And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried 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. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. - Genesis 28:10-17
AND BEHOLD, THE LORD STOOD (nitsab) UPON IT, ETC. Here Jacob discerned the essential unity of the object of faith. This is implied in the term nitsab (firmly knit), which implies that Jacob saw all grades stationed as one on that ladder so as to be knit into one whole. And inasmuch as that ladder is situated between two sides, God said to him: I AM THE LORD, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM THY FATHER, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC , these two being respectively of the two sides, one of the right and the other of the left.
- Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 150a
Simeon discoursed on the verse: Now I beheld the living creatures (Hayoth), and behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces (Ezek. I, 15). ‘This verse’, he said, ‘we can explain as follows. The Holy One reveals His dominion and power in all things, a power which shall never be shaken. He manifested His power in the Patriarchs, and particularly in Jacob. Now Jacob is united with the Tree of Life, over which death has no dominion, since in it all life is contained, emanating from it unto all those who are in perfect union with it. For this reason Jacob did not really die. He died in a physical sense when “he gathered up his feet into the bed” (Gen. XLIX, 33), which bed is mysteriously called “the bed of Solomon” (S.S. III, 7), the bed of the “strange woman” whose “feet go down to death” (Prov. v, 5). But of all the Fathers the Holy One chose Jacob to be the centre of perfection and fulfilment, as it is written: “Jacob whom I have chosen” (Isa. XLI, . Mark also this! All the supernal hosts with their cohorts and lightful chariots of celestial speed are joined one to another, grade to grade, the lower to the higher, each to its counterpart; and above them all a holy “Living being” (Hayah) (cf. Ezek. I) is set, and all those myriads of armies move and rest according to its will and direction. This is that Living Creature to which all Hayoth are linked, as each is also to each, all moving and swimming in the sea, concerning which it is written: “This is the great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts”
- Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 48b - R. And round about were Seraphin, Cherubic, and Ophannin: And these are they who sleep not And guard the throne of His glory. - 1 Enoch 71:7 <><><><><><><><><><><><><> INTERPRETATION Jacob's ladder represents the tree of life. We have two parts to the pillars of the ladder, wherein Abraham and Isaac - right and left are included as one and in the middle is Jacob. The two middle parts along with Jacob, the supernal above and the temple below. Where there are four heavenly realms; Supernal (Hayah), Seraphin (son of Yah), Cherubic (hayoth) and Ophaninn. This is also referred to in the chariot of Ezekiel and represented by the four letters contained in God's name YHWH.
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