Vayetze
Genesis 28:10 – 32-3
Hosea 12:13 – 14:10
In this week’s parashah we are confronted with one of the most memorable of biblical prophetic symbols. As Jacob sleeps, he dreams of an incredibly tall ladder “planted on the ground, its top reaching into the heavens” (Genesis 28:12).
Innumerable commentaries address the import of this symbol. A particularly difficult midrashic interpretation suggests that G-d was revealing to Jacob two of his descendants. One was Moses, who ascended into heaven, symbolized by the top of the ladder. The other was Korach, who was ultimately swallowed up by the earth, symbolized by the expression “planted on the ground.”
What, however, was the purpose of exhibiting his two descendants to Jacob? The Baal Haturim indicates that the gematria or numerical value of the letters of the word sulam (ladder) equals that of the words mammon (money) and oni (poverty), each one equaling 136. The Baal Haturim teaches that a ladder is a metaphor for money and for poverty.
People never remain standing on a ladder. One either goes up or down. A ladder symbolizes change. A ladder can bring a person up to the greatest heights and at the same time it can also bring a person down to the lowest depths.
Money has the same potential to elevate or degrade. When someone is entrusted by G-d with wealth, he can choose to give charity, do acts of loving kindness and assist community institutions, thereby advancing his own spiritual growth. In this way his money can elevate him to the highest level of spiritual accomplishment. On the other hand if the money is used to indulge his every whim, drive or appetite, it can bring him down to the lowest level of depravity.
Our sages tell us that Moses and Korach were both wealthy. Korach was so wealthy, he wanted for nothing. His “money ladder” led him literally to the abyss. His wealth corrupted him to the point where he developed a hunger for power, which caused him to challenge Moses’ authority.
Moses was also a wealthy man, but he worked on himself to the point where he became the greatest of all prophets, the teacher of all the Jewish people and the humblest of all men. His money ladder pulled him heavenward.
Oddly enough, poverty has the same ambivalent power as wealth. The Talmud (Eruven 41lb) says that the ordeal of poverty makes one vulnerable to sinfulness (such as jealousy or stealing). On the other hand, if a person passes the “test of poverty,” he is freed from the restrictions of money. His happiness comes from within and doesn’t rely on the size of his bank account or his portfolio.
If a person can trim down his needs and lower his expectations, he is truly free, even rich and fortunate. The Ethics of the Fathers (4:1) teaches us that the person who is rich is the one who is satisfied with his lot. A poor person can use his acceptance of poverty to focus on Torah and spirituality.
The Jewish ladder spans the entire spectrum of the people, from Moses at the top to Korach at the bottom. The Jews were promised that we would be as the dust of the earth and as the stars in the heavens, and it seems that there is no standing still. We can either progress or regress. We can either go down to the dust or with G-d’s help rise up to the stars.
Shabbat Shalom