That’s the feeling I get whenever I read the story of Jacob’s dream in the Book of Jubilees.

Here’s the scene: Jacob, all alone on a journey. The sun is setting, and he’s far from home. He finds a stone, uses it as a pillow – not exactly a Tempur-Pedic. – and drifts off to sleep under a tree. Can you imagine the weariness he must have felt?

And then, the dream.

The Book of Jubilees, a Jewish text from around the 2nd century BCE, tells us that in this dream, Jacob sees a ladder. Not just any ladder, mind you, but one that’s planted firmly on the earth, yet stretches all the way up to heaven. And on it, the angels of the Lord – the malakhim Adonai – are ascending and descending. image for a moment. A connection, a bridge, between the earthly and the divine. It's powerful, isn't it?

But the dream doesn’t end there. The text continues: "and behold, the Lord stood upon it." God Himself is at the top of the ladder. And He speaks to Jacob.

What does God say? He identifies Himself: "I am the Lord God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac…" A powerful lineage, a promise echoing through generations. And then comes the promise to Jacob himself. “The land whereon thou art sleeping, to thee shall I give it, and to thy seed after thee.”

Wow.

Think about the weight of those words. Jacob, alone and vulnerable, receives this incredible promise. He’s not just some wanderer anymore. He’s part of something bigger, something eternal. The land he’s resting on, the very ground beneath him, is destined for him and his descendants.

The Book of Jubilees doesn’t explicitly mention Jacob building an altar there and naming the place Beit El – House of God – as is described in the Book of Genesis. But still, the feeling of divine encounter is palpable.

I find myself wondering: what "ladder" is available to us today? What connects us to the divine in our own lives? Maybe it's prayer, maybe it's acts of kindness, maybe it's simply being present in nature. Maybe it’s finding those connections in the ancient stories themselves. Whatever it is, the story of Jacob’s dream reminds us that even in our loneliest moments, we are never truly alone. There is always a path, a connection, a ladder reaching towards something greater. And, perhaps, a promise waiting to be claimed.