(Draft, please read and share)
In parshat VaYeitzei, there is a midrash (homily by the Rabbis) which says the stones that Ya'akov Avinu had placed around his head (12 of them according to Rabbi Yehudah), were arguing with each other. They each wanted to be as close to Ya'akov's head as possible so as to protect and make him more comfortable. Normally we do not like for there to be arguments but G-d was pleased that each stone was motivated to do a good deed, to be as close to Ya'akov's head as possible. G-d merged the stones into one stone so they could be united in carrying out their act of kindness.
Did this really happen? Well, based on the text, it seems Ya'akov had taken more than one stone, and in the morning these stones had miraculously become one stone, called "The Stone". Still though, stones don't talk, so what did the Rabbis mean?
Likewise, mountains don't talk. There is a midrash that when G-d was deciding which mountain to give the Torah on, the mountains argued about who should be given this honor and Hashem ultimately chose the mountain of humility, Mount Sinai.
So how do we explain the midrashim (homilies)? The Rabbis knew that stones and mountains do not talk, so what did they mean?
There is an idea that G-d created everything for a reason. Why did G-d create the highest mountain? Perhaps we would have thought it was to give the Torah on it, but we learn differently, since G-d did not do this. So the highest mountain was created for other reason(s), and you, like the holy Rabbis can darshan/homilize as you see fit based on your understanding of G-d, psychology, sociology, etc...But when we say that the highest mountain was talking, we mean one would have thought it was created for so and so, but it turns out it was created for something else.
This may also be the same idea as saying that all physical entities have an angel associated with them. The Hebrew word for angel is malach which actually translates as messenger, but it is no stretch to extend this translation as an advocate. This is in line with the concept of a personal angel or even guardian angel, like Jewish tradition tells us that the man Ya'akov wrestled with was his brother Esav's angel/advocate. Going with this translation for angel, as an advocate we can explain further that an advocate just needs to be an idea or argument. So maybe all angels are advocate ideas. Now the Rambam (Maimonidies) spoke of encounters with angels in the Bible as dreams or visions because he held that angels were incorporeal like G-d, that they had no physical form. The Ramban (Nachmanidies) vociferously disagreed with the Rambam. The Ramban held that angels could take physical form. I think now we can arbitrate between the Rambam and Ramban. We could say that usually angels do not have physical form, they may not even exist more than an advocate idea exists. However, there are times that G-d wants the advocate ideas to have physical form, like when the three angels, disguised as men, visited Avraham. One angel advocated for Avraham's health/comfort after Avraham had carried out his circumcision and was in pain. A second angel visited Avraham to advocate (and deliver the message) that the time had come for him and Sarah to have their own son. And the third angel was there to advocate for the destruction of Sedom, but he was also going with the advocate of healing which had the job of saving Lot and his family, as perhaps also the job of helping some on the people of Sedom die a quick and not too painful a death, perhaps. That third angel, in addition to being linked to the angel of healing/comfort/saving, may have also been at Avraham's tent as a way of G-d introducing the conversation about the upcoming destruction of the city of Sedom.
Similarly, the advocate idea (angel) of Esav was given physical form to wrestle with, to challenge Ya'akov, to see if he was really worthy of having supplanted Esav with regards to the rights of the first born son and the better blessing from their father Yitzchak and G-d. That wrestling match with the physical form of the advocate angel of Esav was probably sanctioned and directed by G-d to help Ya'akov gain confidence in his upcoming meeting with his seemingly physically superior brother Esav. So the physical form of advocate angels makes sense on occasion, and if the Rambam were here, I would ask the Ramban to help me convince him, and we probably would. But most of the time, advocate ideas (angels) are not given physical form, and they are real in the sense that G-d, the Judge of the world is continually fair in balancing all advocate ideas of everything and everyone who has been created in helping them actualize their latent created potential.
Back to Ya'akov's stones, the ones he put around his head and when he woke up, they were one stone. I believe that there are two levels to the Midrash. First, each stone had an advocate idea (angel) in front of G-d seeking to be as close to Ya'akov as possible, but again, for an inanimate object like these stones, that means that G-d created these stones for a purpose and anything that G-d creates should be used for the highest purpose within its potential. So, G-d, the Fair Judge, seeing the potential in each stone, and being able to maximize their aspirations, combined them into one stone. That is the basic understanding of the Midrash, but especially with the version that says there were 12 stones, we see that the Rabbis indeed had another lesson. First, a little more context: Ya'akov had been sent away under instructions from his father to go to Lavan's house and find a wife. One concern that Ya'akov, as he was running away from his brother, may have had, is what would be when he gets married and has children. He could have been thinking:
"My father had a main brother Yishmael, they did not really get along, and only one son was selected to carry on the special Covenant with G-d which had begun with Avraham. Now, my brother Esav and I have not gotten along, and only one of us has been selected to carry on the Covenant. What will happen when I get married, will my sons get along, and who will be selected to carry on the Covenant?"
G-d sent Ya'akov a coded message, a coded answer to his concerns. G-d united the twelve stones into one stone. This was G-d telling Ya'akov that all of his children would be worthy and united in carrying on the Covenant, the special/separated/holy relationship with G-d.
(To add a homily onto a homily, perhaps these stones were the stones that Avraham had used when making an altar to offer Yitzchak upon, and when Ya’akov (decades later) got to Mount Moriah, the stones were no longer an altar, when he woke up they were one stone, he poured oil onto the united stone to dedicate it to be used for G-d, and it eventually became the cornerstone of the Beit Hamikdash (Temple) built by King Solomon.
(I cannot claim much originality in what I wrote, sometimes I read great ideas, but don't remember where or from whom.)
A working definition of an angel:
"Advocates (ideas) on Behalf of Creations Reaching Their Potential. They Affect The Physical World Through G-d's Direction And May Even Take Physical Form When Appropriate"
An Alternate Title:
Stones Don't Talk, Nor Do Mountains, But Their Angels Do
Also see:
http://vbm-torah.org/archive/sichot/bereishit/07-65vayeitze.htm
