Summary
On the way to Haran Jacob dreams of a ladder with angels going up and down; in his dream, G-d promises to be with him. Jacob then gets to Haran and meets Rachel at the well. He falls in love with her and her father Laban promises that they can marry in exchange for 7 years of Jacob’s labor. The night of the wedding Laban switches Rachel for her older sister Leah; Jacob has to promise 7 more years of labor to get to marry Rachel. Between Leah and Rachel and their respective maids of Zilpah and Bilha, Jacob has 11 sons and one daughter.
1. Why does it first say that the angels were going up and then it says that they were going down? Wouldn’t the angels have to go down first before they could come up?
2. What other explanation can you give?
1. What other places might G-d be in where we wouldn’t expect to find G-d?
2. How can we bring G-d into more places?
1. It sounds like Jacob is setting preconditions for accepting G-d as his divinity. How do you feel about that?
1. G-d has given us 3 T’s: Time, treasure, and talent. How can we tithe, or set aside, some of that for G-d?