In this week's Torah portion, Vayeitzei, we read about Jacob's life in Charan. Fraught with difficulty, living in Laban's environment. A corrupt, lying, cheating fiend, Laban tried to swindle Jacob in every step of the way way. Yet through it all, Jacob succeeds in building a beautiful family and amassing great wealth.

This seems to be the theme of the portion.

Why is important to tell us all these details, a whole Torah portion of Jacob's difficulties?

The reading starts with Jacob's dream, where he saw a ladder with its base was on earth and its top in heaven. How does this dream connect with what follows?

What are we meant to take from this for our personal lives?

We are Jacob. Jacob's time in Charan is our life in exile.

To accomplish great things is to overcome difficulties. Starting the Jewish nation, Jacob is challenged with suffering, but he knows that these difficulties are the motions necessary to accomplish the purpose at hand. Ultimately, he succeeds and returns to the Promised Land with a beautiful family and great wealth. His suffering is not for naught. Rather it is the foundation of his greatest accomplishments.

All this is symbolized in Jacob's dream. The ladder is standing on the ground, symbolizing the physical world with all the difficulties and suffering. Its top reaches heaven, demonstrating that our interaction with the physical world can be holy and reach the heaven.

The suffering and difficulties we endure are accomplishing amazing things. And in the end, when Moshiach comes, we see the fruits of our labor. Indeed, we create the ladder that connects heaven and earth, fusing the two. This fusion is the essential purpose of creation. It is the Jewish mission, making this world a dwelling for G‑d.

I'm not sure why, but this fusion is accomplished through our suffering. I think we have suffered enough. Let Moshiach come.