Jacob's Dream the ladder & more

Torah Study 4/28

• 28:12 –וַיַּחֲלֹם, and he dreamed; role of dreams in bible:

◊ Dreams in the bible usually mean prophecy, tell the future.

◊ Previously, Avimelech had a dream about Sarah [Genesis 20:3].

◊ Joseph was the quintessential dream interpreter. But we shouldn’t

take such interpretations seriously. See Deuteronomy 13:2-4 on false

gods and false prophets:

2. If there will arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of a dream,

and he gives you a sign or a wonder,

3. and the sign or the wonder of which he spoke to you happens, [and

he] says, "Let us go after other gods which you have not known, and

let us worship them,"

4. you shall not heed the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of a

dream; for the Lord, your God, is testing you, to know whether you

really love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your

soul.

◊ Talmud Brachot 55a on signs in dreams seems quite Freudian [also

Jungian?]. Good dreams = prophecy; bad dream are to be ignored.

Other examples: dreams follow the mouth, i.e., favorable

interpretations can be bought for a price; no payment – bad

interpretation.

[Brachot 55a] There were twenty-four interpreters of dreams in

Jerusalem. Once I dreamt a dream and I went round to all of them and

they all gave different interpretations, and all were fulfilled, thus

confirming that which is said: All dreams follow the mouth.[i.e., are

subject to interpretation] Is the statement that all dreams follow

the mouth Scriptural? Yes, as stated by R. Eleazar. For R. Eleazar

said: Whence do we know that all dreams follow the mouth? Because it

says, and it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was [Genesis

41:13]. Raba said: This is only if the interpretation corresponds to

the content of the dream: for it says, to each man according to his

dream he did interpret.[ Genesis 41:12] When the chief baker saw that

the interpretation was good [Genesis 40:16] How did he know this? R.

Eleazar says: This tells us that each of them was shown his own dream

and the interpretation of the other one's dream. [All of the Genesis

citations are when Joseph was interpreting dreams]

◊ Dreams are 1/60th of prophecy, but some are nonsense.

• Modern psychological interpretation of dreams – Jung story on how

dreams can come true… [Check the podcast for details].

◊ Some congregants told of weird dreams about future, prophetic events

(such as births and deaths).

◊ Others called it “mishegas,” voodoo, or magic.

• Jacob’s dream 28:12-15 – a defining moment in his life

◊ It’s at night – talking to God at night is the basis of Ma’ariv prayer

◊ סֻלָּם, ramp or ladder, word appears nowhere else in bible – seems

to connect earth to heaven.

◊ Angels going up and down on “it”, not down and up.

Rashi - Ascending first and afterwards descending. The angels who

escorted him in the [Holy] Land do not go outside the Land, and they

ascended to heaven, and the angels of outside the Holy Land descended

to escort him [From Genesis Rabbah 68:12].

• Also could be up and down on “him, meaning angels are taunting Jacob

• Prophecy about history – angels are princes of the nations.

• Jacob did not ascend; was this prophecy or his choice?

• 28:13 Abraham, your father, is incorrect; but Jacob is the spiritual

heir of Abraham. Again, Isaac gets the short shrift (the poor schlub;

no, wait, that was Esau)

• 28:15, God speaking to Jacob -- similar to God-Abraham and God-Isaac

conversations. But to Jacob conversation is added language on God

protecting him and being with him.

• 28:14 - God’s promise to Abraham was based on his people being

numerous as the stars in the sky; Jacob –descendants will be like dust

of the earth. He hears this as he is lying down horizontally, in

contrast to the vertical ladder.

• Jacob has left his family – he needs God’s special message now. Did

Jacob hear this before?

• 28:16 – Jacob’s response suggests that he doesn’t understand the

covenant. Is this a metaphor for our own understanding (or lack

thereof) of God?

notes from Howard Selznick (thanks)