Objects

The biblical scene described in Genesis, in which the biblical patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel (Hebrew: fighting with Lord), experienced a mystical dream. In his dream he saw a ladder reaching up to heaven, with angels descending and ascending it, and Yahweh God standing at the top of it, who spoke to Jacob with the words: “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I give to you and your offspring. And thy seed shall be as numerous as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south; all the tribes of the Earth shall receive blessing through thee and through thy descendants. I am with you, and I will guard you wherever you go; and then I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have fulfilled what I promise you.”

There are several interpretations of Jacob's dream in the Judaic tradition. According to the Midrash, the ladder was a symbol of the exile that the nation of Israel was to experience before the coming of the Messiah. Another interpretation of the mystical dream indicates that the angels 'ascended' the hierarchy and then 'descended' from it, constantly accompanying the patriarch. Still another interpretation regards the ladder as a 'bridge' connecting Heaven and Earth. This bridge is to be constituted by the Torah, prayers, and sacrifices offered to God. Therefore, in the future, on the site of Jacob's dream, Mount Moriah (Hebrew for 'chosen by Yahweh'), the Jerusalem Temple, Judaism's holiest site, was built. JO