B"H

Friday, Kislev 8, 5776 / November 20, 2015

This week's Parsha, Vayeitzei, begins, "And Yaakov went out of Be’er Sheva and went to Charan."  On the way Yaakov passed by the place where his father, Yitzchak, was bound on the altar many years earlier and where, many years later, the Holy Temple would be standing. Yaakov didn't intend to stop there, but G-d made the sun set so that he would stay overnight.

The Torah tells us that before going to sleep; Yaakov, "Took from the stones of that place and placed them around his head and lay down to sleep." 

He had a dream in which he saw a ladder standing firmly on the ground and its top reaching into heaven. He saw angels going up and down the ladder. In this dream G-d promised to give to him and his descendants the Land of Israel. He also promised him that his descendants will spread to the west, to the east, to the north and to the south.

Q.Yaakov took the stones and put them around his head for protection. Why did he protect only his head, not his entire body?

A.  Yaakov wasn’t worried about physical danger. He was concerned about a spiritual danger. Yaakov was a quiet person who, until now, "sat in the tents" – he was occupied with study and spiritual matter. 

All his life he was involved in learning Torah and serving G-d. Now that he was going to his uncle Lavan he feared the unknown. His uncle, was known as "Lavan the swindler." Yaakov knew that in his new environment he needed extra protection not to lose his spiritual attachment.

By taking, "From the stones of that place and building a fence around his head, Yaakov demonstrated that, although he will now have to be involved in material matters, he will keep his head, i.e. his mind and thoughts, protected with "the stones of the place" where his father Yitzchak offered his life to G-d and where in the future the Holy Temple will be built.

Yaakov's strong commitment to G-d during his twenty years at his father-in-law helped him not only spiritually but also in his material success. He came out much wealthier spiritually and materially. The secret to success for a Jew is to always stay connected to G-d. This is the secret of that special ladder he saw in his dream, which stood on the ground, but whose top reached into heaven.

Another point: Ladder in Hebrew is Sulam, which has a numerical value of 136.  The Hebrew letters for Mamon (money) also equals 136. Our sages tell us that money is compared to a ladder through which a person can attain great heights.  However, one must remember that just like the ladder's sole purpose is to help a person reach higher, so too money should not be viewed as an end in itself, but as a tool and ladder through which the owner, by performing acts of charity and kindness, can attain greater heights.

SHABBAT  SHALOM

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