In his discussion of Jacob's Ladder (Gen. 28:16)], Kushner observes that one possible interpretation of the angles in Jacob's dream is: "The angels did not reside in heaven at all. They lived on earth. They were ordinary human beings. And, like ordinary human beings, they shuttled back and forth between heaven and earth. The trick is to remember, after you descend what you understood when you were high on the ladder. (Kushner, Lawrence. God was in this Place &I, i did not know. Woodstock, Vt.,:Jewish Lights, 2016. p. 15.)." Have you ever known an angle? Do you remember what they did for you? Who were they? Where were you in your life? What were you doing? Did you need an angle? I have received the love and support of many angles in my life, and I am certain that I do not remember who many of them were or what they did for me. I know that they must have been there because I am alive today and without at least a few angles I would not have reached my eightieth year. Those that I do remember I cherish. I also remember what they did and what I needed from them whether I knew it at the time or not. They were messengers from God whether either one of us realized it or not. They were able to open up a new vision of relationships and their love and compassion for me brought a vision of the holy. Does place have anything to do with your experience of God? It did for Jacob. Does your encounter with God and with angles make a place sacred? Is the place sacred, and therefore, important to your experience? In other words, can you mark that place and return there to find God and perhaps the angles again?  

--Ann Drake