Jacob, alone and afraid, after escaping with his life from his brother Esav is visited in his sleep by the vision of G-d. Immediately upon waking, he took the stone that he had placed under his head and made it into an altar, on which he made a vow to the service of G-d.
Paroah is another personality in the Torah who also had a dream, but in contrast to Jacob, upon waking, he turns over and goes back to sleep!
Every day, the Talmud states, a heavenly voice emanates into the world calling out to humanity to motivate Man towards self-improvement. But we can ask, what good is this ‘voice’ if it is inaudible?
There are moments in all our lives when we are inspired and strive for a higher level of a spiritual and moral life. These are the moments when we ‘hear’ this heavenly call.
However, as the Torah describes, there can be two contrasting reactions. One, like Jacob, can take immediate constructive action, or like Paroah, ignore those feelings and go back to hibernation and the comfort of his habits and fall back asleep!
