Years back, I was in a Yeshiva that employed a very charismatic and extremely popular Rebbi. The Rosh Kollel and resident Tzadik and Gadol of the Yeshiva was not happy with some of what he said, to say the least. He once gave a talk saying that before Yaakov went to Lavan he had a dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder. AFTER serving for all those years in Lavan's house he had a dream of sheep [31/11-13]. This means, asserted this Rabbi, that he had a yerida. From being a person who dreams of spiritual matters he descended to the level of one who dreams of material matters - sheep.
I heard that the Rosh Kollel was livid [a holy livid of קנאת השם צ-באות] and said that this time he went too far. It is a false and terrible thing to say about Yaakov Avinu. The pasuk says "ויאמר אלי מלאך הא-להים בחלום". It was a PROPHETIC DREAM and not chas vi-shalom a dream of someone who has descended into the consumer gobble-gobble-gobble mindset of modern man.
[The ignominious ending of this story is that the Rabbi lost his job and career when found guilty in a court of law of being physically inappropriate with his students. It is quite common that when a person maintains a false ideology, his behavior is often also on the wrong side of morality in one way or another].
In a shiur that I recently linked [for the part of it that resonated with me and I found accurate and to the point], the same understanding of Yaakov's dreams was expressed. So I take this opportunity to assert the great madreiga of the בחיר האבות EVEN after all those years in Lavan's house.
