THE HEAVEN WITHIN

Jacob’s ladder has become a very popular theme among Jewish artistic works as it forms a kind of bridge between a tired biblical story and a mystical landscape that moderns are leery to cross. The imagery is vivid. The ladder rest on earth, its top pierces the heavens and angels ascend and descend, just as the biblical narrative describes. But since it was a dream, and since angels, equipped as they are with wings, need no ladders to either ascend to heaven or descend to earth, Jacob’s ladder need not be understood as a literal stairway to heaven. One might better understand it as a pathway down into Jacob’s soul. Jacob’s ascent is not really a going up into heaven, but a reaching inward to the depths of his soul. The further he explores that which already resides within his heart or soul, the “higher” he is on his metaphorical ladder. The angels ascending and descending are really a mirror image of what is going on. The angels are like a spiritual energy that goes deeper and deeper into the subconscious, probing for answers about who Jacob is and what is his purpose on earth. Facing such questions would be a true ascent or going up. And then once Jacob has explored the depths of his soul for the answers he seeks, the angels, the spiritual energy reverts to the conscious level, and that would be the descent—the return to reality. Jacob’s dream need not be about the heaven above, but the heaven within, and each of us is blessed with this internal heaven.

Jacob, guilty for having taken his brother’s blessing, fearful that his brother Esau may murder him in revenge, and now running to a land he has never visited, must be very scared. This is our ancestor—the future father of the Children of Israel? And yet, in the dream, we catch a glimpse of Jacob’s greatness. In spite of all his problems, he is not a failure. His greatness rises to the surface as the voice of God assures him of wealth, children, esteem and an eventual return to the land he loves. This is the voice of God not in the heavens above, but in the depths of his soul. The voice of God in the heavens is a commanding voice, but the voice of God within us is a guiding voice. For Jacob, it is the voice that says your life is not over for there is brilliant future awaiting you. Your next great step is to look to the future with hope, and not get mired in the complexities of the past.

The voice of God within Jacob is not an anomaly, but a reality. We are each blessed with the voice of God within us. It urges us to make decisions at every point in time that are healthy, reasonable, sometimes daring or bold, always ethical and sensitive, and always life-affirming. The future belongs to the people who believe in it. In order to get from here to there, you will not necessarily need a ladder, only a dream.