5782
Chapter 28;v11
יא. וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם וַיָּלֶן שָׁם כִּי־בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח מֵֽאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָיו וַיִּשְׁכַּב בַּמָּקוֹם הַהֽוּא
- And he lighted upon a certain place, and remained there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
This world is similar to a ladder. Some ascend it and some descend it – and the same is true of humanity in this world. Some people become wealthy and some people become poor.
A hint was given to Jacob about this comparison, that even though he was on the ground without a pillow for his head, he could still be confident that there were greater heights to which he would ultimately “ascend”.(Meam Loez)
5781
Chapter 29;v35
וַתַּהַר עוֹד וַתֵּלֶד בֵּן וַתֹּאמֶר עַתָּה הַפַּעַם יִלָּוֶה אִישִׁי אֵלַי כִּֽי־יָלַדְתִּי לוֹ שְׁלשָׁה בָנִים עַל־כֵּן קָֽרָא־שְׁמוֹ לֵוִֽי
And she conceived again, and bore a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined to me, because I have born him three sons; therefore was his name called Levi.
When a woman has one child, she holds it in both arms. When another child is born, she holds one in her right arm and the other in her left. But when there are three small children, her husband must help her hold them.
Thus, when Leah held her third son, she said: “This time, my husband will be joined to me: Now my husband will have to help me, because I have borne him three sons and I cannot hold them all myself.”