Rabbi Adam Ruditsky
Shalom Yisrael, White Plains, NY

Jacob left the home of his father and mother armed with a questionable birthright and fear of his brother Esau. The wanderings of his father Isaac were not as detailed as would be the case with Jacob, and the interchange between God and Jacob seems to frame the story itself. Yet the story speaks of lessons learned, painful scenarios played out, and  flawed people portrayed as heroes of faith. It is Rabbi Russ Resnik who comments on Jacob by saying, "of the three patriarchs he is perhaps the one who is most like us." As such we can learn a great deal from Jacob's life.  Let's not get lost in the narrative itself as a mere history of one patriarch, for it remains pregnant with meaning.

Jacob's journey begins with a dream, a dream that finds angels to be a part of God's communication with him just as it was with Abraham his grandfather before him (Gen. 18:2 and 24:7).  The location of the dream and its reaffirmation of the covenant is most curious. We read the following in Genesis 28:12-15:

"He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.  I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

The previous section ends with Jacob's deception of his father, which resulted in a self imposed exile - with his fathers encouragement – in the land of his fathers cousin, Laban (Gen.  27:43). Jacob, despite taking advantage of his brother's moment of weakness and his father's blindness, apparently still is "the man" of God's promises. The Ramban (Nachmanides) links Jacob's dream to the Messianic age and the angels working for God.  Thus, the angels descending and ascending on the ladder do so at the discretion of God to communicate with Jacob below the heavenly realm, but even more to assure Jacob that he is not under the power of angels but under the direction of God, hence,

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

When the angels are descending and ascending  it is not just upon the ladder but upon Jacob himself as the one chosen and appointed by God. The Messianic significance is that the descending and ascending angels according to tradition are equivalent to the Four Kingdoms spoken about by Daniel 10 (Greece, Persia, Media and Edom), setting up the Messiah to defeat Israel's enemies. This may well be the background of John 1:50-51 that says of Yeshua,

"Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these. And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

The term "Son of Man" itself is a Messianic term found in the book of Daniel so it makes sense. As such, the angels descended and ascended upon Jacob and then again upon Yeshua.

Yet looking at the rest of the story we see that although Jacob received the thumb-print of approval by God in this dream, he continued to be a marked man for his failings. Was it an exaggerated sense of loyalty to God that made Jacob labor for 20 years for his fathers cousin, Laban? After all, sometimes we do what we think God wants of us and in the end we are pushing our own agenda so that the blessings of God do not really smile upon us. It is possible that the 20 years Jacob spent in Laban's employment were related to lessons learned. For example, Jacob deceived his father in Genesis 27 and then was deceived by his father–in-law in Genesis 29. Jacob assumed the identity of his older brother Esau in his deception of his father and his father-in-law in this parasha had Leah assume the identity of her younger sister, eventually manipulating Jacob into another seven years of employment for Rachel.  Jacob set the wages for his brother's need to fill his stomach to get what he wanted, the birthright, just as Laban changed Jacob's wages ten times to get what he wanted – cheap labor. Was it some type of payback for dishonoring his father? Was it reaping what he sowed?

Surely there were painful lessons be learned. Jacob was willing to labor for his wife for seven years (Gen.  29:20), and then another seven years when Laban deceived him (Gen.  29:27).  Remember, Jacob only went to Laban in the first place because of his earlier deception of his brother Esau. Lying is not looked on kindly in the scripture or Judaism, thus "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord," Proverbs, 12.22 or "No man should talk one way with his lips and think another way in his heart" (Talmud, Baba Metzia 49). We can't think Jacob's actions went unchecked by God. Paul writes in Romans 6:1, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!"  We should not accept falling short and presuming on the grace of God to make it all better. God's grace may include teaching us a lesson so we do not do it again. That does not make God a "big meanie" in the sky, it makes Him a loving father who wants us to grow and mature in how we handle everyday life.

Jacob's painful lessons cause him to become more deliberate in his faithfulness. The last problematic episode of this whole saga is the "get me out of here at any cost," attitude. God appears to Jacob (Gen. 31) and says it is time to go, given the deteriorating circumstances and  Laban's anger at what he felt was Jacob's deception of him regarding the gathering of the flock, (making Jacob a wealthy man):

"Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan." (Genesis 31:17-18)

It is not till three days latter that Laban even knows they left, not having a chance to say good bye to his daughters or grandchildren. When he catches up with them all that seems to concern him is his household idol which is missing. Jacob makes peace with Laban who in the end wishes his family well.

Think of all the nastiness, deceit, manipulation and anger. There were no happy goodbyes or tearful embraces, but only cutting their losses, praying nobody gets hurt and hoping for the best. What a terrible way to end a 20 year relationship, or for children to leave their parents.  You see that was the world in which Jacob found himself because he made some really bad judgment calls against his brother and father. God's grace and promises won the day, but Jacob had to learn painful lessons along the way. God uses flawed people just like Jacob, so that we should not kid ourselves and think that painful lessons are not lying in wait for us either. Our choices have the potential to create havoc for us or those around us. It was later on Jacob wrestled with God and was worthy to be called "Israel" despite himself.  Most of us want to be worthy of God. May our lessons yield a result that serves us well also.