Jacob's Ladder & the Baal Shem Tov's Inferno
How Darwinism Destroyed Self-Esteem
Vayeitzei Class
- November 8, 2010
- |
- 1 Kislev 5771
Rabbi YY Jacobson
3855 views- 5Comment
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Dedicated by David and Eda SchottensteinIn the loving memory of Alta Shula Swerdlov And in honor of Yetta Alta Shula "Aliyah," Schottenstein
Class Summary:
It is one of the great visions of the Torah. Jacob, alone at night, fleeing from the wrath of Esau, lies down to rest, and sees not a nightmare of fear but an epiphany: “He came to a certain place and stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream. He saw a ladder resting on the earth, with its top reaching heaven. And behold! There were Angels of G-d going up and down the ladder. And there above it stood G-d.”
Just what exactly were the angels doing? Were they going up or going down? It sounds like both. But why? For what purpose? The Talmud tells us: “The angels ascended to gaze upon the visage of Jacob above; then they descended to gaze upon the image of Jacob below.”
What is the meaning of this cryptic Talmudic interpretation? What are these two images? Why were the angels scrutinizing them? The image of Jacob observed by the angels surfaces in the story of Joseph, his son. Joseph, sold as a slave to an Egyptian nobleman, attracts the lustful imagination of his master's wife. She desperately tries to engage Joseph in an immoral relationship. As the union between them was about to materialize, the visage of his father, Jacob, suddenly appeared to Joseph. This caused him to reject the urge and flee outside. What was it about Jacob's visage that inspired Joseph to deny such an intense temptation?
Each of us, the Talmud is suggesting, professes two “images”—two faces, two personalities, two identities, a heavenly image and an earthly one. There is who you are, and who you can be. There is the “you” experienced in your own mind, and the “you” the way it is envisioned by G-d. But only in Jacob were both images one: the image below was an authentic reflection of his image above.
It is here that the Torah is eloquently portraying one of the greatest tragedies of Darwinism: the loss of true self-esteem.
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Vayeitzei Class
Rabbi YY Jacobson
- November 8, 2010
- |
- 1 Kislev 5771
- |
- 3855 views
Dedicated by David and Eda SchottensteinIn the loving memory of Alta Shula Swerdlov And in honor of Yetta Alta Shula "Aliyah," Schottenstein
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Sholom K -8 years ago
It's interesting that here the angels were envious of Yaakov, the gemoro in Shabbos 88-89 says that when Moshe told the angels why the Torah was given to humans rather then angels once of the things he said was, do you have a yetzer horo, do you have jealousy amongst you that the Torah should be relevant to you?....
We see that angels are perfect creatures that dont experience jealousy.
How does that fit with the midrash over here?
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AVI BRAUN -11 years ago
WAY WAY WAY AND THANK YOU
IM NOT ABLE TO DOWNLOAD YOURE CLASSES ALL THE TIMME. WAY IS THAT. CEEP UP THE WONDERFULL WORK.
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Anonymous -11 years ago
Re: WAY WAY WAY AND THANK YOU
Please be more specific about the problem and we willl try to fix. thanks for your kind words.
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Dovid HaLevy Benveniste -11 years ago
@Rv.Kaplan
Bs"d
Doesn't the Rebbe say,that to bring Moshiach one must "..open their eyes?" And doesn't the Rebbe Maharash (or Ater Rebbe) continue that the best perspective is to be "..on the outside looking in?" Yom Tov,Shavua Tov,Chodesh Tov Chanukah Sameach and a Pesach Sameach!
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ben -12 years ago
the way we see ourselves
"ki yetzer lev ha'adam ra minurav" Bereishis 8:22
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ben -12 years ago
the way we see ourselves
im questioning based on the pasuk that says the beginnings of man are all bad... so how can it be that if we ourselves as good we can be good, doesn't G-d directly contradict that in the Torah?
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Anonymous -12 years ago
Re: the way we see ourselves
I do not know the source for what you suggest. The Torah clearly states, that after G-d created all creations of Friday, including man, G-d said that "He saw all that He made and it was VERY GOOD."
The Torah also states that man was created by G-d blowing a soul into the human body, "blowing" representing something that comes from G-d's depth, as it were. In other words, the soul of man is a "part" of G-d, so to speak, which is why man is capable of reaching the greatest heights.
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