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נצב עליו STOOD ABOVE HIM to guard him (Genesis Rabbah 69:3).

הארץ אשר אתה שוכב עליה לך אתננה ולזרעך, if you were to say that this promise entails so very little, I am adding that your descendants will spread out in all directions of the globe.

הארץ אשר אתה שוכב עליה, a reference to the region currently known as “the land of Canaan,”

והנה ה׳ נצב עליו. And here G'd was standing upon it. The word עליו also refers to Jacob, i.e. that he perceived G'd as standing above him. This is in line with what Bereshit Rabbah 82,6 tells us that the patriarchs were the carriers of G'd's presence. Inasmuch as Jacob was the fourth "leg" of that מרכבה [perceived here as a chair G'd is transported on, Ed.] G'd leaned more heavily on Jacob than on the other three "legs." The singular עליו is justified then.

והנה ה' נצב עליו, this would be a reference to Exodus 19,20 where we read וירד ה' על הר סיני, “the Lord descended on Mount Sinai.” Others say that G’d showed Yaakov details of the sacrificial service in the Temple, the ladder serving as a model of the function of the altar.

והארץ אשר אתה שוכב עליה, “and the earth that you are lying upon, etc.” What did G’d’s gift amount to, seeing that Yaakov occupied only 4 cubits square of earth on the spot he lay on? Bereshit Rabbah 69,4 quotes an opinion according to which G’d had compressed the entire surface of the Land of Israel beneath Yaakov at the time when he had this dream. He meant to show him that the conquest of the land would not be difficult at all when the time came. My sainted father, the רא'ש, explained the plain meaning of our verse as follows: the location where Yaakov was sleeping was in fact the site of the future Temple, as pointed out by the Midrash; whereas Avraham had described that site as הר, “mountain,” i.e. something not easily accessible, Yaakov viewed it as בית, a house, a place where everyone can feel at home, in this instance the אבן השתיה, stone covering the orifice in the earth, the “navel” of the earth in the parlance of our sages, leading to the innermost part of earth, a site covered by the altar in the future. Seeing that whatever blessing there is on earth is distributed centrifugally to all parts of the earth, Yaakov was in fact lying on the entire earth. (By the way, Yitzchok had viewed the site of the temple, i.e. G’d’s manifestation on earth as שדה, as we know from Genesis) [whereas originally, G’d walked on earth just as did man; He withdrew after Adam’s sin, and He kept withdrawing until Avraham reversed the process, beginning with viewing His manifestation while on earth, yet not easily accessible. Ed.] G’d’s blessing comparing Yaakov’s offspring to the dust of the earth, meant that just as dust scatters all over the globe, so Yaakov’s offspring would scatter all over the globe at one time or another.

והנה ה’ נצב עליו “and here the Lord was standing above it, etc.” According to the plain meaning of the text the word עליו refers to the ladder. A kabbalistic approach: the word עליו refers to Yaakov, i.e. G’d appeared to Yaakov as if He were standing above him.” What the Kabbalists are trying to tell us is that Yaakov viewed himself in this dream as the carrier of the שכינה, the Divine Presence, and its entourage. The Torah would thereby have compared Yaakov to one of the cherubs of whom it has been said וירכב על כרוב ויעוף, (Samuel II 22,11) “He mounted a cherub and flew.” The patriarchs are the true מרכבה, the “chariots” supporting the שכינה, the benevolent Presence of G’d. They performed a task on earth which the angels perform in the celestial spheres. Kabbalists (True scholars, i.e. the sages of the Talmud) have expressed this thus when speaking about the כרובים, cherubs: The face of a human being is considered the major “face,” whereas the face of the cherub is considered as the “minor” face. (compare Rashi, Sukkah 5B where the cherubs on the lid of the Holy Ark are discussed). According to Kabbalists it was this idea David referred to in Psalms 104,25 where he referred to חיות קטנות עם גדולות, “small and large חיות.” Let me enlighten you on this subject. We already mentioned that Yaakov’s facial features are engraved on G’d’s throne (Bereshit Rabbah 68,12 and that the angels descended to compare Yaakov’s sleeping countenance with that engraved on G’d’s throne). This was the reason the Torah describes him as יושב אהלים, “dweller in tents,” (25,27) i.e. he was “at home” both in a celestial residence as well as in a terrestrial one. This idea is expressed even more forcefully in connection with the revelation at Mount Sinai where the “nobles” of Israel (Exodus 24,10) are described as having a vision of אל-הי ישראל ותחת רגליו, “of G’d, and Israel who is at His feet.” This is also what Yaakov had in mind when he said to Rachel who had demanded that he make children for her (30,2) התחת אל-הים אנכי. This statement was not a rhetorical question but he explained to Rachel that he was not G’d-like, but his image was inscribed below, i.e. beneath the throne of G’d who has the power to bestow children.

To guard him. [Rashi knows this] because otherwise, what does נצב עליו mean? [“Above the ladder.” But this cannot be, as] the whole world is filled with His Glory! Perforce, it refers to [guard] Yaakov. You might ask: Why did Hashem need to guard him now, and not before? The answer is: Yaakov’s image is inscribed on the Throne of Glory. The angels now saw Yaakov and realized that it was his image [inscribed on the Throne]. They were jealous of him, as he was closer to the Throne than they were, and wanted to harm him. Thus, Hashem protected him. Another answer: The angels of the Land were ascending, and the angels of outside the Land, descending. In between [the changing of the guard], while no angels were with him, Hashem guarded him. (Re’m)

והנה, eine dritte Gedankenreihe: ד׳ נגב עלין. Man nimmt dies gewöhnlich für: stand auf ihr, auf der Leiter, und das gibt dann ein recht schönes, dramatisches Bild: der schlafende Jakob zu Füßen der Leiter, die auf- und absteigenden Engel an der Leiter und die Gottesherrlichkeit hoch oben über der Leiter. Allein נגב על־ bezeichnet fast überall in תנ"ך nicht die räumliche Basis, auf welcher jemand steht, sondern das Objekt, auf welches er seine geistige Tätigkeit, seine Aufmerksamkeit gerichtet hat. 1) הנצבים עליו. B. M. 24, 13) נצב על עין (das. 45, 1) נגב בליך (2. B. M. 18, 14) 4) נגב על עלתו. B. M. 23, 6) נגב עליהם (Sam. I. 19, 20) und sonst, bezeichnet das Stehen neben einem Gegenstand mit auf denselben gerichteter Aufmerksamkeit. נצב selbst ist nicht das einfache Stehen, sondern mit geweckter Kraft und Energie irgendwo stehen, daher מצב: Posten. Ferner scheint hier ׳ה im Gegensatz zu ׳אלקי in מלאכי אלקי׳ zu stehen. Die Engel sind Gottesboten der Weltordnung, die er geschaffen und erhält und in welcher alles mit dem Maßstabe des Rechts gemessen und gewogen wird. Ihnen ist jeder und jedes nur das, was er im Augenblick darstellt (— vergl. 2. B. M. 23, 21. לא ישא לפשעכם כי שמי בקרבו). — Aber ד׳ steht bei ihm, ה׳ , jene Liebe, die sich vor allem in Erziehung des Menschen offenbart, die nicht nur Vergangenheit und Gegenwart vor Augen hat, sondern auch die Zukunft schaut und schafft, und in jedem gegenwärtigen Menschen den künftigen Menschen erkennt, und wenn sie in ihm einen reinen Keim erblickt, diesen Keim erhält und entwickelt.

והנה ה' נצב עליו; we do not find that either Avraham or Yitzchok had been granted such a vision of Hashem. On this verse Rabbi Simmon comments that it is not the custom for a king to personally supervise the plowing of his field or its being sowed with seed. He does not do so until the corn has been harvested. Avraham had been told by G–d to move to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12,1); of Yitzchok we have been told that he sowed seed in the land of the Philistines (Genesis 26,12). Now that the time had arrived for G–d to “harvest” what He had planted, Yaakov was made aware of this. Compare: Jeremiah, 2,3: קרש ישראל לה', ראשית תבואתה, “Israel was holy for the Lord, the first of His harvest.” (Tanchuma, parshat Miketz, section 5)

אברהם אביך, “your father Avraham;” we learn from here that grandchildren are to treated as if they were one’s children.

ואלהי יצחק AND THE GOD OF ISAAC — Although we do not find in the Scriptures that God associates his Name with that of the righteous whilst they are yet alive by writing, “The God of so-and-so”, — because it is said (Job 15:15) “Behold He putteth no trust even in His holy ones” — here, however, He associated his Name with that of Isaac because his eyes had become dim and he was confined to the house, so that he might be regarded as dead and as though the evil inclination had already passed away from him and he was unlikely to sin any more (Midrash Tanchuma, Toldot 7).

לך אתננה, so that you will be considered as a “prince of G’d,” as was your grandfather (23,6) as well as your father (26,28)

וראשו מגיע השמימה, an allusion to the smoke from the sacrifices rising from the altar in the Temple, especially that of the daily incense offering. These would be received with goodwill by the Lord.

אני ה’ אלוקי אברהם אביך ואלוקי יצחק, I am the Lord G’d of Avraham and the G’d of Yitzchak.” According to the plain meaning of these words G’d here assures Yaakov that He will give the land to Yaakov and his descendant, that he will be with him and will protect him in all his undertakings, similar to Psalms 91,11 כי מלאכיו יצוה לך לשמרך בכל דרכיך, “for He will command His angels to protect you on all your paths.” The reason that the pronoun אני is used is to show that the angel who appeared to Yaakov wanted him to understand that he was acting as G’d’s messenger, i.e. was part of the Divine establishment. It is as if G’d had said: אני חלקך ונחלתך, (Numbers 18 20) “I am your share and your heritage.” The Priests were informed that they are an integral part of the Divine. Similarly, we have a statement (Deut. 32,9) describing the whole Jewish nation in similar terms, i.e. כי חלק ה’ עמו יעקב חבל נחלתו, “For His people are part of G’d, Yaakov is a portion of His heritage,” and not merely a portion of the angels which had been mentioned.

Hashem folded the entire Eretz Yisrael beneath him... Otherwise, what was so great about giving him the land he was lying on, which was just four cubits? Thus Rashi explains, “Hashem folded...” Question: Why did Hashem fold it beneath him? The answer is: To make the whole land as easy to conquer as the four cubits he was lying on, as all of Eretz Yisrael was included in it. This is similar to (Melachim II 13:17): “And Elisha said, ‘Shoot!’ And he shot. And he said, ‘This is an arrow of salvation from Hashem....’”

אלוקי אברהם אביך, "the G'd of your father Abraham." The reason the Torah added the superfluous word "your father," as well as the reason why Abraham is described as Jacob's father without the addition of Isaac was intended to emphasise that Esau had no share in the heritage of Abraham. The Torah here made Jacob the sole heir of Abraham. This heritage did not come to Jacob via his father Isaac but directly from his grandfather Abraham. I have already explained in chapter 16,21 that there was never a question of Ishmael sharing in Abraham's inheritance since Ishmael was legally a slave and as such could not inherit anything from anybody. Ishmael was pointedly described as "the son of this slavewoman" not as Abraham's son (21,13). Esau was precluded from claiming any part of Abraham's inheritance.

Oder, wenn das בו nicht feindlich "wider ihn", sondern "an der Leiter" verstanden wird: Er sieht alle Kräfte, wenn sie Gott suchen wollen, aufwärts steigen, er aber braucht Gott nicht im Himmel zu suchen, er findet Gott bei sich. Es ward ihm da klar, was die Weisen mit den Worten festhielten: האבות הם הם המרכבה, reine Menschen wie die Väter sind die Träger der göttlichen Herrlichkeit; will sie doch zunächst auf Erden ihre Stätte haben, עיקר שכינה בתחתונים. — Fasst sich ja der Inhalt dieser ganzen Offenbarung in der Wahrheit zusammen, dass ד׳ נצב עליו.

הארץ אשר אתה שוכב עליה, “the earth that you are lying on, etc.;” “I shall give you this particular piece of earth; you will spread out through your own efforts in all directions and conquer vastly more land. This is just like when a king allocates a parcel of land to one of his knights, and the knight proceeds to conquer more land adjacent to his.

הארץ אשר אתה שוכב עליה, “the earth that you are lying on;” what does the Torah tell us here that we did not know? G-d tells Yaakov that seeing that at this time he is receiving a minute amount of earth, this is symbolic of the fact that in due course his descendants will expand in all four directions of the globe. “You, i.e. they, will conquer all the land that is presently around you.” It was a well known practice in those days that kings who wished to reward their most important subjects would do so by symbolically giving them a token of the real reward. The recipients would then be free to personally, or with the help of their servants, conquer the lands the king had assigned for them. Rashi here describes G-d as symbolically folding the whole of the land of Israel beneath Yaakov’s head. All this G-d showed him in the dream in which he saw the ladder.

שכב עליה THE LAND WHEREON THOU LIEST — The Holy One, blessed be He, rolled together the entire Land of Israel under him, thus intimating to him that it would be as easily conquered by his descendants (Chullin 91b) as a piece of land four cubits in length, which is the space covered by a person lying down (see Rashi, Chullin 91b, and the note of the ב"ח thereon).

והנה מלאכי אלוקים עולים ויורדים בו, a reference to the priests who offer the animal offerings and the incense. We also find among the explanations given by our sages for this dream (compare Rashi on verse 11 and 17) that Yaakov viewed himself during this dream as standing on Mount Moriah as he was familiar with the appearance of the location from both the description he had heard from his father and from his grandfather Avraham. This is why he said that this place would become the House of G’d in the future and the gateway to heaven (verses 22 and 17). The reason was that this place on earth is directly opposite the throne of G’d in the celestial regions. As to the reason he named the site בית א-ל, this was because he saw in a prophetic vision [seeing that he had been granted the vision there, Ed.] that the site itself was holy, not only the Temple that would be erected on it. This is why he immediately built an altar there. I have also found among the sayings of the sages on these verses that the ladder had 4 rungs. According to that Midrash the width of the ladder was such that 4 angels could simultaneously ascend and descend on it. When they would pass each other on their respective ascent and descent they would occupy the full width of the rung. Each angel symbolised one “governor” of the world as we know from Daniel 10,6 וגויתו כתרשיש. “its body” the size of Tarshish (another term for the “governor.”) These Rabbis have a tradition that Tarshish is one of three such “governors” of the universe. We have to understand what is so important in this interpretation. According to the superficial meaning the width of the ladder would have been wide enough to accommodate 4 such governors, something that seems hard to understand. Maimonides has shown us a window through which to understand what was meant by this statement of Daniel. [the author does not necessarily adopt the views expressed by Maimonides in Moreh Nevuchim section 2, chapters 9 and 10, but employs a similar concept, explaining what occurred on the ladder during Yaakov’s dream. Ed.] He explained that the universe consists basically of three phenomena, the third one being the angels (abstract disembodied intelligent creatures. Moreh Nevuchim 2,10) The four ”rungs” of the ladder would be understood as 4 כדורים described in Moreh Nevuchim second part chapter 9 as a condensation of the nine planets to merely four, some being absorbed to become part of the domain of others. In that scheme of things G’d assigned specific functions to specific planets such as the sun (in charge of fire, heat) and the moon (in charge of water, to wit its influence on the tides), various orbiting planets creating the motion resulting in rain or wind respectively. At any rate, the concept of G’d having assigned 4 distinct such “angels,” i.e. agents of His to run the physical “lower” universe would be what G’d showed Yaakov in the dream of “angels” ascending and descending. Whereas these forces are portrayed in constant motion, such motion by definition cannot be constantly in a single direction. They are therefore portrayed as “ascending” or “descending.” This naturally involves their passing each other at a certain point. Symbolically speaking, the “ladder” the framework within which they operate, must be wide enough to allow this. This is possibly what the Midrash quoted in Maimonides has in mind. [Our editions of the Midrash do not have this paragraph. Ed.] [Another way of looking at the ascending and descending “angels” is that they represent the quest of man for wisdom regarding G’d and His universe, i.e. ascending, and the agents of G’d meeting man halfway in providing him with such knowledge, i.e. “descending.” Alternatively, after man has ascended to receive divinely inspired insights he returns to earth “descends,” to incorporate the newly gained insights in his world view. Akeydat Yitzchok. Ed.] G’d being portrayed as “standing” on top of the ladder is a reminder that the knowledge obtained by man is not from independently powerful phenomena but that these apparently powerful forces are only carrying out His instructions.

While it is true that the fact that a son is a heretic does not disqualify him from inheriting his father's estate (Kidushin 18), in this instance the gifts and blessings bestowed upon Abraham by G'd were given him with the express understanding that they be handed down to Jacob afterwards as we know from Genesis 21,12 that his seed would be known only through Isaac (Nedarim 31). Although the expression זרע does not imply that such seed must be morally fit in order to qualify for that description and therefore for the right to inherit, the fact that all the blessings of Abraham were transferred to Jacob excludes Esau as an heir. It is true that in connection with people who offer their children to the idol Moloch we find in Sanhedrin 64 that the term זרעו is used by the Torah, and that it includes children who have not turned out properly. The fact remains that usually the word זרע refers to children who follow in the footsteps of their fathers. When the Talmud Kidushin 18 quotes Deut. 2,5 as proof that Esau did inherit, this is in connection with Esau's children receiving an inheritance from their father; it does not mean that Esau himself was qualified to inherit from his grandfather Abraham.

Es scheint hier mit großer Bedeutsamkeit 1/אביך אברהם und dabei יצחק ohne solche Bezeichnung zu stehen. Es dürfte dies wohl nie wieder vorkommen, dass der Großvater Vater genannt wird und gleichzeitig der Vater nur wie ein Fremder dabei steht. Es kann daher unmöglich von der leiblichen Abstammung die Rede sein. Vielmehr war Jakob in dieser Wendung alles gesagt. Jakob war Abrahams Sohn, Jizchak nur das Mittelglied. Geistig war Abraham Jakobs Vater. "Du bist der Sohn dessen, zu dem ich gesprochen: התהלך לפני והיה תמים, sei dessen Sohn und Erbe!" In Jakob, dem ersten Erbauer eines ganzen jüdischen Hauses, gewinnt auch die abrahamitische Zukunft den ersten Anfang der Verwirklichung.

והנה ה' נצב עליו, the meaning of the word עליו is not clear. It could refer to G’d on top of the ladder, but it could also refer to Yaakov, meaning G’d was providing Yaakov with new insights originating from the wisdom available in the celestial regions, i.e. the top of the ladder. If so, the reason this is described sequentially as an ascent followed by a descent is that the ascent describes man’s learning process, something concentrated in the head, the mind. Once he has absorbed the new knowledge he has to use it, transmit it to the lower parts of his body, which carries out the lessons learned. The reason why the words עולים and יורדים appear in the plural mode is that both the שכל and the פועל, [theoretical pure reason and the practical reason have to absorb these lessons. My wording. Ed.] The descending “angels” describe the two basic elements in G’d’s supervisory scheme of guiding the history of the universe, the direct and indirect supervision and intervention by G’d known as hashgachah peratit, and the general supervision by G’d’s agents the כדורים or גלגלים known in everyday language as mazzalot. Since Yaakov was fleeing from his home, and no doubt his mental and spiritual equilibrium had been traumatised somewhat by recent events, G’d showed him these insights to not only repair the damage, but to provide him with knowledge he had not yet possessed previously. He promised to give him the land that he was presently running away from, and reassured him that it was well within the Supreme Power, the Lord, to accomplish all this when the time would be ripe. He reassured him that he, Yaakov, indeed was Yitzchok’s real descendant and that all the promises made to Avraham would bear fruition through him and his descendants.

אביך, although Avraham was not your biological father he was like your father to you and not to the other grandchildren he had from other sons. Avraham’s inheritance would devolve only on Yaakov.

והנה...אשר אתה שוכב עליה, the meaning is not that Yaakov would be given only the tiny piece of earth he was lying on at that time, but G’d referred to the tiny sample of the land of Israel Yaakov was lying on at that type as being a symbol of the land of Israel of the future. We have a similar construction in Genesis 13,15 where G’d speaks of “all the land Avraham can see.” If He had meant that Avraham’s descendants would inherit only what was within Avraham’s range of vision at that moment, the promise would have been meaningless. G’d used the piece of land he stood on as a symbol of what He would give to his descendants in the future. Concerning the Midrash (mentioned by Rashi) that G’d had “folded” the whole of the land of Israel beneath the tiny piece of earth occupied by Yaakov at the time when He made this promise, surely the meaning of the Midrash is that G’d’s promise is to be understood “as if he had folded, etc.”