In this week’s parsha we read of the ladder in Yaakov’s dream. He goes to sleep and he sees a ladder and angels are going up and angels are going down. The commentaries ask, Aren’t they supposed to be going down first and only then going up? The answer is the angels of Israel that had accompanied Yaakov were now going back up, and the angels of the diaspora (chutz l’aretz) were going down to protect him as he leaves Israel.
All the years when I would leave Israel, I would stop at the top of the staircase going onto the El Al plane (remember those days) and I would say a tearful goodbye to the angels of Israel. It’s been awhile since we have to climb up to the plane, but for me, I now live in Jerusalem and I don’t have to say goodbye to the angels of Israel.
I thank Hashem for the blessing of living here now, and I pray that soon we will see the ingathering of all the exiles and everyone will bask in the glory of the angels of Israel – and the ladder can be put away.
