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Orchard of Delights
declared in Bereishit Rabbah 10: “No blade of grass grows until its
[guiding] angel above strikes it and says: ‘Grow!’” Not only does
each individual aspect of creation have a guiding spiritual force, all
the specific and collective forms, orders, and species of creation have
corresponding spiritual forces. These animating root forces direct and
sustain physical development. This incredibly complex hierarchy of
spiritual energy forces, called angels, exists in all the various worlds.
However, according to Jewish tradition the soul’s source is rooted
in a higher world (that of Creation) than the angels’ source (that of
Formation) because angels lack free will. Without free will there can
be no ultimate spiritual advancement. In fact, free will is perhaps
the most important characteristic distinguishing human beings from
angels and establishing humanity’s creation in the “image of God.”
The Torah’s focus on the angels’ ascent also symbolizes two
other remarkable ideas that pervade Jewish tradition (particularly
Kabbalah and Chassidut): (1) Human thought and action actually
create angels; (2) Human actions affect the higher worlds. Thus, in
addition to the heavenly angels who perform their tasks as God’s
loyal agents, there is another class of angels created by humanity’s
earthly doings. Just as no action below occurs without evoking a
corresponding action above, so too no action below occurs without
creating spiritual energy that subsequently affects the upper worlds.
The Sages therefore taught that human actions create angels:
energy forces that depending on the moral and ethical standing
of the particular actions, either become defending or prosecuting
angels. In this vein, Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob’s utterance in Pirkei
Avot (4:13) can be understood quite literally: “He who fulfills even a
single mitzvah gains himself a single advocate and he who commits
even a single sin gains himself a single accuser.” We are effected by
spiritual forces from above, yet perhaps more profoundly, we affect
the essential fabric of all the spiritual worlds above us. The intrinsic
link between the physical and spiritual worlds creates a complex web
of interactions and mutual influences.
As Jacob lay and dreamt that awesome night he was simultaneously
creating angels and receiving Divine instruction from the “angels of
God” on multiple levels. His dream was a projection from below of
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Shabbat becomes. This insight can also be applied to Jacob’s dream,
as climbing the ladder may be compared to overcoming spiritual
obstacles and God standing at the top may be compared to reaching
the next level of spiritual attainment.
Another connection between the opening verse and Jacob’s dream
stems from the name of the place Jacob left, “Well of Seven.” A
well is dug deep into the earth, so that the excavator can find and
draw forth water. Water, as we have learned above, often symbolizes
Torah. Jacob’s ladder, in contrast, is ascended, so that the climber
can reach the heavens, or, quite literally, in Jacob’s dream, God. In
spiritual terms there is a correlation between these two symbols, the
well and the ladder, and between the processes of delving deeper and
ascending higher. The deeper one delves to find the living waters of
the Torah, the higher one climbs towards the goal of being near to
God; the higher the soul ascends towards union with God, the deeper
and more profoundly the soul’s possessor is able to integrate the
Torah he or she has learned. The deeper one probes for the spark of
God within, the higher one ascends in understanding God above; the
higher one ascends in holiness and purity, the deeper one’s sense of
humility becomes.
£Praying in the Darkness£Praying in the DarknessPraying in the Darkness
£
Between the portion’s opening verse and Jacob’s dream, there is
only one verse: “And he came upon the place and slept there for the
sun had set; he took from the stones of the place and placed them
around his head, and he laid down in that place.” The Sages explain
that the Hebrew word translated literally as “he came upon,” in
this context, means “he prayed.” As Rashi points out, this term
undoubtedly refers to prayer elsewhere. The Sages added that Jacob’s
prayer, like his forefathers’ prayers before him, served to establish a
prayer service. Abraham established the Morning Prayer; Isaac the
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