Community Magazine November 2012

Dedicated inmemory of Mr.&Mrs. Jacques&Rachel Gindi  W e all know the story, but we might not fully understand what it really means. As Yaakov journeys from Eress Yisrael toward an uncertain future with his wily uncle, Lavan, he sleeps along the roadside and beholds a mysterious dream. A ladder is stationed near his head and extends to the heavens, and the patriarch sees angels ascending and descending the ladder. Gd obviously showed Yaakov this vision for a reason, to convey an important message both for himself and for his progeny. After all, as our sages famously teach us, “ Ma’aseh avot siman labanim – The events experienced by the patriarchs are a sign for their descendants.” All major events of Jewish history have their origin and roots in the lives of our patriarchs, and we should thus expect this dream to serve as a harbinger of some future event. Sure enough, the Midrash comments that Yaakov’s dream foreshadowed the experience of Ma’amad Har Sinai , the Revelation at Sinai, when Gd appeared to the Nation of Israel and gave them the Torah. The ladder, the Midrash explains, symbolizes Mount Sinai. Its legs implanted in the ground correspond to Bene Yisrael who stood at the foot of the mountain during the Revelation, and the heavenward extension represents the fire that burned during Matan Torah and is described as extending to the heavens. The angels parallel Moshe and Aharon, who first ascended the mountain and then came back down to the people. And just as Gd is described as appearing near the ladder, Gd appeared to the people at Sinai to give them His Torah. The Midrash’s comments provide us with but half an answer, leaving the other half for us to explore. It informs us that Yaakov’s dream was a prophetic vision of Matan Torah , but we are left with the question of why Yaakov beheld this vision specifically now, at this critical juncture in his life, when he flees from his brother to the foreign land of Haran. Why was this occasion the opportune moment for Gd to show the patriarch his descendants’ acceptance of the Torah at Sinai? What connection is there between the Revelation and Yaakov’s escape from his brother? Controversy in the Heavens Our search for an answer begins with the Talmud’s remarkable account of an argument that raged in the heavens at the time of RABBI ELI J. MANSOUR The Source of Protection 16 Community magazine