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treatment entailed Jacob educating Joseph differently than his other (Genesis 28:16). He did not say, “God was in this place (while I was
sons – transmitting his deeper inner teachings to Joseph alone. dreaming),” but “God is in this place.” In other words, he recognized
that his dream and reality exist on the same plane. In Jacob’s eyes,
The Midrash further emphasizes the deep connection between
Jacob and Joseph by declaring that everything that happened to his dream was not merely a fleeting vision, but God’s real promise to
Jacob also happened to Joseph (Bereishit Rabbah 84:6). In the midst be with him: a promise given in the real world, to be fulfilled in the
of enumerating a very long list of parallel events in their lives, the real world.
Midrash mentions that both Jacob and Joseph rose to greatness Furthermore, Jacob responds to the dream with a tremendous
through dreams. Jacob was promised a glorious future and Divine amount of emotion: “And he became fearful and said: ‘How awesome
protection in his dream of the ladder, while Joseph’s ability to is this place! This is none other than the house of God and this is the
interpret dreams guaranteed his rise to fame and fortune. gate of heaven” (Genesis 28:17). Rashi explains Jacob’s sudden fear
by his realization that the place where he stood – the future site of
Interestingly, the Midrash makes no attempt to suggest that
Joseph’s talent at dream interpretation was inherited from Jacob, the Temple Mount – was quite literally “the gate to heaven,” the
even though there are a number of proofs that Jacob too had an portal through which all prayer would ascend. Presumably, Jacob
affinity for interpreting dreams. Firstly, when Joseph reports his arrived at this conclusion, by noting that in his dream the ladder had
dreams to his family, Jacob rebukes him sharply for the second one: been positioned in this very place. Parenthetically, Rashi further
“and his father rebuked him and said to him ‘What is this dream elaborates on the awesomeness of this site by explaining that the
that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers ladder connecting earth and heaven also symbolizes the heavenly
bow down on the earth to you?’ And his brothers envied him but Temple situated directly above the earthly Temple in Jerusalem.
his father guarded the matter” (Genesis 37:10-11). Jacob’s rebuke is Upon awakening, “Jacob arose in the morning and he took the
clearly based on his own interpretation of the dream – the heavenly stone he had placed around his head and set it up as a pillar; and he
bodies bowing down are Joseph’s family. He clearly associates poured oil on its head” (Genesis 28:18). His immediate response to
himself with the sun, his wife Rachel with the moon, and the eleven the dream also signals that he understood the dream as something he
stars with Joseph’s eleven brothers. needed to act upon and integrate into his very being. The Midrash
explains that when Jacob lay down he had taken “from the stones
Secondly, while the brothers’ enmity was amplified by the dream,
the Torah enigmatically states that Jacob “guarded the matter.” of the place” to rest his head on (Genesis 28:11). When he awoke, 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 5 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Magenta #24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 5 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Yellow 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 5 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Black 24107-EYAL - 24107
Bolstering our claim that Jacob also possessed the talent to interpret he found the twelve stones (symbolizing the tribes he would later
dreams, which he passed on to Joseph, Rashi explains that Jacob give birth to) fused into one stone, the stone he consecrated with
understood that the dream was prophetic and would ultimately be oil. The Midrash explains that this miracle was an integral part of
fulfilled, thus he metaphorically “guarded the matter,” anticipating God’s revelation to Jacob. Symbolically, the stones’ fusion might
its realization. also signify Jacob’s own ability to integrate the symbolism of the
dream until it became absolutely one with his consciousness.
Thirdly, our claim is bolstered by Jacob’s own innate ability to
relate to and fathom dreams, which is apparent from his reaction to Another remez, a subtle, yet beautiful, allusion to Jacob’s ability to
his own dream of the ladder. From Jacob’s reaction to his dream, it is interpret the meaning of the symbols in his dream and to immediately
clear that he immediately recognized how significant and personally apply them to life rests on the parallel between the words used to
relevant this dream was to him. When Jacob first awoke from his depict the dream and the words used to describe Jacob setting up
dream, he said, “Surely God is in this place and I did not know” the stone as a pillar. The Hebrew word for “setting up” the pillar

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