“And he arrived at the place…” (28:11)
In this week’s Parsha, we are told that our patriarch Yaakov was traveling. He laid down to go to sleep and he had a dream. When Yaakov awoke from his dream he was immediately spurred to action. He recognized the holiness of the place and the importance of the moment. He was startled, astonished, shaken, and changed. He exclaims and exults with great fervor and excitement, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than Hashem’s house and the gate of Shamayim (heaven).”
Later on, in Bereishis (41:4), the Torah records that Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, also awoke from a dream. What was his reaction to his sobering and intriguing dream? He went right back to sleep.
Rav Aharon of Karlin zt”l observes the difference in conduct between our ancestor Yaakov and others. When Pharaoh dreamt, he wasn’t affected. He wasn’t moved. He wasn’t inspired. He fell back into a stupor. When Yaakov dreamed, he became alive. He became motivated. He became ignited. He was ready to serve.
Rav Yitzchok Fingerer shlit”a explains: An incredible lesson can be learnt from here: A Jew doesn’t just dream. A Jew doesn’t fall back asleep. A Jew accomplishes. A Jew acts. The reason why Yaakov’s legacy and destiny was imparted in dream form was to teach us the importance of being a dreamer. To have aspirations for greatness and to think big.
Perhaps that is why the Hebrew word for dream is Chalom (חלם), which has the same exact letters as Lochem (לחם)which means to fight. In order to achieve success, one must dream and fight for one’s dreams.
Let’s dream of unity amongst Jews. Let’s dream of a time in which we stop categorizing and labeling people based on background and culture and instead think about commonality and joint mission.
Let’s dream of Moshiach. Let’s not only dream of Moshiach. Let’s bring Moshiach! Let’s not just dream of a world in which every Jew is sacred. Let’s make sure every Jew is treated as sacred and introduced to our holy heritage with compassion and love!
Click on the link below for this week’s PDF
https://parshaknowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Vayeitzai.pdf
