1. The Question on the Order of the Angels
There is a well-known story involving the grandson of the Baal Shem Tov (great-grandson of the Maggid of Mezritch?), Rebbe Yisroel Ruzhiner, the holy tzaddik Rebbe Yisroel of Ruzhin. When he was a young child in cheder—school for Torah learning—he was already recognized as a brilliant student. Whenever his teacher would begin teaching Chumash—the Five Books of Moshe—he would immediately anticipate and ask the very questions that Rashi brings up, even before the teacher had a chance to introduce them.
When they reached Parshas Vayeitzei, they learned about Yaakov’s dream: “Behold, there was a ladder standing on the ground, its top reaching up to the shamayim—heavens. Behold, angels of G-d were going up and down.” Naturally, one would assume that angels originate from above, so it would make sense for them to first come down and then go up. The question arises: why does the verse say malachei Elokim olim v’yordim—the angels were first going up and then coming down? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
2. Rashi’s Explanation: Angels of Eretz Yisrael and Chutz La’aretz
This is precisely the question that Rashi addresses. Rashi explains that since Yaakov was leaving Eretz Yisrael and heading toward Charan, there were different groups of angels involved. The angels who had been escorting Yaakov while he was in Eretz Yisrael could not accompany him outside of Israel into chutz la’aretz—the diaspora. Therefore, those angels first ascended (olim) from Eretz Yisrael to shamayim because their mission with Yaakov had ended at the border.
Afterwards, new angels whose domain was chutz la’aretz descended (yordim) to continue escorting Yaakov on his journey outside of Eretz Yisrael. This order explains why the Torah says “going up and then coming down.” Rashi’s answer resolves this apparent inconsistency in the text.
3. The Young Rebbe’s Surprising Response
The story continues with Rebbe Yisroel’s teacher noticing that during this lesson, unlike his usual habit, young Yisroel did not ask Rashi’s question about why it says “olim v’yordim.” The teacher asked him directly: “Why are you quiet? Don’t you have a problem here?”
The young Rebbe replied that he didn’t have any questions this time. When pressed further, he explained his reasoning: “This is a dream,” he said. “In a dream, many strange things happen.” For him, since dreams are not bound by normal logic or expectations, there was no difficulty with the order being reversed in Yaakov’s vision.
4. Reconciling Different Rashis on Angels
The discussion also notes that there is another Rashi at the end of Parshas Vayeitzei which discusses these same angels but presents things slightly differently. Reconciling these two Rashis is an additional topic for study and analysis.
This exchange highlights both the depth of traditional commentaries like Rashi and also how sometimes a child’s perspective—recognizing that dreams operate by their own rules—can offer its own kind of wisdom when approaching questions in Torah.