve 
Di
r
ector
 
 

T: 
312.
329.
0332
 

E: 
jshenkman@afhu.
or
g