Vayetze: What Jacob’s Ladder Teaches Us About Personal Growth and Spirituality
Have you ever felt like your progress—whether in learning a skill, starting a project, or pursuing a dream—is more like a dance than a climb? One step forward, two steps back, and then suddenly a leap ahead? Jacob’s ladder in Parashat Vayetze speaks to this universal experience.
In this week’s Torah portion, Jacob has dreams that bring him closer to God, and he finds himself on the receiving end of trickery this go-around. He falls in love with his cousin Rachel (and her sheep!) but is deceived into marrying her sister, Leah. To marry Rachel, Jacob works another seven years for his deceptive uncle Laban. The portion also unfolds a saga of fertility struggles, concubines, and sibling dynamics, culminating in Jacob’s twelve sons (and one daughter) who will become the twelve tribes of Israel.
There’s so much to explore and unpack in this Torah portion, but I’m going to zero in on something really specific that resonated with me this week: Jacob’s first dream.
You see, while Jacob sleeps with his head on a rock (how uncomfortable!), depending on the translation you encounter, he dreams about a ladder/stairway/ramp from the ground to the sky. Angels ascend and descend it, and God promises Jacob quite the legacy: countless descendants and His unwavering protection. Jacob wakes up and feels, “The Lord is present in this place, and I did not know it…How awesome is this place!” This dream is often seen as a connection between the earthly and the divine, a bridge between effort and aspiration.
In the context of personal growth work—whether it’s learning to surf, starting a business, changing habits in relationships, or pursuing any goal—our progress is rarely linear. I see these angels going up and down the ladder as a reminder that sometimes we take steps backward before we move closer to the ultimate goal, creating an impact, or leaving a legacy.
When it comes to surfing, I have days where I feel strong and confident, and I’ve even been classified as the happiest surfer out there. I look back at the years that I’ve spent trying to improve and can see tremendous progress. In other words, I’m clearly higher up that ladder than I was the first few times I waded out with a foamboard.
But setbacks still happen. Lately, I’ve been struggling with a mental block about taking waves to the right, something I’ve done a hundred times before. My nervous system’s alarm bells go off, and I freeze at the top of the wave. Frustration levels are high, and I feel lower on the ladder again.
As you know by now, my lens is secular and spiritual. I don’t know if we have angels or guides, but I certainly like the idea. What I do know is that whether we move up or down on the ladder, we’ve got an opportunity for learning, growth, and incorporating the experience into our legacy.
Take working toward the L’Chaim community and the entrepreneurial journey. Some days the words flow, and the road ahead seems clear. Other days, I spin in circles of perfectionism wondering what action to take next and coaching myself through the stuckness. I always ask myself what small step I can take to get the energy and momentum rolling again. I see this energy as the angels, guiding me along the ladder, helping me gather the experiences I need in order to get where I’m going.
Which brings me to the final piece of Jacob’s dream: he wakes up in awe of the divine presence that he discovered exactly where he was. To me, this is a powerful reminder that no matter where we are on our journey—climbing, slipping, or standing still—there is meaning and purpose to be found in the present moment, and everything we’ve experienced has led us here for a reason. The beauty in Jacob’s dream is that every step, whether ascending or descending, carries the potential for learning and purpose.
I’ll leave you with a few journal prompts for reflection:
What are you working toward?
Where are you on your ladder right now?
What lessons are you being invited to learn by moving up or down?
