Climbing the Ladder to Greatness

When one tries to conjure a spiritual image in one's head, a few images may come to mind. Anything from envisioning the Kotel to another classic Jewish location that inspires feelings of closeness to G-d. Among the many items not on the list would be a ladder. After all, a product that one would purchase in Home Depot or Lowe's as a ladder has very little association with spirituality. It is precisely for that reason that it is most bizarre that a ladder finds itself the central item in one of the most spiritually charged visions that would define Jewish destiny. In this week's parsha, we learn that Yaakov dreamed about a ladder with its base planted in this world and its top cap reaching the heavens. In Yaakov's dream, we learn about the angles that ascend and descend the ladder. At this moment, G-d reveals himself to Jacob and reassures him about his journey outside his homeland and his overall Jewish destiny. Everything seems so profound and moving, yet one has to wonder how a ladder adds to the moment! The famous Kotzker Rebbe (1787–1859), a Hasidic Rebbe known for his sharp wisdom and wit, shed some insight on this issue. The Kotzker once asked his students: Who was higher, someone on the tenth rung of a ladder or someone on the twenty-fifth? When they responded that the person on the twenty-fifth was higher, Kotzker answered: Who is higher depends upon which way the person is heading. We may not appreciate it, but all of us in the journey of life are heading up the ladder to a more meaningful and purposeful life, or we are descending the ladder to a life of emptiness. In the dream of Yaakov, the base of the ladder is firmly on the ground and the top reaches the heavens. That image is supposed to serve as an outline for us as we are supposed to internalize that we must ascend and rise above all the pettiness and materialism of an increasingly empty world. It is more comfortable for us not to get on the ladder. Even if we are already on the ladder to greatness, part of us desires to descend to allow ourselves a life of more perceived comfort. A major theme of Sefer Bereishes (Genesis) is that we must rise above our comfort zones to find greatness. It turns out that a ladder really is most appropriate to deliver this timeless message. Have a Peaceful Shabbos, Rabbi Yaakov Fisch