From the Chassidic Masters

"HaVaYeH is in this space!" proclaimed Jacob upon waking from niught's sleep on the Temple Mount. And then he said, "This is the house of Elokim." Jacob found himself in a place that expresses the essence of Torah -- Space and non-space meet, but neither cancels out the other. He found himself between two expressions of the one G-d: HaVaYeH and Elokim.

Why are we here? The answers fall under two general categories: for ourselves (to enjoy life, realize our potential, achieve transcendence . . .); or in service of something greater than ourselves (society, history, G‑d . . .)

The Torah reading of Vayeitzei is veritably glutted with sheep: white sheep, dark sheep, spotted sheep, speckled sheep, sheep with rings around their ankles; Jacob cares for sheep, receives his wages in sheep, breeds sheep, dreams of sheep, amasses a fortune in sheep . . . and marries a woman whose name in Hebrew means “sheep.” What are we to learn from the fact that the nation of Israel was founded in such sheepish surroundings?

We pride ourselves on the extent to which we "plan" our lives. But every so often, we are confronted with something that is neither of our making nor in our control...

We know that Jacob, and all the patriarchs, kept the commandments of the Torah that would be later given to their descendants. Why, then, did Jacob marry sisters, a direct prohibition?