54 | NOVEMBER 11 • 2021
E
veryone needs a vision.
We all need a vision to
give us direction and
inspiration in life. Life can’t just
be about surviving. It has to be
about the goals and the aspi-
rations and the
big picture that
we are striving
for. There are too
many challenges
and opportunities
in the path of
life not to have
clarity of vision.
In this week’s parshah, Vayetze,
we read about a great vision
given to our forefather, Yaakov
(Jacob), and it is a vision which
sustains us to this very day.
Yaakov was embarking on
a journey, leaving home and
venturing out into a hostile
world, with many dangerous
challenges lying in wait. He was
fleeing from the vengeful anger
of his brother, Eisav (Esau), and
his destination was Avraham’s
family, who lived in Haran — a
family led by Lavan, a man
known for his deceptive and
unscrupulous behavior. And,
so, Yaakov encountered many
different and difficult challenges
throughout his life, but in this
week’s portion, he is given a gift
from God — the gift of a vision
that sustained him throughout
his life.
One night, on his journey to
Haran, he lay down and had
the famous prophetic vision we
call “Jacob’s Ladder.
” The ladder
rests on the ground and reaches
into the heavens, and there are
angels ascending and descend-
ing. God appears to Yaakov
in the vision and promises to
look after him on his journey
ahead, and to return him back
to the Land of Israel and to his
heritage.
The commentators on the
Chumash share different per-
spectives on what the ladder
and the angels going up and
down signify. Common to all of
them, however, is the idea that
the ladder is a bridge between
heaven and Earth. And this is
the great Divine vision of the
Torah and the mission state-
ment of the Jewish people — to
connect heaven and Earth, to
infuse the physical world with
holiness and spirituality, and so
elevate all of creation.
Rashi says the angels repre-
sented God’s Divine protection.
The angels going up the ladder
were the angels that had pro-
tected Yaakov within the land
of Israel, and the angels coming
down the ladder were their
replacements now that Yaakov
was leaving Israel and the first
set of angels had completed
their task.
ACCOMPANIED BY GOD
Angels are bursts of spiritual
energy that God has created
so He can interact with the
world. They are not indepen-
dent beings. They do not have
free choice. They are mere
extensions of God’s will being
expressed in this world. What
emerges from Rashi is the idea
that throughout our life’s jour-
ney, we are accompanied by
angels, emissaries of God, and
that God is looking after us in
everything that we do.
A key message being relayed
to Yaakov was that he was not
venturing out into the world on
his own — that, though he was
likely wracked with fear and
anxiety about what lay ahead,
God would accompany him
every step of the way.
And, of course, the fear and
anxiety wasn’t unfounded.
Yaakov underwent tremendous
Chief Rabbi
Warren
Goldstein
SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH
The Importance
of Having a
Vision