The Gateway To Heaven

"And Jacob awoke from his sleep" (Genesis 28:16). Rabbi Yohanan said: From his learning [reading the word as "from his Mishnah" rather than "from his sleep"]. "And he said: Surely the LORD is in this place" (Genesis 28:16) - surely the Divine Presence dwells in this place, and I did not know it. "And he was afraid and said: How awesome is this place" (Genesis 28:17). Rabbi Elazar in the name of Rabbi Yose ben Zimra said: This ladder stood in Beersheba and its slope reached as far as the Holy Temple. What is the reason? "And Jacob went out from Beersheba" (Genesis 28:10), "and he dreamed, and behold, a ladder" (Genesis 28:12), "and he was afraid and said: How awesome is this place" (Genesis 28:17). Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon said: This ladder stood in the Holy Temple and its slope reached as far as Bethel. What is the reason? "And he was afraid and said: How awesome is this place" (Genesis 28:17), "and he called the name of that place Bethel" (Genesis 28:19). "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (Genesis 28:17). Rav Aha said: This gate is destined to be opened for many righteous ones like yourself. Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai said: The Holy Temple above is not higher than the Holy Temple below by more than eighteen miles. What is the reason? "And this is the gate of heaven" - from the numerical value of "and this" [the letters of the word "and this" total eighteen]. Another interpretation: This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Jacob the Holy Temple built and destroyed and rebuilt. "And he was afraid and said: How awesome is this place" - this is built, as you say: "You are awesome, O God, from Your sanctuaries" (Psalms 68:36). "And this is none other" - this means destroyed, as you say: "For this our heart was faint, for these things our eyes grew dim" (Lamentations 5:17). "But the house of God" - built and perfected in the time to come, as you say: "For He has strengthened the bars of your gates" (Psalms 147:13).