1. Vayetze: Of Ladders and Vows CALEV BEN DOR י וַיֵּצֵא יַעֲקֹב, מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע; וַיֵּלֶךְ, חָרָנָה. יא וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם וַיָּלֶן שָׁם, כִּי-בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם, וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו; וַיִּשְׁכַּב, בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא. יב וַיַּחֲלֹם, וְהִנֵּה סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה, וְרֹאשׁוֹ, מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה; וְהִנֵּה מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹהִים, עֹלִים וְיֹרְדִים בּוֹ. יג וְהִנֵּה יְהוָה נִצָּב עָלָיו, וַיֹּאמַר, אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם אָבִיךָ, וֵאלֹהֵי יִצְחָק; הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה שֹׁכֵב עָלֶיהָ--לְךָ אֶתְּנֶנָּה, וּלְזַרְעֶךָ. יד וְהָיָה זַרְעֲךָ כַּעֲפַר הָאָרֶץ, וּפָרַצְתָּ יָמָּה וָקֵדְמָה וְצָפֹנָה וָנֶגְבָּה; וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ כָּל- מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה, וּבְזַרְעֶךָ. טו וְהִנֵּה אָנֹכִי עִמָּךְ, וּשְׁמַרְתִּיךָ בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר-תֵּלֵךְ, וַהֲשִׁבֹתִיךָ, אֶל-הָאֲדָמָה הַזֹּאת: כִּי, לֹא אֶעֱזָבְךָ, עַד אֲשֶׁר אִם-עָשִׂיתִי, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-דִּבַּרְתִּי לָךְ. טז וַיִּיקַץ יַעֲקֹב, מִשְּׁנָתוֹ, וַיֹּאמֶר, אָכֵן יֵשׁ יְהוָה בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה; וְאָנֹכִי, לֹא יָדָעְתִּי. יז וַיִּירָא, וַיֹּאמַר, מַה-נּוֹרָא, הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה: אֵין זֶה, כִּי אִם-בֵּית אֱלֹהִים, וְזֶה, שַׁעַר הַשָּׁמָיִם. יח וַיַּשְׁכֵּם יַעֲקֹב בַּבֹּקֶר, וַיִּקַּח אֶת-הָאֶבֶן אֲשֶׁר-שָׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו, וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתָהּ, מַצֵּבָה; וַיִּצֹק שֶׁמֶן, עַל-רֹאשָׁהּ. יט וַיִּקְרָא אֶת-שֵׁם-הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא, בֵּית-אֵל; וְאוּלָם לוּז שֵׁם-הָעִיר, לָרִאשֹׁנָה. כ וַיִּדַּר יַעֲקֹב, נֶדֶר לֵאמֹר: אִם-יִהְיֶה אֱלֹהִים עִמָּדִי, וּשְׁמָרַנִי בַּדֶּרֶךְ הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ, וְנָתַן-לִי לֶחֶם לֶאֱכֹל, וּבֶגֶד לִלְבֹּשׁ. כא וְשַׁבְתִּי בְשָׁלוֹם, אֶל-בֵּית אָבִי; וְהָיָה יְהוָה לִי, לֵאלֹהִים. כב וְהָאֶבֶן הַזֹּאת, אֲשֶׁר-שַׂמְתִּי מַצֵּבָה--יִהְיֶה, בֵּית אֱלֹהִים; וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר תִּתֶּן-לִי, עַשֵּׂר אֲעַשְּׂרֶנּוּ לָךְ. 10 And Jacob left Beersheva, and went toward Haran. 11 And he lighted upon the place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it (bo). 13 And, behold, the LORD stood beside him, and said: 'I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying, I will give to you, and to your descendants. 14 And your seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west, and the east, and the north, and the south. And in you and your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And, behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back into this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.' 16 And Jacob woke up from his sleep, and said: 'Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.' 17 And he was afraid, and said: 'How full of awe is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.' 18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bet-el, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 And Jacob swore a vow, saying: 'If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothes to wear, 21 so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that You give me I will surely give the tenth to You.'

2. רבי אבהו אמר: "אם יהיה אלהים עמדי ושמרני בדרך הזה אשר אנכי הולך" - מלשון הרע - היך מה דאת אמר (כפי שנאמר): "וידרכו את לשונם קשתם שקר" (ירמיה ט) "ונתן לי לחם לאכול" מגילוי עריות,כפי שכתוב: "ולא ידע אתו מאומה כי אם הלחם אשר הוא אוכל" (בראשית לט), לשון נקי. "ושבתי בשלום אל בית אבי" - משפיכות דמים. "והיה ה' לי לאלהים" - מעבודת כוכבים. Rabbi Abahu said ‘If God will be with me and guard me on the way that I am going’ this means guarding me from Lashon Hara. ‘and provides me with bread to eat’ guard me against Gilui Arayot, sexual indiscretion’. ‘And return me in peace to my father’s house’ guard me against the spilling of blood. ‘And God will be for me a God’ guard me from idolatry. הוא נכשל בכל הכשלונות האלה משום שבדרכו להגשמת ייעדו לא הלך בדרכו הישרה R. Hiyya the Elder and R. Yannai disagreed: One maintained: [The angels] were ascending and descending the ladder; while the other said: they were ascending and descending on him–on Jacob! The first view is clear. But that they were ascending and descending on Jacob must mean that some were exalting him and others chiding him, dancing, leaping, and maligning him. … it is you [said the angels] whose features are engraved on high; they ascended on high and saw his features and they descended bellow and found him sleeping. This can be compared to a king [whose image] was found sitting in his council chamber in judgment, while at the same time he lay asleep in the corridor.” (Bereshit Rabbah 68:18). ר' חייא ורבי ינאי, חד אמר: עולים ויורדין בסולם. וחד אמר: עולים ויורדים ביעקב. מאן דאמר: עולים ויורדים בסולם, ניחא. ומאן דאמר: עולים ויורדים ביעקב, מעלים ומורידים בו, אפזים בו, קפזים בו, שונטים בו, עולים למעלה ורואים איקונין שלו, ויורדים למטה ומוצאים אותו ישן. משל למלך שהיה יושב ודן עולים לבסילקי ומוצאים אותו דן, ויוצאין בפרווד ומוצאים אותו ישן. “in his dream, Yaacov saw a ladder whose top reached into heaven. It still exists. There are those who have seen it, somewhere in Poland, at the side of an out-of-the-way railroad station. And an entire people were climbing, climbing towards the clouds on fire. Such was the nature of the dread, our ancestor Yaacov must have felt” (Elie Wiesel) Yaacov experiences all of these failures because he achieved what he was destined to achieve in a crooked way (Yeshayahu Leibowitz)