The table below presents two contradictory verses. Both verses speak about the sanctity/profanity of the place Jacob slept. The underlined words highlight the contradiction. One verse says Jacob camped/slept in a bumped-into place. The place was ordinary with nothing but stones. Jacob did ordinary things like sleeping there, while the other verse states This place is a House of God. We see the contradiction---Was the place ordinary or holy - a place of stones and sleeping or a House of God. Rashi simply resolves this using the 2 Aspects method: Jacob's dream shows angels ascending and descending. Jacob discovered that God manifests Himself in two ways: 1) In Temples and Houses of Study man ascends to God while 2) in profane camping grounds where people merely sleep God descends to help man.

Summary	Verse / Source	Text of verse / Source
Jacob slept in an ordinary profane place	Gn28-11:12	And he lighted upon a certain place, and remained there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
Jacob slept in a Holy place, a House of God.	Gn29-16:17	And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How awesome is this place! this is no other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven
Resolution:	2 Aspects	Jacob's dream shows angels ascending and descending. Jacob discovered that God manifests Himself in two ways: 1) In Temples and Houses of Study man ascends to God while 2) in profane camping grounds where people merely sleep God descends to help man.

Advanced Rashi: We will revisit this Rashi in several other rules, particularly the symbolism rule where we will explore the angels ascending, descending.

Readers will of course recognize the resolution of the contradiction as the famous immanence-transcendence dichotomy. It is also the paradox of God's omnipresence. After all if God is present everywhere why do we need Temples and Study hall's to get closer to him? It is not sufficient to resolve this controversy by saying that God is more manifest in Study Halls and Temples. Rather, we analytically resolve it. In Temples and Study Halls God manifests Himself by allowing man to ascend to him. By contrast, in camping grounds and places of sleep God manifests Himself by descending to help man. This immanence-transcendence or ascent-descent dichotomy is also highlighted by Chasidus. The scholars found God in Houses of Study while the Chasidim found God in mundane life.