ויחלום, "he had a dream.⁠" This dream was not of the same order as are ordinary dreams people dream. However, at the same time it was not a true prophetic vision either. This is why the Torah wrote at the end: וייקץ יעקב משנתו והנה חלום, "and Yaakov awake from his sleep, and here it had been a dream.⁠" A true prophetic vision would be described by the Torah not as שנה, sleep, but either as במראה אליו אתודע, or as בחלום אדבר בו, as we know from Numbers 12,7. Seeing that neither of these two expressions is in evidence here, this downgrades the visionary element.

והנה סולם מוצב ארצה, "and here a ladder was standing on the ground, etc.⁠" According to the plain meaning of the text Yaakov observed that the feet of the ladder stood in Beer Sheva, where he was lying; this is the meaning of the words מוצב ארצה, whereas the meaning of the words: "its head reached heavenwards" refers to the Temple. This is the gateway from which the angels ascend to heaven or descend to earth. When God appeared to be standing on top of the ladder, Yaakov realised that the site he was lying on was the gateway to heaven, and that it was an appropriate place for prayer. The Holy Temple is the House of God. Yaakov realised that the Holy Temple was of crucial importance in channeling communication from man to God and vice versa. [When the author speaks of the plain meaning of the text, I believe he refers to Yaakov subsequently describing what he had seen and what it meant (verse 16-17) Ed.]
Rashi too quotes Bereshit Rabbah 68, where Rabbi Eleazar in the name of Rabbi Yossi ben Zimra describes the bottom of the ladder as standing at Beer Sheva, the angle being such that the top was vertically above Mount Moriah. When the Midrash spoke about the שיפוע, the angle of the elevation, it meant that at its zenith the ladder was above Mount Moriah. In other words, the point at which it appeared to reach heaven was directly above where the Holy Temple would stand in the future.

A Midrashic approach sees the dream as hyperbole of the revelation at Mount Sinai in the future. The word סלם, ladder, is equated with סיני, Mount Sinai. The numerical value of the letters in both words are the same, i.e. 130. The words מוצב ארצה, are a reference to the Jewish people who would stand at the bottom of the Mountain at the time of the revelation. ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר (Exodus 19,16). The words וראשו מגיע השמימה are akin to Deut. 4,11 וההר בוער באש עד לב השמים, "and the mountain was all aflame burning up unto the heart of the heaven.⁠" The words ומלאכי אל-הים are a reference to Moses and Aaron who acted as God's messengers, Moses ascending the mountain. Seeing that Moses was also reported as descending (Exodus 19,14), he symbolised both of the motions ascribed to the angels in the dream. When God addressed Yaakov, saying אני ה' אלוהי אברהם אביך, this was equivalent to God saying to the Jewish people at Sinai אנכי ה' אלוהיך, "I am the Lord your God, etc.⁠"

According to Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer chapter 35 God showed Yaakov in his dream the four empires who would host Israel in its various exiles, showing them to him in their ascendancy as well as in their eventual decline. He showed him how the celestial representative of the Kingdom of Babylon would ascend seventy rungs on the ladder only to descend all of them again. He showed him the Medes ascending 52 of the rungs of this ladder and then descending again. Then He showed him that the spiritual representative of the Greek Empire ascended 180 rungs of this ladder only in order to have to descend all of them again. Finally, he showed Yaakov how the spiritual representative of the Roman Empire climbed the whole ladder without descending. While doing so that representative boasted that he would conquer heaven whereas Yaakov quoted Isaiah 14,14 where the descent of the Roman Empire is predicted also by the words אך אל שאול תורד "but You will bring him down to She-ol.⁠" God had told him "even if you rise like the eagle I will bring you down from there" (Ovadiah 4).

According to this Midrash Yaakov's dream contained a prophetic message that at the end of all the various exiles the Jewish people would resume their leading role in the world, seeing that all the patriarchs had similar visions starting with the covenant between the pieces when Avraham was first told about the exile his descendants would experience before they would inherit the land of Israel as their homeland. We have already quoted these various Midrashim in connection with our commentary on Genesis 15,12.

Other Midrashim variously describe the angels Yaakov saw ascending and descending as the angels of Sodom which had been demoted as their charges had been destroyed, or that they were the angels who accompanied Yaakov while he was in Eretz Yisrael now taking their leave in order to be replaced by other angels who would guard him while he was in Charan, etc. Other Midrashim describe the angels Yaakov saw ascending and descending as inquisitive angels who wanted to get a close up look at the choicest of the patriarchs, Yaakov, whose likeness was engraved on God's throne. None of these Midrashim are mutually exclusive as the ladder was not narrow and many angels were able to climb or descend at the same time, each one at his own speed.

A rational approach to the dream. The ladder represents the various levels of this universe. The universe may be regarded like a pyramid with the terrestrial part, the part inhabited by man at the bottom of the pyramid. Above our world is that of the planetary system; still "higher" is the world inhabited by disembodied creatures. In other words: the ladder has three basic rungs. David also characterized the world in a similar manner when he said (Psalms 103,20): ברכו ה' מלאכיו, "bless the Lord, His angels.⁠" He followed this by saying: (verse 21) ברכו ה' כל צבאיו, משרתיו, עשי רצונו, "bless the Lord, all His hosts, His servants, who do His will;⁠" Finally, he said (verse 22) ברכו ה' כל מעשיו וגו', "bless the Lord all His creatures, etc.⁠" Solomon also portrayed the world in a similar way in Song of Songs in three consecutive verses in Song of Songs 5,13-14-15).
The verses are: לחיו כערוגות הבושם, מגדלות מרקחים. שפתותיו שושנים נוטפות מור עובר. ידיו גלילי זהב, ממולאים בתרשיש, מעיו עשת שן מעולפת ספירים. שוקיו עמודי שש, מיוסדים על אדני פז. מראהו כלבנון בחור כארזים. The conventional translation of these verses is as follows: "His cheeks are like beds of spices, producing banks of perfume; His lips are like lilies, they drip flowing myrrh. His hands are rods of gold, studded with beryl; his legs are like marble pillars set in sockets of fine gold. He is majestic as Lebanon, stately as cedars" The author views Solomon as paraphrasing different parts of the universe and its functions.
He uses the cheeks, hand and thighs, to describe these three levels of the universe. In those verses the spiritual concept of the Jewish people, known in Talmudic parlance as כנסת ישראל, praises the Lord and His creation. The לחיו, "cheeks,⁠" represent the world of the angels who tell the prophets what they should prophesy; the hands represent the world of the planetary systems The word שפתותיו, "his lips,⁠" are a reference to the prophets who relate what they have been told by the angels, the source of their information. The word נוטפות, is the actual prophetic message. The word is derived from והטף אל דרום, (Ezekiel 21,2) "let your words flow southwards.⁠" Solomon also compares prophecy to מור, "myrrh", as the soul derives similar pleasure from prophecy as it does from the spice by that name. "His hand,⁠" is a reference to the planetary system, the word גלילים being essentially the same as גלגלים, "orbiting planets". They are compared to "hands,⁠" as all of man's activities are influenced by these orbiting stars and planets. In fact everything that goes on in our terrestrial world depends on these planets. The words "filled with beryl,⁠" is a reference to the stars which form the satellites of many of these planets. The word תרשיש represents something more precious than gold. Whereas the planets themselves are in outer space, the "stars" are perceived of filling some of the void between earth and the planets. The words מעיו עשת שן are a reference to the 12 horoscopes; this is why Solomon mentioned מעולפת ספירים, adorned with sapphires, i.e. with 12 sapphires. The words שוקיו are a reference to our terrestrial world, the bottom rung of this material existence. Just as the legs of a human being are the "lower" part of his whole body, so the part of the universe we live in is the low end of the entire universe. The word שוקיו applies to the two elements fire and wind, whereas the word אדני פז are a reference to the other two elements water and earth. The entire universe is portrayed as if it were a ladder.

God informed Yaakov in this dream/vision that He stands above this pyramid and oversees all that goes on within it. He mentioned the lower part of the universe first as it was the part which Yaakov was standing on and which was therefore closest to his thinking. The words וראשו מגיע השמימה, "and its head reached to heaven,⁠" are a reference to the world of the planetary system, who appear to touch the outer fringes of the universe. When David describes them as proclaiming the honour of the Lord (Psalms 19,2), they are described as part of the celestial regions. Finally, when the dreams described the angels ascending and descending on that ladder, the reference is to that celestial region inhabited by disembodied intelligences. Our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 68,12) used this division of the world into three parts (rungs) to state that the angels, (their habitat) represent one third of the universe. They base it on a verse in Daniel 10. We are not to understand this to mean that the "upper third" of the universe is reserved for the angels, but that angels "share" in all three parts of the world.⁠" This is the way Nachmanides explains this in connection with his commentary on the cherubs on top of the Holy Ark. [Rabbi Chavel could not find this except in the writings of Maimonides in his "Moreh" section 2 near the end of chapter 10. Ed.] According to this view the words עולים ויורדים בו, "ascending or descending on it,⁠" refer to the temporary nature of angels who have been created for specific tasks and who are destroyed when they have completed that task. The existence and usefulness of an angel is described as עליה, ascent, whereas the redundancy and subsequent destruction of the angel is described as ירידה, descent. Our sages in Eichah Rabbati 3,21 phrased it thus: "On every single day God creates a class of angels who proceed to praise him in song and are then going on their way.⁠" These are the types of angels that came into existence on the fifth day of creation. A different group of angels whom God created on the second day of creation enjoy permanent life.
The word בו in our verse refers to the ladder which had served as the illustration for the composition of the universe as a three-tiered pyramid. God is described as towering above the ladder (universe) exerting His influence even on the angels. The angels in turn exert their influence on the tier of the planetary system, which in their turn exert their influence on the creatures in the terrestrial part of the universe. In other words, all the creatures in the terrestrial universe are subject to the direct influence of the planetary system. This was confirmation to Yaakov of the validity of astrology as a discipline worth studying. These planets, etc. however, were not independent powers but were presided over by the agents of God called "angels,⁠" who in turn were under the direct supervision of God Himself. Solomon described this system when he wrote (Kohelet 5,7) אם עשק רש וגזל משפט וצדק תראה במדינה אל תתמה על החפץ כי גבה מעל גבה שומר וגבהים עליהם. "If you see oppression of the poor, and the suppression of justice and right in the State, do not be astonished at the fact, for there is One higher than the high who watches and there are high ones above them.⁠" The first part of the verse speaks of the injustice perpetrated in the terrestrial part of the universe. Solomon warns us not to jump to the conclusion that the world consists only of this part and that therefore the whole universe must be corrupt. Justice does exist, and there are forces at work which are superior to those which are active in our terrestrial part of the universe, and the considerations which guide these forces are of the kind that we human beings often cannot understand, because His reasoning is so much superior to our reasoning (Isaiah 55,8). This ultimate Supervisor of what is allowed to go on in the universe is none other than the Creator Himself. Solomon refers to God in the plural as גבהים, matching the plural ending in the word אל-הים. This is not the only occasion when God [who is primarily known as One, Unique, Ed.] is referred to in Scripture in the plural. Another example is Joshua 24,19 כי אל-הים קדושים הוא, "for God is holy (pl).⁠" You will note that Joshua adds the word הוא, "He,⁠" after the word קדושים (pl), to make certain that we do not misunderstand that the word אל-הים implies power-sharing by God. The reason that the word אל-הים is in the plural is because in the final analysis God combines within Himself all the various forces that are active within His universe.

Maimonides' approach to the dream involving the ladder (Moreh Nevuchim 1,15) is that the Torah included the planets in the part of the universe called here "ladder.⁠" The words מוצב ארצה refers to this planetary system being based on earth its lower extremity, whereas the words וראשו מגיע השמימה refer to the upper extremity of that part of the universe. The heaven is also known as ערבות, as we know from Deut. 33,26 רוכב שמים בערבות, "riding through a part of the heavens called ערבות.⁠" It is a collective name for the entire system known as מרכבה, "God's entourage.⁠" On this ladder anyone who wants to is free to ascend or to descend. The מלאכי אל-הים which the Torah speaks of are the prophets as per Numbers 20,16 וישלח מלאך ה', the meaning obviously being "a prophet.⁠" The same term is found in Chagai 1,13 where the word מלאך also refers to the prophet, a mortal human being. When the Torah describes such prophets as ascending the ladder it tells us that there is a limit to how high a prophet can ascend. Once he has reached his destination he receives the prophetic instruction God wants to grant him. When the prophets are also described as "descending the ladder,⁠" this means that they are returning and preparing to deliver their respective messages.

On the other hand, in the tenth chapter of section two of this same work, Maimonides writes in a different vein concerning the same subject. He first introduces the subject by saying that the planetary system is composed of the four basic raw materials which also make up earth and all that is part of the terrestrial universe and that as a result they are exerting their influence on what goes on earth. For instance, the moon exerts a gravitational pull on the waters on earth causing tides. The sun on the other and, exerts a powerful pull on the terrestrial element fire. The five other fixed stars combined exert their influence on the terrestrial element earth, whereas the moving stars exert their combined influence on the fourth terrestrial element, the wind.

Accordingly, we may assume that the various planets are made up of the same basic raw material, elements, as is the כדור הארץ, our globe. According to Maimonides we have to conclude that the ladder had four rungs, seeing that the planets each exerted influence on 4 separate elements on earth. [According to Rabbi Chavel Maimonides bases himself on a version of a Midrash Tanchuma saying the ladder had four rungs. This version is not extant today. Ed.]

According to what Maimonides writes in chapter 10 section 2 of the Moreh, Yaakov first achieved an understanding of the elements which exist and which extend as far heavenwards as the parts of the heaven known as ערבות. This is the meaning of מוצב ארצה וראשו מגיע השמימה, "standing on earth its top extending up until heaven.⁠" The "heaven" meant by the verse is that called ערבות. God presides, i.e. "was standing" above that part of heaven. The words מלאכי אל-הים appear to refer to the four basic elements two of which were observed by Yaakov as ascending the ladder whereas the other two were perceived by him as descending. The "light" elements he perceived as ascending, whereas the two "heavy" elements, water and earth, he perceived as descending by comparison. If the dream appears to describe the planets as first descending and then ascending, i.e. when God is described as immediately above the heaven, this may be parallel to a vision described by Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1,16. The prophet's vision also included four phenomena... [I confess that I do not understand the meaning of that prophecy. Maimonides apparently seizes on the word אופנים as being equivalent to גלגלים, the planets. The author supports what he perceives as Maimonides' understanding of this prophecy. Since I do not understand it myself, I will omit this passage. Ed.]