Alongside his longer and better-known commentary on the Chumash, the Malbim wrote a detailed examination of key events in Sefer Bereishit called Torah Ohr. He derives many profound insights from Yaakov’s dream of the ladder over Har HaMoriah, and we will only be able to scratch the surface here.
There are two principles to the Malbim’s exegetical approach: the metaphysical implications of the vision described in the Torah, and the way in which Yaakov is affected by this vision. Malbim explains that the experiences of our forefathers determine our outcomes in much the same way that the genetic blueprint that shapes the branches is contained in the roots.
Yaakov is fleeing Esav in terror; he is off balance, demoralized, and preparing to leave the Land of Israel for unfamiliar territory. This state of affairs is equivalent to the final exile that we are still enduring, and on a deep level Yaakov was aware of this. Just as Avraham saw at the covenant between the parts (Brit Bein haBetarim), Yaakov is overtaken by darkness – through no fault of his own, the Malbim points out. He is alone and defenseless in a strange place, which just happens to be the same place where his father was brought as a sacrifice many years before. It is also the place where his offspring will build the Beit HaMikdash many years in the future to serve Hashem and redeem the whole world.
Malbim points out that Yaakov’s name for the Temple Mount (“Elokim Yera’eh”), a double entendre encompassing seeing and fearing Hashem, is different from how the same place was described by his father and grandfather, as a field and a mountain respectively. The reason for this is that although Yaakov’s exile to Padan Aram would be much longer and more difficult than he can anticipate, and that in this moment he believes he could endure, when he returns he will be a great nation and he will have solidified his claim to both the land and the blessing he received from his father and from Hashem, to the chagrin of his older brother, Esav.
The third Beit HaMikdash, envisioned here by Yaakov, will never be destroyed, unlike the first two which were anticipated by his forebears. One reason for this is alluded to by the description of the many rocks that had become one when Yaakov awoke. We know that the long final exile began because of baseless enmity between one Jew and another. When Yaakov returns, as Yisrael, to build the third and final Beit HaMikdash, all of the differences will have been erased and his offspring will be united as one.
Malbim emphasizes the distinction between the “little fear” that Yaakov feels in fleeing from his brother and in the face of the unknown hazards of his journey, and the “great fear,” or awe of Hashem, that is the consequence of his dream. When one is lacking in faith and fear of Hashem, then one becomes the plaything of the emotions and terrors of this world. In his dream, Hashem teaches Yaakov not to fear matters of this world because he, Yaakov, is himself the ladder.
There is a big ladder and a small ladder. The big ladder is the fabric of the universe as Hashem governs it, and the apparition of Hashem (allegorically of course) rests upon it. But Yaakov is the small ladder, as is every human being who learns to be a bridge between the higher and the lower worlds – upon such a tzaddik, Hashem also rests. Hashem’s bounty descends from the sources of His will, and the deeds of the tzaddik ascend from the dust of the earth from which we are all made. One whose eyes are opened, as Yaakov’s were, can’t help but see how Hashem is enthroned over all of creation and is the master of everything, just as the tzaddik is master of his own mind and body. This is conveyed by the presence of Hashem atop the big ladder.
Thus, Yaakov learns that there is no point in fearing Esav or any enemy who would threaten him. The only imperative is to perfect the fear of Hashem, and let Hashem guard and protect him and his offspring as He promised to do.
