“Yaakov awoke from his sleep and said:
Why, Gd is in this place and I did not know it!” (Fox)
Dreams and Torah share deep structures that reveal multiple layers of meaning. Jacob’s dream is about that structure and about the awakening that happens when it is perceived.
The first thing the dreamer notices is that the Sulam (a word used only once in the Torah and therefore open to interpretation) is set on the Earth, then that it reaches towards Heaven, then he remarks on the messengers or angels. After all this, he notices YA’s* presence. It seems backwards, that YA should be first, then the angels, then the Sulam.
This ordering of revelation can be seen as directions for the spiritual imagination. First, set it firmly on the ground. Then, realize that structure and movement connecting Heaven and Earth are one. Only then, is YA’s presence and intention revealed.
Etja Ruth is an artist whose work bridges art and healing, exploring the places where image, movement, and voice reveal the unseen. Learn more about her Bereshit/Genesis paintings here.
