๐๐๐ฒ๐๐ญ๐ณ๐ ๐๐:๐๐-๐๐:๐
๐๐๐ฒ๐๐ญ๐ณ๐ ืึทืึตึผืฆึตืโโ Hebrew for “and he left,” the first word in the parashah) is the seventh weekly Torah portion (ืคึธึผืจึธืฉึธืืโ, parashah) in the annual cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 28:10โ32:3. The parashah tells of Jacob’s travels to, life in, and return from Haran. The parashah recounts Jacob’s dream of a ladder to heaven, Jacob’s meeting of Rachel at the well, Jacob’s time working for Laban and living with Rachel and Leah, the birth of Jacob’s children, and the departure of Jacob’s family from Laban.
๐๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐:๐๐-๐๐:๐
๐ฌJacobs ladder is featured in this weekโs Torah portion. What exactly did Jacob see and experience: a literal ladder and if so to where? A pyramid? A spiral of DNA? Many have been perplexed for centuries about what exactly Jacobs Ladder was but we do know that it was prophetic. During slavery in America enslaved people sang of Jacobs ladder and some scholars say the negro spiritual โJacobโs Ladderโ cracked the code of what Jacobโs vision really meant.
โ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐’๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ซโ (also known as Jacob’s Ladder) is an African American slave spiritual based in part on the Biblical story of Jacob’s Ladder. It was developed some time before 1825. We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder is a spiritual. As a folk song originating in a repressed culture, the song’s origins are lost. Some academics believe it emerged as early as 1750, and definitely no later than 1825, and was composed by American slaves taken from the area now known as Liberia. The spiritual utilizes the image of Jacob’s ladder, and equates it with the body of Christ (in ways quite similar to the teachings of Catherine of Siena). The song is in the form of call and response, and although lyrics vary from place to place and over time, they generally emphasize spiritual growth, increasing one’s knowledge about Yahweh, and a call to discipleship. The striving nature of this “climb” toward God is depicted as a series of tests, and draws heavily on the New Testament tradition of the believer as warriorโin this case, overcoming the slave-owner. The traditional lyrics hold out hope that the slave can rise up and escape slavery, and the nature of the call-and-response asks both the singing respondents and the listener for greater sacrifice to reach the next level. The spiritual implies that Yahwehโs promise to the Biblical patriarch Jacob will also lead the slave to freedom.
In Genesis 28:14-15 we read of part of this promise: 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 whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee back into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ก๐ฐ๐๐กโ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ?
๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐: Listen to my thoughts on this weekโs ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐จ ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐จ๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ซ on The Practical Torah Podcast Episode 8 on Apple itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/practical-torah/id1438926909?i=1000426498494
You can also listen to Episode 8 on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2_UmpuiMcKY
๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐: Wimbush, Vincent L.; Rodman, Rosamond C. (eds.). African Americans and the Bible: Sacred Texts and Social Textures. Eugene, Ore.: Wipe & Stock. pp. 389โ390. ISBN 9781610979641.
๐๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐๐๐คโ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ก ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.