“And Yaakov went out,” this refers to a Jew, Yaakov, going out from his present spiritual level.
“From Beersheva,” refers to a person ascending from his current spiritual level to a higher level.
“And went toward Charan,” refers to a Jew having to traverse through the “Charon Af” or “fury” of intense opposition from the forces of evil who try to prevent him, from attaining a higher spiritual level.
“And he reached the place” (Bereshis 28:11), refers to a Jew being aware that all the worldly desires and physical opposition that are now trying to overtake him are not due to his having fallen from his spiritual level, but the result of his efforts to ascend and come closer to the “Mekomo shel Olam,” the place of the world, i.e. Hashem.
“And slept there,” refers to a person accepting his situation and the pain of darkness. He sleeps with his troubles, patiently waiting for them to pass, until he emerges from the opposition of the forces of evil.
“Because the sun was set” refers to having his normal lucidity of mind diminished at the time of the opposition from the forces of evil. The sun in spiritual terminology refers to the intelligence, which is a guiding light to show a person the proper path.
“And he took of the stones of the place and put them under, his head.” The Rabbis say these stones were 12 in number. This number refers to the 12 tribes who revealed the greatness of Hashem in the world. This refers to the Jew who has reached a high spiritual level and takes “the stones of the place,” the power of the 12 tribes, to come to an even higher level of perception of Hashem.
“And he [Yaakov] lay down in that place.” The word “vayishkav,” “and he lay down,” can be broken up into two words, “yesh”—“there are”—“chof bais”—“22.” When a person reaches the higher level, he obtains a greater understanding of the spiritual, of which the 22 letters of the Torah is based.
“And he [Yaakov] dreamed, and behold a ladder was set up an the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold angels of Hashem were ascending and descending on it.” The angels refer to people who serve Hashem, for a people who serve Hashem are like the angels who also serve Hashem. These servants of Hashem were ascending and descending on a ladder. All a person’s ups and downs in life are compared to this scene of this ladder in Yaakov’s dream. If a person strengthens himself and realizes that all the opposition one faces is not an actual fall, but rather a necessary vehicle for his ascent, then he will ascend the spiritual ladder. Otherwise, if he is fooled by all the opposition he faces and gives up from all the pressure he faces, he can fall down the spiritual ladder, chas va shalom.
“And Yaakov woke up out of his sleep, and said: surely Hashem is present
in this place; and I did not know.” This refers to a person whose
troubles have come to an end and having overcome the opposition from the
forces of evil. He realizes that “Hashem was present in the place”
of his troubles, confusions, and temptations that, but that while it was
happening, he “did not know it.” For it appears to a person that
Hashem wasn't with him in his troubles or temptations, but it is only a
trick of the forces of evil to make him think that he had failed and had
fallen away from Hashem. In reality he has just advanced to a new
higher level and he had to traverse new opposition from the forces of evil
to get even closer to Hashem. (Likutei Halachot: Choshen Mishpat: Hilchot
Matana 4:12:14)
When Yaakov slept on Mount Moriah it says, “Yaakov called the name of that place, the house of Hashem” (Bereshis 28:19). Yaakov was able to reveal Hashem’s existence to the world to such a degree that everyone was capable of experiencing and serving Hashem, just like a house is a place that everyone needs. The term house also indicates that people came to realize that one must pray to Hashem for one’s basic needs, such as health, children, and one’s livelihood, etc. They came to realize that prayer was not only reserved for the more abstract spiritual goals and for the achievement of human perfection. It is true that some people would come to recognize and serve Hashem on their own, through great difficulty, which is comparable to mountains and fields. Nevertheless, the vast majority of people are in need of security and comforts of a house to serve Hashem. For the majority of people are unable to serve Hashem totally devoid of the material necessities of daily living. When these people become aware of the advantages that devoting themselves to Hashem brings to their daily lives, this is the aspect of serving Hashem in the category of house.
The ultimate revelation of Hashem greatness is when prayer reaches the
level of house. At such a time, even the gentiles and those Jews
who are far away from spirituality will join in exalting His Name through
prayer. As it is written, “For My [Hashem’s] house shall be
called a house of prayer for all the nations.” (Isaiah 56:7). (Likutei
Morahan I:10:3)
Every man who comes to this world, comes together with a mate which is especially allotted to him. The wife comes equipped with the exact amount of money that her husband will have in this world, and the exact amount of children he will have as well. The light of a woman’s soul is like a tree; this tree has branches and limbs, which are the spiritual essence of the money she is connected with. The branches produce fruit, which are the children she has.
If someone steals money from another, he is stealing the spiritual branches from that person’s wife’s soul. The money he steals contains the spiritual light of the woman’s soul, which also gives her the spiritual power to have children. Thus, by taking another man’s money, a thief steals a man’s wife’s branches, which are what allow her to produce children. Similarly, we find in Megillas Esther, “Haman recounted to them [his wife and friends] the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children” (Esther 5:11), demonstrating that riches and children are interconnected.
This is what Rachel and Leah were referring to when they said, ““But
all the riches which Hashem has taken from our father are ours and our
children’s.” They said, “the wealth is ours,” since wealth
is determined by the light contained in the woman’s soul. “And our
children’s,” for children are dependent on the spiritual branches attached
to the woman. As the Talmud writes, “Anyone who steals from his friend
is as if he has stolen the souls of his son’s and daughters” ((Bava Kama
119). (Likutei Morahan I 69:1)
Why was it necessary for Rachel to go through such a special purification process by Yakov working, and why didn’t Yakov himself need this purification process? The spiritual contamination caused by the snake affected women much more than men. This is because Chava received the full measure of the snake’s contamination, since her mind and soul were strongly affected by the snake’s enticement. This caused evil spiritual pollution to effect her entire soul and the souls of all women, being spiritually rooted her body. Therefore, women need to go through a harsher purification process than men. Hashem, as an extra help to purify women from the snake’s intensive pollution decreed, “he [man] shall rule over you [woman.]”. Therefore, women serve their husbands by doing all sorts of menial tasks, just like a slave serves his master. This hard work causes the excessive pollution contained in women to be cleansed. Disciplined work breaks the hold of the forces of evil on a person.
Lavan switching his daughters, giving Leah to Yakov first, was the root
cause of all the Jewish people’s troubles throughout history. If
Yakov would have married Rachel first, Yoseph would have been born first.
He would have been the actual first-born. Therefore the brothers
would not have been so envious of Yoseph for Yakov showing him favoritism.
For everyone would have clearly recognized Yoseph’s true greatness, his
being the true first-born. The enmity of Yoseph’s brothers caused
Yoseph to be sold to Egypt. This further resulted in all Israel having
to go down to Egypt, and they eventually became enslaved there. This
enmity was still present when the 12 tribes broke away from the house of
David. This breakaway eventually caused the destruction of the Bais
Hamikdosh and our subsequent exile. This caused all of Israel’s problems
throughout history until the Moshiach will come. (Likutei Halachot.
Orach Chiam: Hilchot Brachot Hashachar 3:31)