By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel
CHULA VISTA, California — Both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung point out that it is through dreams we can better understand the unconscious mind. “Dreams” said Freud, “are the royal road to the unconscious.” The Talmud itself attests, “A dream that it is not interpreted is like a letter that is not read.”
The dream often serves as a reflection of our inner selves. Our hidden wishes and aspirations become manifest to us in our dreams. Dreams often serve as the medium God speaks to each one of us—whether we are aware of it or not.
One of the fascinating symbols discussed in various psychoanalytical books on dreams is the symbol of the ladder. The ladder can symbolize ambition, and goals not yet realized. Ascending a ladder can be a symbol of ascent; descending down a ladder may indicate just the opposite. In this week’s parsha, there are two dreams Jacob are like opposites to one another.
Jacob dreams of a ladder connecting Heaven and Earth. God’s Presence is immediately manifest. This is obviously a dream of an idealistic young person who has high hopes of unifying Heaven and Earth. Jacob believed he was to serve as a medium by which God’s Presence would be revealed in the world.
The second dream occurs some 22 years later. Jacob is a married man, he has 13 children, dour wives. His father in law Laban is very deceitful. God means nothing to such a manipulative and controlling person. Jacob, a man who deceived his own father, gets swindled continuously by his father-in-law Laban.
The wily Laban acts deceitfully toward the naïve Jacob, who gets schooled by a master trickster.
Shortly before his own departure, he dreams about cattle of all different colors and shapes. Gone are the images of unifying Heaven and Earth, instead the only symbols Jacob dreams about now are material symbols, cattle. God then reveals Himself through the unconscious mind of Jacob:
“I have seen all that Laban has done to you . . . Now Go set out
and leave this land. Return to the land that you were born!”
What happened to Jacob is a story about what happens to so many idealistic young people when they have to make it in a world that is controlled by the Labans of the world. Spiritual values mean nothing to a Laban, the only values that are meaningful to him are material values. Bucks become the only symbol of success.
We see this with people of all various professions. A young attorney dreams of promoting justice, in the end he sells his principals for the almighty dollar. Yesterday’s hippies are today’s Corporate presidents. The same could be said of doctors: A loss of vision produces blindness. It’s easy to be blinded in a world where people aspire to be like Laban.
There is an illuminating Chassidic story that may shed light on why God speaks to Jacob—many years later. It is the story of a poor man who begged his rabbi for a blessing that he become rich. The rabbi obliged, and in time the once poor man became quite wealthy. At first, the man was very charitable with his newfound gain. However, in time, he began to see the paupers who came to him as a burden. He turned away all who knocked at his door, and even posted a guard at his gate to keep poor people out.
The rabbi heard of his change in attitude, and set out to speak with the miser whom he had once blessed. He talked the guard into letting him meet the master of the house for just one minute and entered the house.
“What are you doing here?” barked the host.
“I would like to ask you a simple set of questions, and then I will go,” replied the rabbi. He pointed out the window. “What do you see there?” he asked.
“People,” replied the miser angrily.
Then the rabbi held up a mirror. “What do you see now?” the rabbi asked.
The miser responded, “Me. What is your point?”
The rabbi explained, “Both the window and the mirror are made of glass. The only difference between the two is a thin coating of silver. Sometimes, where you used to see everyone else, a little bit of silver can make you only see yourself.”
It is ironic: upon leaving his parents’ home, Jacob’s thoughts were of angels. Yet 20 years later, he has become a man whose intensity of focus is upon garnering a larger flock. The eyes that once saw ladders extending to heaven now see only the sheep in front of them.
Anyone of us reading this narrative can relate to Jacob.
Contemporary life is full of anxiety; the pace of life is frantic. Examine some of the euphemisms we use to describe our daily actions. We “leap” out of bed, we “gulp” down our coffee. We “scarf” our food, we “whiz” into town, we “dash” to the office, we “make a tear” toward home, and then we “drop dead.” Modern man travels at twice the speed of sound and half the speed of sense. We move so fast, we seldom ever pay attention to the world of spirit that is the source for all things.
For this reason prayer is essential — prayer helps us to evaluate our place in the world– prayer helps us keep the Labans of the world in perspective–prayer helps us realize that there are things more important than the cows, lambs and goats.
Prayer is what Jacob later rediscovers—the journey toward heaven cannot not be accomplished with a leap, or a jump–it is achieved one step at a time. The key to realizing God’s Presence is to pay attention to what is going on in front of us. Jacob exclaimed:
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought,
“Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
Gen 28:16
Worship is not just for the synagogue–every place we can discover God’s Presence– Martin Buber taught us that God’s Presence in our own interactions with others. Prayer helps us realize that every person we meet, every situation we find ourselves is also a meeting with God. That is why prayer is so vital and important, for with prayer, it is very easy to forget about our connectedness with something greater than ourselves.
Prayer was what Jacob had forgotten, prayer was what Jacob rediscovers, and it was prayer that ultimately helped Jacob return to his spiritual roots. Although Jacob’s prayers did not change Laban, it did change the way he dealt with Laban. Instead of feeling insecure and scared of his father-in-law, his faith gave him confidence and inner strength to face whatever obstacle would come his way.
I believe that prayer is important for all of us today, not because it’s a way of “getting what we want” or lack, prayer is important because it helps us realize that there is a mighty Spiritual Essence that moves within our innermost being, urging us to act justly and nobly toward one another. Prayer helped Jacob deal with Laban; and just as it worked for Jacob, I believe too, prayer can work us as well.
The rabbis have long said that the symbol of Jacob’s ladder symbolizes prayer. For Prayer connects the earthly and the spiritual. The Jewish mystics point out that the numerical value of the word sulam = 130, which is the same gematria for “Sinai.” The association of “ladder” and “Sinai” is very psychologically rich and suggestive.
Sinai is the place where theophany, a Divine manifestation of God took place. In a real sense, prayer provides us an opportunity experience our own personal “Sinai” even today through Torah study and prayer.
Every human being has needs. We have physical needs, emotional needs, and spiritual needs. The Tanakh teaches us that man’s spirit can never be satisfied apart from God. Our connection with God occurs through “Tefilah” the Hebrew word for reflection, meditation and prayer.
Prayer provides food for our souls. The rabbis teach us that we have to meet our spiritual needs if we are going to be successful in the world of Laban. We must find the time to be alone with God, and reflect about the direction our lives is taking us. Prayer and Torah study provide us with powerful tools to feel connected with God.
Instead of tunnel vision, we need vertical vision. Prayer teaches us that we need to listen to what God expects from each of us. Praying is not just asking God for various things, prayer helps us align our souls with the will of God, as we pass through life’s daily challenges.
Prayer provides us a way for us to experience God in our own special way. The Ball Shem Tov once asked, why do we say the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob? This teaches us that each of us must discover God in our own unique sort of way.
The lesson Jacob’s ladder teaches us that each human being needs to recharge their spiritual needs daily to survive the world of Labans in a way that is unique and personal.
This is the reason each of us has for one reason or another come into this world. Let’s make the resolution to live a life with prayer and connectedness with God.
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Rabbi Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista. He may be contacted at michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com