Genesis · Chapter 28

Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and instructed him and said to him: Do not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.

Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father, and take for yourself from there a wife from the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.

פדנה is the same as לפדן to Padan; ביתה בתואל is the same as לבית בתואל to the house of Bethuel. To every word requiring a ל prefixed you may attach a ה as a suffix (Yevamot 13b).

And El Shaddai will bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and you shall become an assembly of tribes.

ואל שדי AND GOD ALMIGHTY —He who has a sufficiency of blessings שָׁדִּי for those who are blessed by Him, יברך אתך MAY HE BLESS THEE.

May the Almighty … bless you. With riches. Make you fruitful. With offspring. And multiply (or “magnify”) you. May He magnify your stature.

ואל שדי, “and the G-d known also as Shaddai;” the G-d Who has said of Himself that none of His creatures needs any other power to help him. (Compare Rashi on Genesis 17,1) “He will bless you.”Rabbi Eleazar in Bereshit Rabbah 67,12, says that a divorce decree becomes valid only after its signatories have appended their seals to it. This is why Yitzchok was not content with the blessing he had already given Yaakov which had commenced with the words: ויתן לך, in 27,28.

And El Shadai will bless thee with many possessions, and increase thee and multiply thee into twelve tribes, and thou shalt be worthy of the congregation of the sons of the Sanhedrin, the sum of which is seventy, according to the number of the nations.

And He will give you the blessing of Abraham — to you and to your descendants with you — that you may inherit the land of your sojourning, which Hashem gave to Abraham.

את ברכת אברהם THE BLESSING OF ABRAHAM, (i. e. the blessing which He gave to (Abraham) to whom He promised, (12:2) “and I will make of thee a great nation”, and (26:4) “and all the nations shall bless themselves by thy seed”: may these blessings have been said regarding you — may that great nation and that blessed seed issue from you.

ויתן לך את ברכת אברהם, when He had said (12,2) “become a source of blessing!” This involves his teaching people about monotheism, the acceptance of which would result in tangible blessings for those people from G’d. This in turn would make the people regard Avraham as responsible for the blessings they receive. לך ולזרעך אתך לרשתך, if the children would also be following in the footsteps of their parents acting as spiritual instructors to the people around them, their claim to this land would be reinforced. This would become an irreversible sanctification of the name of the Lord. Isaiah 49,3 described this as G’d saying: ישראל אשר בך אתפאר, “Israel in whom I am glorified.” This is also an example of what David had in mind when he said in Psalms 104,31 “G’d delights in His handiwork.” ארץ מגוריך, the land of Canaan in which you dwell at the present time.

לרשתך את ארץ מגוריך, “to give you as an inheritance the land in which you presently are sojourning.” Seeing that you must not take a wife from the present occupiers of this land, Yitzchok had to reconfirm this. Not only that, he implied that seeing the Canaanites, ever since having been cursed by Noach, were a nation of slaves, slaves could not claim legal title to any possessions.

Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebecca, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

אם יעקב ועשו MOTHER OF JACOB AND ESAU — I do not know what the addition of these words is intended to tell us.

THE BROTHER OF REBEKAH, JACOB’s AND ESAU’s MOTHER. Because it stated ” Ramban then proceeds to offer an explanation. that Isaac commanded Jacob to get a wife from the daughters of Laban, his mother’s brother, Scripture mentions that he was also the brother of Esau’s mother. It would have been proper for Isaac to have commanded Esau likewise, but since he knew that the blessing of Abraham would apply only to Jacob and his seed, he did so only to Jacob. Now Scripture further mentions that Esau heard that his father had commanded Jacob not to take a wife from among the daughters of Canaan here. and that he should go to his mother’s brother Laban. He [Esau] heeded his father’s will that one not take a wife from among the daughters of Canaan, but he did not act properly and take a wife from the daughters of Laban, despite his [Laban’s] being his mother’s brother. Scripture further mentions that he took her (Verse 9 here.) besides his former wives, and he did not divorce the evil wives since he followed his heart’s desire more than he followed the will of his father. Vayeitzei.

וישלח יצחק, Isaac sent away, etc. Why is Laban described as Rebeccah's brother, something we have known for a long time? Why is Rebeccah described here once more as both Jacob's and Esau's mother? Actually, the Torah found it necessary to explain why Isaac would send a pious son to a person such as Laban, seeing the latter was known to be wicked. True, Abraham had despatched Eliezer to take a wife for Isaac from the house of Bethuel; however, Bethuel was not a well known רשע, an evil person such as Laban. Besides, Abraham had never told Eliezer in so many words to go to the house of Bethuel whereas he had named Laban specifically as Jacob's destination. He instructed him to marry a daughter of the wicked Laban. By repeating that Laban was after all a brother of the pious Rebeccah the Torah alerts us to the probability that one or both of Laban's daughters could be just as pious as Rebeccah who stemmed from the house of Bethuel. One must not assume that the children and grandchildren of a wicked father or grandfather will automatically turn out to be of evil character. The Torah hints at this by reminding us that even Rebeccah was the mother of both a pious person such as Jacob and an evil person such as Esau. You have to appreciate that in the period under discussion [prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai in which all the holy souls participated Ed.] the holy souls had not yet been separated from the regions in which they were imprisoned. Seeing that Abraham's family was recognised as a region where holiness had found a foothold, both he and Sarah being the first proselytes, anyone who would subsequently convert to Judaism would be called either Abraham if a male or Sarah if a female. It is a fact that holy members of a holy species look for other members of the same species. Abraham was still incomplete in this regard as neither he nor his son Isaac had as yet produced female offspring, i.e. holy female souls. Perhaps this is even the reason that we are told in Genesis 25,19: "Abraham begat Isaac," to remind us that he had succeeded only in producing a holy male soul. This situation still existed when Isaac sent out Jacob to secure a wife. The holy female souls had not yet been separated from their place of imprisonment. Isaac therefore had to send Jacob to search for his lost mate, i.e. the girl in whose body such a holy soul was imprisoned. It was only during subsequent generations that Jews were no longer forced to roam the world to find their mates amongst the Gentiles. If nonetheless some "sparks" of holiness (holy souls in captivity) still exist amongst the Gentiles they will eventually convert and then be recognised as holy souls returning to their home (the Jewish people). This raises the question of Abraham's insistence that Isaac not marry someone of Canaanite descent. Isaac also instructed Jacob not to marry a Canaanite. Bereshit Rabbah explains this prohibition to marry girls of Canaanite descent as being due to that tribe being cursed whereas Abraham's seed was blessed. Actually the words of the Midrash are somewhat obscure. In light of what we have written Abraham may have meant that Canaan [Noach's grandson] had been denied holy female souls amongst his seed as a result of Noach's curse. Hence there was no chance of finding the girl who possessed a holy soul amongst that tribe. This is the deeper meaning of Noach's curse, i.e. that Canaan would be denied access to holiness. Whereas it is a fact that even nowadays we still experience conversions to Judaism amongst the Gentiles, it is remarkable that we have no record of members of the Canaanites ever converting to Judaism as did some Romans and other nationals, for instance. This proves our theory. This may also have been the real reason that the Torah commanded the Jewish people not to allow a single Canaanite soul to survive [in the campaign to capture the land of Israel] as we know from Deuteronomy 20,16. The Torah may have stressed the word "soul" in that verse to indicate that none of these people had a holy soul worth preserving. This was the difference between the Canaanites and nations such as Ammon and Moab. Since G'd has revealed all this to us we must try and understand what purpose our subjugation by Canaanite tribes served (compare Judges 4,2), seeing that the purpose of exile is to extract the sparks of holiness that are scattered amongst the Gentiles, and there are no such "sparks" amongst the Canaanites. Our sages have told us in Pessachim 119 that "our forefathers did not depart from Egypt until they had turned Egypt into a trap that did not contain any bait and into a deep pool of water devoid of fish." The scriptural proof cited is Exodus 12,36: "they emptied Egypt." The Ari zal in his שער הגלגולים explains that it was necessary to empty Egypt of any such stray holy souls to make a return by the Jewish people in the future pointless. In view of all this, what purpose could subjugation of the Jewish people by the Canaanites have served if there was not even a chance to save some stray holy soul through all our suffering? We find in לקוטי תורה פרשת מקץ that there are two different "sparks" of holy souls which are imprisoned in the קליפה. One is the type of soul which is freed through being "born," i.e. through entering a human body at birth. Examples of such souls are: Abraham, Sarah, Rebeccah, Rachel, as well as the soul of Rabbi Chaninah ben Tradyon which emanated from Shechem's having slept with Jacob's daughter Dinah. Ruth the Moabite and Naamon the Ammonite are also examples of such souls. The other type of holy soul imprisoned in the קליפה is one that is firmly attached to its קליפה and is not capable of exiting from its source unless its קליפה causes anguish to Israel. When that happens the holy soul trapped within the קליפה is released and able to return to its origin. Now we understand why there is a purpose to Israel being subjected to exile at the hands of such people [representatives of such קליפות Ed.]. The prophet Ovadiah said concerning such an exile: "This sickening exile for the children of Israel under the Canaanites as far as Tzorfat (Ovadiah 1,20)." This verse which uses the term החל must then be understood similarly to Daniel 8,27: נהייתי ונחליתי, "I was broken up and I was sick." Such an exile achieves its objective in a manner different from all other exiles of the Jewish people. When Ovadiah speaks of כנענים instead of בכנענים when describing that exile, as well as describing Canaan in the plural instead of in the singular as is the case with other nations where Israel was exiled, this may be a veiled reference to the "sparks" of holiness still hidden within the קליפה of Canaan which are known as כנענים. In short, Ovadiah describes the purpose of that exile as being the chance of "rescuing" holy souls that were still identified with כנענים prior to the ultimate redemption, thus enabling those souls to participate in that redemption.

אם יעקב ועשו, “mother of Yaakov and Esau.” The Torah had to repeat this although the reader knows it, as the reader might wonder how a couple such as Yitzchok and Rivkah had produced a person as wicked as Esau. If Rivkah had not been the sister of a wicked person such as Lavan and daughter of a wicked person such as Betuel, the question would have been more serious.[Personally, I think the verse is important as the Torah’s mentioning Yaakov first, i.e. confirming that he was the firstborn legally, having purchased that status from his brother. Moreover, we know that from the marriage of King Chizkiyah to the daughter of the prophet Isaiah the great prophet, a Jewish rasha came forth, so that such phenomena are not strange seeing we have been given the freedom of choice. Ed.] Our sages, not basing themselves on the DNA factors, stated in Baba Batra 110, that most children reflect the character of their maternal uncles. An alternate exegesis: the reason that mention is made of their mother here is that the Torah wants the reader to know that Rivkah did what she did for the benefit of both her children. This is in line to when she said: “why would I have to lose both my children in one day?

וישלח יצחק את יעקב, “Yitzchak sent Yaakov, etc. Here the question arises that seeing Yaakov left his father’s home at the command of his parents, why do the sages claim that the separation of 22 years which Yaakov experienced from his son Joseph was due to his failure to observe the commandment of honouring father and mother during that period? (compare Megillah 17) Perhaps we must assume that his parents had meant for him to marry Leah and to return home forthwith when his father would send for him. Yaakov, however, had set his mind on marrying Rachel on account of her beauty; he was therefore not fulfilling a parental command by doing so and his delay in returning home was accounted against him. In fact, he had volunteered to serve seven years for Rachel (Genesis 29,18). וילך פדנה ארם אל לבן בן בתואל הארמי, “he went towards Padan Aram, to Lavan son of Bethuel the Aramite.” While he was on his way he intended to marry one of the daughters of Lavan. This is why the Torah describes him as going “to Lavan.” After all, this had been what his father had commanded him to do when he said to him (verse 2): “arise and go to Padan Aram to the house of Bethuel and take for yourself from there a wife from amongst the daughters of Lavan your mother’s brother.” There is also the question of why the Torah had to write: “the brother of Rivkah, the mother of Yaakov and Esau.” Did we not know that Lavan was Rivkah’s brother, etc.? According to the plain meaning of the text we must interpret this line as a complimentary comment on Yaakov who was prepared to follow a parental command and marry a girl who was the daughter of two generations of wicked people, i.e. Bethuel and Lavan. The Torah wanted to justify Yaakov by pointing out that though Lavan was a wicked person, his sister Rivkah was a fine woman, righteous in her own right. He could therefore assume that Lavan’s daughters, much like Bethuel’s daughter Rivkah, might be just like their aunt. The Torah continues complimenting Rivkah who became the mother of both “Yaakov and Esau.” The Torah wanted to emphasise that Rivkah, as opposed to her husband, had always loved Yaakov best (25,28), although she could have preferred her elder son as is customary. I have heard from my teacher that the words “mother of Yaakov and Esau” are to show us that Rivkah deliberately sent Yaakov to a place where the biological relationship to Yaakov and Esau were of the same degree so that Lavan would not have a reason to favour Esau over Yaakov and allow Esau to harm Yaakov who had come to seek shelter under the roof of his uncle. An investigative/rational approach to our verse: The Torah reminds us that when twins are born there are two afterbirths seeing each twin grows within its own setting. In the case of Esau and Yaakov, however, something unnatural occurred. Although they grew up within a single afterbirth, nonetheless their characters were so totally at variance. This was foreshadowed when Rivkah experienced that the fetuses were fighting with one another inside her (25,22). The Torah had to remind us that Rivkah had already endured much before these sons had been born.

אחי רבקה, אם יעקב ועשו, “the brother of Rivkah, who was the mother of Yaakov and Esau. Nachmanides explains that the reason why Rivkah is described here by the Torah as “the mother of Yaakov and Esau,” [something that we all know perfectly well, Ed.] is because Yitzchok had commanded Yaakov to select a wife from among the daughters of Lavan, “the brother of your mother.” The Torah is at pains to remind us that Lavan was also the brother of Esau’s mother, and because of this it would have been appropriate for Yitzchok to command Esau also to take a wife from among his uncle’s daughters. However, seeing that the seed of Avraham would be carried on only through Yaakov, there was no point in Esau marrying someone from Lavan’s family. Other commentators feel that the Torah was at pains to give Yaakov precedence over Esau who was biologically his senior, as soon as Yaakov had secured the blessing of his father. The Torah’s mentioning “Yaakov and Esau” in that order, serves as proof that the blessing was indeed fulfilled, and that Yaakov would henceforth be deemed as senior to his brothers, i.e.הוי גביר לאחיך as we read in All of this, in spite of the fact that after Yitzchok’s death the Torah reverts to mentioning Esau first when it reports Yitzchok’s funeral. This was because Esau had never left the land of Israel, attending to his father’s needs, whereas Yaakov had been outside the Holy Land for over 20 years. [I find this difficult as Esau had voluntarily left the Holy Land (Genesis 36,6), not because of his life being in danger and his father having sent him out of the land to get a wife without giving him a dowry, 11 years before his father died. Ed.] Some commentators say that the reason why the Torah repeats these details about Yaakov’s genealogy is in order for you not to be dismayed that from two such righteous parents as Yitzchok and Rivkah, a wicked person such as Esau could have been produced. The Torah does not want us to forget for a moment that Rivkah herself had a brother who was everything but righteous. Our sages have established a rule (based on empirical knowledge, Ed.] according to which most children have a tendency to develop in accordance with their mother’s brother(s).

Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan-aram to take for himself a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he had instructed him, saying: Do not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.

When Esau heard that Isaac had again blessed his brother and commanded him not to take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, he went to his uncle and took his daughter — whose name is "Basemath" (Gen. 36:3), and also [called] Mahalath — like Jethro, who in my view is the same as Hobab (Judges 4:11).

וירא עשו כי ברך יצחק, we see from here that in spite of Esau’s noting that his father had sent Yaakov all the way to Charan to prevent his marrying one of the Canaanite girls, as this was not in keeping with his blessing, he did not pay much attention to this, except that when he saw to what extent his father was unhappy about this כי רעות בנות כנען בעיני יצחק אביו, he thought that it was due to his wives opposing his parents’ lifestyles, etc., as documented I 26,35. In order to appease his parents he then went to Ishmael to marry Machalat. One of the reasons the Torah reports these details is to show that had Yitzchok objected to Esau’s marrying Canaanite girls in the first place his objection would have been effective. If Rivkah’s intervention was effective now when she remonstrated with her husband there is no reason to believe that it would not have been effective when Esau was about to get married.

וירא עשו כי ברך יצחק את יעקב, Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, etc. This verse does not seem to tell us anything new. If it were meant to tell us that this was the reason Esau took an additional non-Canaanite wife, verse eight would have sufficed for that purpose. We must therefore look for some meaning beyond the mere words of the verse. Esau was aware of Jacob's' departure and of its nature, i.e. that he thereby fulfilled both a commandment by his father and mother and the commandment to look for a wife. Knowing that Isaac had blessed Jacob to complete his undertaking successfully, Esau did not bother to pursue Jacob, realising that under such circumstances he would not succeed. Although Esau is reputed to have sent his eldest son Eliphaz to catch up with Jacob and to kill him (according to Rashi on Genesis 29,11), it is possible that he merely wanted to test his ability to vanquish Jacob on his journey. This scenario may have been re-enacted when the descendants of Esau (Amalek) attacked the Israelites after the latter had crossed the sea of reeds. Esau considered his son's ability to pursue Jacob successfully as greater than his own ability to do so.

בברכו אותו ויצו עליו לאמור לא תקח אשה מבנות כנען, "when he had blessed him and commanded him saying: ‘do not take a wife from amongst the daughters of Canaan.’” The experience of the fathers was being repeated with the sons. This is why Yitzchak commanded his son not to take a wife from the people of Canaan but to go to his own family and members of his father’s family, just as his father had commanded concerning his own choice of a potential marriage partner at the time. Why did Yitzchak bless Yaakov again (28,1) and why did the Torah repeat this fact in our verse? Why was this matter referred to a third time with the words בברכו אותו? The Torah wanted to make it clear beyond any doubt that the fact that on the first occasion Yitzchak had not been aware whom he had really blessed had become totally irrelevant and that Yaakov‘s blessing was confirmed beyond dispute and that even Esau was fully aware of it. Bereshit Rabbah 67,17 writes that the second blessing was necessary as there had been a weakness concerning the validity of the original blessing. This “weakness” was now eliminated and it was clear to everyone that Yaakov’s blessing was legal beyond any doubt or dispute. The blessings received by Yaakov here were in the nature of a confirmation, a stamp, if you will, on the original blessing. It was similar to the practice of confirming a bill of divorce with such a stamp. In Jewish law, a bill of divorce is valid only if it bears such stamp. Without such confirmation there would still be people accusing Yaakov of having “snatched” the blessing away from Esau for whom it was intended. It also showed that if Yaakov had not agreed to become part of the short-lived charade to show his father how easily he could be tricked he would have obtained the blessing due him anyway. We observe in history that the blessing has a way of being transferred from generation to generation. We find the first basic blessing of mankind being given to Adam and Chavah in Genesis 1,27. When, due to the curse which rested on the world at the time of the deluge this blessing had to be renewed, we read in Genesis 9,1 that G’d bestowed this blessing again on Noach and his sons. When the generation of the Tower had become guilty of a collective sin, the blessing which had been in a state of suspended animation was given to Avraham in Genesis 12,2 and he was given the power to direct it as he saw fit. Avraham was entitled to pass on this blessing to Ishmael, his oldest son as was the custom in those days. However, Avraham refrained from doing so as G’d had told him that his principal heir was Yitzchak. At the same time, since he did not want to cause rivalry and feuding between his sons Ishmael and Yitzchak, he decided not to allocate this power to bless to either one of this sons and to leave it to G’d to decide when and to whom to grant this power. G’d intervened and gave this blessing to Yitzchak (25,11). Yitzchak was entitled to give the blessing to Esau, seeing he was the firstborn. This is why Yaakov agreed to trick his father as he had become the legal firstborn. As a result of Esau selling his birthright he had lost both it and the power to receive or bestow the blessing. When Yaakov founded a family of twelve sons each of whom became the head of one of the twelve tribes making up the Jewish nation, he would have been entitled to transfer this blessing and the powers associated with it to his own firstborn Reuven. He did not do so, however, seeing Reuven had been guilty of a serious trespass as a result of which his father transferred the birthright to Joseph (Chronicles I 5,1). When these blessings were fulfilled for Yaakov the third of the patriarchs, this serves as an assurance to us in this our third exile that they will also be fulfilled at the time of the redemption from this exile. Seeing that the Torah tells us that even the spiritual representative of Esau at the celestial court agreed that Yaakov had deserved to be the recipient of these blessings and he himself conferred a blessing on Yaakov (Genesis 32,30), this was a forerunner of what the prophet Isaiah said concerning the redemption in the future: והיו מלכים אומניך ושרותיהם מיניקותיך אפים ארצה ישתחוו לך ועפר רגליך ילחכו וידעת כי אני ה’ אשר לא יבושו קווי, “Kings shall tend your children, their queens shall serve you as nurses; they shall bow before you, face to the ground and they lick the dust of your feet, and you shall know that I am the Lord; those who trust Me shall not be shamed.” (Isaiah 49,23).

And Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and went to Paddan-aram.

וישמע יעקב AND THAT JACOB HEARKENED — This is to be connected with the proceeding statement, (v. 6) thus: And when Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and that he had sent him away to Padan-aram … and that Jacob had hearkened to his father and had gone to Padan-aram and that the daughters of Canaan were evil … then he also determined to take a wife from his own family and went to Ishmael.

And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were displeasing in the eyes of Isaac his father.

וירא עשו כי רעות בנות כנען, Esau realised that the Canaanite daughters were displeasing in the eyes of his father. The Torah tells us here that Esau's only concern was the effect his Canaanite wives had on his father's sensibilities. The fact that these women were evil by nature did not bother him. His soul did not despise them. Subsequent events teach that the fact that Isaac disapproved of these women did not produce any results other than that Esau did not marry still more Canaanite girls. He did not consider divorcing these wives. Perhaps Esau's only concern was that his father's blessing would not be applicable to children born to him by his Canaanite wives, and that is why married a daughter of Ishmael to insure that his father's blessing would remain effective for his descendants.

So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, the sister of Nebaioth, in addition to his wives, as a wife for himself.

אחות נביות THE SISTER OF NEBAIOTH — By a logical inference from what is stated that she was “the daughter of Ishmael” would I not know that she was the sister of Nebaioth? But the words are added to tell us that Ishmael died after he had betrothed her to Esau and before her marriage, and that her brother Nebaioth gave her away in marriage And we may learn, also, that Jacob was at that period sixty-three years old For Ishmael was seventy-four years old when Jacob was born — since Ishmael was fourteen years older than Isaac, and Isaac was sixty when they (Jacob and Esau) were born, making seventy-four and his (Ishmael’s) years were one hundred and thirty seven — as it is said (25:17) “And these are the years of Ishmael etc.” — consequently when Ishmael died Jacob was sixty-three years old. We learn from this that he (Jacob) concealed himself in Eber’s School for fourteen years and only after that did he proceed to Haran. For before Joseph’s birth he had stayed in Laban’s house only fourteen years, as it is said (31:41) “I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters and six years for thy flock”, and he received the sheep as wages only after Joseph was born, for it is said (30:25) “And it came to pass when Rachel had borne Joseph etc. [that Jacob wished to leave Laban and he agreed to remain with him on condition of receiving certain sheep as wages]. Now Joseph was thirty years old when he became ruler in Egypt, and from then until the time that Jacob came down to Egypt was nine years — seven of plenty and two of famine — and Jacob then said to Pharaoh (47:9), “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years”. Go and calculate: the fourteen years he passed with Laban before Joseph’s birth, and the thirty years of Joseph’s life before he became ruler and the nine years from when he became ruler until the time that Jacob came to Egypt make fifty three years from the time he joined Laban until the time he came to Egypt But when he parted from his father he was sixty-three years old, as shown above, so that you have 116 years as his age when he came to Egypt, on the assumption that the fifty-three years he spent with Laban etc. began immediately after he had left his father. But he (Jacob) himself said to Pharaoh, “[I am] one hundred and thirty years”. So you see that fourteen years are missing on this assumption. Thus you learn that after he had received the blessings he concealed himself in Eber’ School for fourteen years (Megillah 17a). But he received no punishment for them (these fourteen years) on account of the merit of having studied the Torah in Eber’s School during that period For Joseph was separated from his father only twenty-two years — that is, from the age of seventeen to that of thirty-nine - corresponding to the twenty-two years during which Jacob was separated from his father and could not perform the duty of honouring him (by actively attending to his needs), viz, the twenty years he spent in Laban's house and the two years he passed in travelling home - for it is written (33:17) with regard to his journey homewards, "And Jacob built him a house and made booths for his cattle", and our Rabbis, of blessed memory, inferred (Megillah 17a) from this verse that during his travels he passed eighteen months at Succoth, since a house means a dwelling for the rainy season, and "booths" means for the summer time. And this statement that the study of the Torah protects one from punishment fits in with the calculation which we made above, based upon the Sacred Text, regarding the period from when he left his father until the time when he went down to Egypt at the age of 130 years, where we found a surplus of 14 years, so that he must have been absent from his father for 36 years. But we may regard it as certain that when on his journey to Laban he concealed himself in Eber's house it was for the purpose of studying the Torah with him and that because of the merit of studying the Torah he received no punishment for them (those fourteen years) so that Joseph was separated from him only twenty-two years "measure for measure"(Megillah 17a). Thus far (beginning at "But he received no punishment") is found in an old Rashi text. על נשיו BESIDES HIS FORMER WIVES — He added wickedness to wickedness for he did not divorce his first wives (Genesis Rabbah 67:13).

"Sister of Nebaioth" — he [Nebaioth] was more distinguished than all his brothers. Or Ishmael had many wives, and this daughter was [specifically] the sister of Nebaioth.

וילך עשו אל ישמעאל, “Esau went to Yishmael;” Our sages in the Talmud Baba Kamma 92, refer to a popular proverb saying that palms that do not produce fruit are usually found near other non fruitbearing trees. Rashi understands the proverb as an allusion to wicked people keeping company with other wicked people. Our verse describing Esau as going to Yishmael to choose another wife is quoted as the Scriptural source for this proverb. We have a similar verse in the Book of Prophets Judges 11,3 where Yiftach is described as having kept company with common criminals. A third verse confirming this is found in Scriptures where we are told that birds keep company with other birds of the same species, and human beings with like minded other human beings. (no source specified) Apparently the verse is found in the book ben sirs, a text often quoted by the Talmud but not part of the Holy Scriptures. ויקח את מחלת בת ישמעאל, “he married Machalat daughter of Yishmael.”Esau reasoned as follows: Yitzchok promised Yaakov the land of Canaan as the land of Israel in his second blessing. He also told him to take a wife from his own family but not from the Canaanites. Now that I married such women, this nullified my claim to the land of Canaan in the future. The only way he saw to overcome this obstacle was by marrying a descendant of Avraham, i.e. a daughter of Yishmael.

Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and went to Haran.

ויצא יעקב AND JACOB WENT OUT— Owing to the fact that it was because the daughters of Canaan were evil in the eyes of Isaac, his father, that Esau went to Ishmael, Scripture broke off the narrative contained, in the section dealing with Jacob, and wrote (verse 6 till verse 9), “Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed [Jacob] etc., that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the eyes of Isaac and so he went to Ishmael” and when it finished this (the account of Esau’s further marriage) it resumes the previous subject. ויצא [AND JACOB] WENT OUT—It need have written simply “And Jacob went to Haran’’; why then does it mention his departure from Beersheba? But it intends to tell us that the departure of a righteous person from his city makes an impression. As long as a righteous man is in his city he is its glory and splendour and beauty; when he leaves it, there depart also its glory, its splendour and its beauty. This, too, is the meaning of (Ruth 1:7) “And she went forth out of the place”, stated in reference to Naomi and Ruth (Genesis Rabbah 68:6). וילך חרנה means he went out TO GO TO HARAN.

The Gaon said that "and he went to Haran" [has the force of the infinitive] "to go." But this is not so; it should be taken according to its plain meaning. [The text] then returns to explain what happened to him on the journey — he did not travel in a single day, for he lodged overnight along the way.

ויצא יעקב... וילך חרנה. He set out with the destination Charan in his mind. Before he reached this destination the following incidents occurred.

ויצא יעקב. Jacob departed. The reason that the Torah did not content itself with reporting Jacob's setting out for Padan Aram (28,5) and repeats his departure at this point is to allude to the encounters he had on the way. This, of course, raises the question why the Torah had first reported Jacob as already on the way to Padan Aram. This is especially curious in view of the encounter Jacob had on the way occurring before he even came close to Charan. Why did the Torah report events in a chronologically inverted manner? Besides, why did the Torah speak about חרנה instead of about Jacob being on the way לחרן? While it is true as we learn from Bereshit Rabbah 68,8 that any word which requires a letter ל as a prefix may instead have the letter ה as a suffix, the Torah surely does not employ these variations arbitrarily! The Torah intended to relate all that happened to Jacob from the time he left his home. The Torah reports that initially all Jacob did was depart, i.e. ויצא. This did not involve any travelling on his part. The person who walked i.e. וילך, was someone called חרנה. This "Charanah" set out from his home to come and welcome Jacob. It also possible that the Torah meant to convey to us that Esau's anger חרונו, departed from him the moment Jacob departed from Beer Sheva. This is expressed by the words: וילך חרנה. According to the tradition quoted by our sages that Esau sent his son Eliphaz after Jacob, the words וילך חרנה may allude to Eliphaz hurrying after Jacob full of anger, i.e. בחרון. Perhaps the next verse in which Jacob is described as encountering a certain site, ויפגע במקום, is a hint that Jacob felt endangered and took refuge in prayer.

ויצא יעקב, “Yaakov departed;” Rashi comments on these words that Yaakov was forced to leave the Holy Land on account of the women in that land being so unsuitable for him to marry. He means that the Torah had inserted matters in the story that were not connected to Yaakov starting with verse 6 of our chapter. Esau had not previously realised how opposed his father and mother had been to his wives. Now it resumes the story of Yaakov. If not for that, the name Yaakov would not have been needed at the beginning of this verse. Seeing that Yaakov left his home without fanfare, like a thief in the night, the Torah needed to refer to his departure as having been a fact. [The manner in which this paragraph is written in the Torah scrolls reflects the fact that it was not drawn to the reader’s immediate attention by a new line or new paragraph having been started. It begins at the end of a line after space has been left open for only three letters in the same line. All other portions, with the exception of Vayechi where there is only room for a single letter between the conclusion of the previous portion. Ed.] and the beginning of the new one, commence after a more distinct separation from the previous portion. One reason for this absence of a separation is to hint that Yaakov hid himself to study for fourteen years in the yeshiva of Ever. Another reason is to point out that his departure was hidden from Esav. An additional reason for the slim separation from verse is the fact that the story had been interrupted with telling us that his father had sent him to Padan Arom in order to take a wife there from Rivkah’s family. The departure is mentioned a second time, on account of the dream with the ladder, and his proceeding to his destination. באר שבע, a site especially suited for the swearing of oaths. According to a midrash, Yaakov avoided staying at that place so as not to afford Avimelech an opportunity to extend the validity of the oath Avraham had sworn and which Yitzchok had confirmed for another generation or more. The באר שבע mentioned he is located close to Chevron, not to be confused with the modern B’eer Sheva, located far more to the south. It was the באר שבע in which Avraham had sojourned for many years. It was very near קרית ארבע. The fact that the Torah reports Avraham returning from the Akeydah and settling in B’eer Sheva in 22,19 and 6 verses later that Sarah died and he went to Kiryat Arba to bury her, certainly suggests that these two locations could not have been far apart. וילך חרנה, “he walked in the direction of Charan.” According to our sages in Sanhedrin 95 this means that he arrived in Charan still on the same day. He had travelled a number of days from Kiryat Arba. According to our sages it was17 days’ walk from Kiryat Arvaba to Charan, a distance which Yaakov covered in 12 hours. חרנה, Charan and Padan Arom are both the same town. They were known by two different names; one name is used in connection with its being the town where Lavan resided, (Genesis 27,43) and immediately afterwards the Torah called it Padan Arom (28,2).

בברכת ישרים תרום קרת ובפי רשעים תהרס, “by the blessings of the righteous the city is elevated; but it is torn down by the mouth of the wicked.” (Proverbs 11,11) In the course of his Book, Solomon makes mention of all positive and negative virtues. In the course of his words he stipulates that the צדיק, the righteous person, personifies precisely the opposite virtues of the רשע, the wicked person. Similarly, the ישר, the upright person, is the reverse of the devious person, the traitor. Throughout the Book of Proverbs Solomon contrasts opposite virtues. In chapter 21,18 this is spelled out very clearly when we read כופר לצדיק רשע ותחת ישרים בוגד. “The wicked will be a ransom for the righteous; the traitor in place of the upright.” Solomon clearly contrasts the righteous with the wicked and the upright with the traitor, the deceiver. These two types of people are absolute opposites. Solomon makes another statement along these same lines when he writes in 11,6 צדקת ישרים תצילם וסלף בוגדים ישדם. “The righteousness of the upright saves them; the treacherous will be trapped by their malice.” The ישר is the person who knows straightforward honesty, he treasures it, and he deliberately chooses to pactice it. He is prepared to endure all the various unpleasant effects of sticking to his mode of life. All of this he does because he is captive to the motto of being truthful. The בוגד, the treacherous person, on the other hand, is the reverse. First of all, in many instances he does not even recognise the truth when he sees it. Secondly, even when he does recognise the truth he does not admit it but endeavours with all the means at his disposal to pervert the truth. In spite of all this we find that in some verses in this Book Solomon contrasted the virtue of uprightness with wickedness (instead of with treachery) and in the verse we quoted at the beginning of this paragraph he tells us that the upright man who dwells in a town causes the entire town to be morally and ethically uplifted on his account; in other words, Solomon defines the upright man as someone conferring benefits on his fellow citizens so that the whole town benefits from his conduct. Not only do the words of his mouth benefit his townspeople but he benefits them by means of the blessing which rests upon him. In other words, whatever G’d has endowed him with is transferred also to the community within which such an upright person resides. The very reverse is true of the wicked person, and this is why our verse continues with ובפי רשעים תהרס, “by the mouth of the wicked the town is destroyed.” The wicked person not only does not make a contribution to society, i.e. to the people with whom he associates, but he causes such a society to disintegrate due to his very presence. He does so merely by the words which come out of his mouth and by his haughty and overbearing manner. The righteous, on the other hand is not only a source of honour to the town he lives in but even his property is also a blessing for that town. This is the meaning of the words בברכת ישרים תרום קרת. The general principle which Solomon teaches is that the good deeds of the righteous as well as his words bear fruit. This is the meaning of Kohelet 11,3: ואם יפול עץ בדרום ואם בצפון מקום שיפול העץ, שם יהוא “If a tree falls down in the south or the north, wherever it falls there it remains.” Solomon speaks of a righteous person. The “tree” in the parable is a symbol for the righteous. Wherever he makes his residence there he will produce fruit. When our portion commences with the words ויצא יעקב וגו’ “Yaakov departed, etc,” this implied that a worthwhile person left the Holy Land and the whole land experienced his absence. When a righteous person resides within a city this makes an impression on that town’s fortunes. This is why the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 68,6) used this wording to teach this lesson. The Midrash felt that surely Yaakov had not been the only person who had ever left Beer Sheva. Why then did the Torah make special mention of his departure? [Remember that we already read about his leaving in 28,8 when he is reported as וילך פדנה ארם, “he went in the direction of Padan Aram.” Ed.] We can understand then that his departure is mentioned as it may have been the first time that a righteous person left Beer Sheva permanently. Since it would have sufficed to tell us where Yaakov was headed, i.e. “he went towards Charan,” the words ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע tell us that with his departure the glory of that town departed also. ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע, “Yaakov left Beer Sheva, etc.” Beer Sheva is part of the land of Israel as we have been told in 26,23 that Yitzchak moved from the land of the Philistines to Beer Sheva. Seeing that that we know that Yitzchak never left the land of Israel, it is clear that Beer Sheva was part of this land. We had also read that Yitzchak had named the town (26,33). Whereas the Torah had never mentioned that Yaakov moved to Beer Sheva, it is clear that when the Torah mentioned that he departed from there he must have first obtained permission from G’d to do so. He did so as otherwise he could not comply with the commandment of his father to go to his uncle Lavan and to marry one of his daughters. The words “he went to Charan” then may mean that he obtained permission for this specific journey and its purpose. [According to the Midrash we must assume that at the time Yaakov and Yitzchak lived in Kiryat Arba, and the reason Yaakov went there was to consult G’d who had previously communicated with his father there and given him assurances]. According to Bereshit Rabbah 68, Yaakov reasoned that just as G’d had appeared to his father at this spot so He might appear to him in response to his prayer. If He were to permit him to leave the land of Israel he would go, if not he would not leave this country. If this were not the correct interpretation the Torah really should have written ויצא יעקב מחברון, “Yaakov departed from Chevron,” as this is where both he and his father lived at that time and that is where he received the blessings. You may now understand the proper sequence of what occurred. 1) Yaakov left, he encountered G’d; he spent the night there (verse 16) where he had that encounter. The word במקום with the vowel patach under the letter ב, alludes to a place he knew, i.e. Mount Moriah where he had previously had a vision of G’d. Permission to travel northwards was granted as G’d said to him He would be with him on the way he would travel, etc. (verses 13-15). After Yaakov had spent the night at Mount Moriah and G’d had given him permission to leave, i.e. had promised him to bring him back to this land, the reference of “to this land” was to Beer Sheva which is part of the land of Israel. Having had this assurance, Yaakov set out in an easterly direction. [according to this interpretation by our author Yaakov took a very round about route, first traveling north from Kiryat Arba (Chevron) to Mount Moriah (Jerusalem); from there he traveled south to Beer Sheva (passing his hometown Kiryat Arba on the way) and from Beer Sheva in a north-easterly direction heading for Charan. Another difficulty is that the Torah never reported Yaakov as returning to Beer Sheva. It only mentions his return to Kiryat Arba (35,27) Ed.] He set out directly for Charan only after having stopped over in Beer Sheva. Our entire portion then discusses only what he experienced at Mount Moriah and after he had spent at least one night at Beer Sheva. We need to understand the words וילך חרנה as a general statement, whereas the words וישא יעקב רגליו וילך ארצה בני קדם, “Yaakov lifted his feet and proceeded in the direction of the land of the easterners,” is the detailed description of his journey. According to Bereshit Rabbah 68,8 Yaakov covered the distances reported here in a single day all the way from Beer Sheva to Charan. The basis for this is the similarity of the wording here with the description of Eliezer’s journey in 24,10-11. [I suppose the mention of the time of day when Eliezer arrived i.e. in the evening is the part of the narrative the Midrash focuses on. Ed.] According to the Talmud Sanhedrin 95 the people of whom Scripture wrote the words ויקם וילך in that order, all experienced that the earth telescoped beneath them and they completed a lengthy journey in a single day. They were: Eliezer, Yaakov, and Avishai. Eliezer had made mention of the fact that he arrived at the well the same day (24,42) when he said ואבא היום אל העין, “I arrived at the fountain this day,’”i.e. the day he had left Avraham. Another Midrash (Chulin 91) focusing on the words ויפגע במקום, “he encountered the place,” states that when Yaakov was already close to Charan it suddenly occurred to him that he might have passed by a place where his father and grandfather had offered a prayer to G’d and he had failed to do so. As he made ready to retrace his steps, the earth “folded” beneath his feet so that he encountered the spot in question without having to go back all that way. The place in question was Mount Moriah. The true message of that Midrash is that Yaakov expressed a longing for Mount Moriah and the chance to offer a prayer there. G’d obliged him by saving him the journey and he experienced a sensation equivalent to Mount Moriah being where he found himself. In order to reconcile the two Midrashim we must say that Yaakov experienced two such miraculous telescoping of the earth beneath him. The first time was when he went from Beer Sheva to Charan in a single day, a journey which he had undertaken willingly. The second time he experienced this phenomenon was in order to save him the trouble to retrace his steps. There is also a Midrash in Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 35, according to which Yaakov took 12 of the stones of the altar Avraham had built on Mount Moriah and on which his father had been bound. This was a hint that in the future twelve tribes would emerge from him and that they would all merge to become a single nation. The words: “He took the stone which he had put under his head” are an allusion to the unification of the Jewish people of whom David had said in Samuel II 7,23 (verse 18) ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ, “and who is like Your nation Israel, a unique and unified nation on earth.”

“And Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran.” Rashi explains that the verse only needed to write “And Jacob went to Haran,” but [by writing left] it tells us that when a righteous person departs from a place, it leaves an impression. This requires contemplation — didn’t Abraham and Isaac also travel from place to place? Why wasn’t the language of “leaving” written regarding them? There are perspectives for both sides. At first glance, one might say that the term left is used here specifically to emphasize something unique, because when Abraham and Isaac departed from places, they didn’t leave behind any righteous person of their caliber in those places. Obviously, their departure made an impression. But here, since Isaac and Rebecca remained behind, one might have thought that Jacob’s departure wouldn’t make an impression — thus the verse teaches us otherwise. Similar to this, it is concluded in Rabbah (68:6), which brings proof from the verse and she left the place said about Ruth. It asks: There it makes sense, as there was only that one righteous woman there, but here Isaac and Rebecca were present! Rabbi Azariah says: The merit of one righteous person cannot be compared to the merit of two righteous people. One can explain it from the opposite perspective — to say that specifically Jacob’s departure made an impression, but not the departures of Abraham and Isaac, because they went with all their household members and no righteous person remained in their place. Therefore, their departures did not make an impression, because the wicked people who remained there do not care about the departure of the righteous. On the contrary, they rejoice when the righteous leave them because they don’t follow their ways, and the righteous are like thorns in their eyes and pricks in their sides, and they quarrel with them about their deeds. However, when one departs from a place where righteous people are present, then their departure makes an impression because the righteous who remain find their separation difficult, as they are pleased with them. And the merit of few is not comparable to the merit of many, and here Isaac and Rebecca were present, therefore the impression of his departure was noticeable. According to this interpretation, we must say that there were also pious gentiles in the fields of Moab. Another explanation: The reason the text mentions here the language of “departure” while in another place (Genesis 12:10) it says Abraham went down to Egypt, is because the Land of Israel is the place of God’s revealed presence, and one who leaves from there experiences a descent and a departure from the balanced line, for every departure is from the place where one ought to be, like [the verse] I will go out into Egypt (Exodus 11:4). Thus, this departure made an impression on him personally as well. And in the Yalkut (28:117), it concludes that there are those whose soulmate comes to them, and there are those who go to their soulmate. Jacob went to his soulmate, as it is said And Jacob departed from Beer Sheva. But how did they learn from this verse that he went to his soulmate when he was fleeing from Esau? This can only be explained by the difficulty with the phrase And Jacob departed — it should have said “and he went.” This forced them to say that Jacob completely removed his thoughts from his father and mother’s dwelling place, therefore he is called “departing,” telling you that he left entirely and completely. This is in contrast to one who leaves some place with the intention to return — their thoughts are always wandering back to the place from which they left. Such a person is called “going” but not “departing,” for they haven’t truly left completely, as their thoughts are still there. Therefore, this Midrash’s author finds it difficult: Who permitted Jacob to completely abandon his father and mother? To this, he answers as one who resolves: Because he went to his soulmate, and the verse states (Genesis 2:24) Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife. Another explanation: We find that Jacob was punished for those 22 years during which he did not fulfill the commandment of honoring father and mother. One might question this — didn’t he go with his father and mother’s permission and at their command? Why was he punished for all those days? Even if you say he transgressed what his mother said and stay with him a few days (Genesis 27:44), why was he still punished for all those days? Rather, certainly since his father told him “Arise, go to Padan Aram,” he permitted him to go but not to leave entirely. For anyone who goes with the intention to return, or whose thoughts still wander back there, is called “going” but not “leaving.” But he did not do this — rather, Jacob left completely, as if he forgot his father and mother’s entire household. Therefore, he was punished measure for measure — one of his sons, Joseph, did not honor him for 22 years and did not remember him, forgetting him, as it is written For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house (Genesis 41:51). Joseph knew this was from God, which is why he said, God has made me forget. However, in his righteousness, he had a desire and wish to keep his father’s house always in remembrance before his eyes, but he could not because God made me forget.

ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע, ”Yaakov left Beer Sheva, etc. “ According to allegorical commentaries, the earth literally contracted beneath his feet so that the words וילך חרנה mean that he arrived at Charan on the same day. According to the plain meaning of the text, the verse described that Yaakov was headed for Charan. Other commentators understand the words וילך חרנה as telling us where Yaakov would take up residence from now on, the Torah then filling in what happened on the way before Yaakov reached his destination, his nocturnal encounter with the angels climbing the ladder, etc.

He encountered the place and lodged there, for the sun had set. He took of the stones of the place and set them as his supports, and lay down in that place.

ויפגע במקום AND HE LIGHTED UPON THE PLACE — Scripture does not mention which place, but by writing בַּמָקוֹם the place it refers to the place mentioned already in another passage, viz., Mount Moriah of which it is stated (Genesis 22:4) “And he saw the place (המקום) afar off”. ויפגע AND HE LIGHTED — similar are (Joshua 16:7) “and it reached (ופגע) unto Jericho”, and (Joshua 19:11) “and reached (ופגע) to Dabesheth”. Our Rabbis explained it in the sense of “praying”, just as (Jeremiah 7:16) “Neither make intercession (תפגע) to me”. Thus we may learn that Jacob originated the custom of Evening Prayer. Scripture purposely changed the usual word for “praying”, not writing יתפלל, “And he prayed” (which would have been the more appropriate word, but ויפגע which means to hit upon a place unexpectedly), to teach you also that the ground shrunk before him (the journey was miraculously shortened) as it is explained in the Chapter גיד הנשה (Chullin 91b). כי בא השמש BECAUSE THE SUN WAS SET — It should have written, “The sun set and he tarried there all night”, but the words “he tarried there all night because the sun set”, imply that the sun set unexpectedly — not at its proper time — just in order that he should tarry there over night). וישם מראשתיו AND PUT THEM FOR A RESTING PLACE FOR HIS HEAD — He arranged them in the form of a drain-pipe around his head for he was afraid of wild beasts (Genesis Rabbah 68:11). They (the stones) began quarrelling with one another. One said, “Upon me let this righteous man rest his head”, and another said “Upon me let him rest it”. Whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, straightway made them into one stone! This explains what is written (Genesis 28:18), “And he took the stone that he had put under his head” (Chullin 91b). וישכב במקום ההוא AND [HE] LAY DOWN IN THAT PLACE —The word ההוא, that, has a limitative force: in that place he lay down to sleep, but during the previous fourteen years when he sat under his teachers in the School of Eber he never slept at night for he was incessantly engaged in the study of the Torah (Genesis Rabbah 68:11).

The reason for the patah under the bet of "ba-makom" ["in the place"] is that this is Moses' own phrasing, and the meaning is: in the place that is well-known today. Similarly Hosea says (Hos. 12:5): "and there He will speak with us" — for he was prophesying concerning Jeroboam son of Joash, who was at Bethel; and he used the plural to include himself and Amos together, as is made explicit in the book of Amos. On the level of plain-sense interpretation, it is not possible to render "va-yifga" as [in] (Jer. 7:16): "do not entreat Me" — for we find nowhere in Scripture that Hashem is called "Makom" ["the Place"]. And do not attend to the homiletical reading of (Esther 4:14): "from another place," for that verse has nothing to do with Hashem at all, as the word "another" ["acher"] testifies. "From the stones of the place" — the meaning is: from one of the stones of the place. "At his head" ["me-rash'otav"] — a plural form, as in (Ruth 3): "at his feet" ["margelotav"]. I am astonished at Rav Samuel, who conflated ordinary human dreams with prophetic dreams.

ויפגע במקום, it happened that he came to a place he had not intended to go to at all. The meaning of the word המקום is that it was a place designed to accommodate travelers overnight. Every town had such an inn in its public square. This is also why the angels who came to Lot said (19,20) כי ברחוב נלין, “we will sleep in (the inn) in the public square. The same expression is also used in connection with the פלגש בגבעה in Judges 19,20 where we read רק ברחוב אל תלין “only do not spend the night in the public inn.” מאבני המקום, which had been placed there for the travelers to eat on and to sit on.

ויפגע במקום. He encountered the site. The plain meaning of the verse is that Jacob arrived at an inhabited place. This is why the Torah concludes the paragraph by telling us that the town where Jacob found himself spending the night had previously been named Luz. The site had been a town then, and Jacob spent the night there. The reason the Torah mentioned that the sun had set is simply that Jacob would have continued on his way in order to get closer to his eventual destination had it not been for the fact that nightfall required him to make camp. Bereshit Rabbah 68,9 explains that the definite article under the letter ב in the word במקום is an allusion to the site being Mount Moriah, the mountain destined for prayer and the eventual site of the Holy Temple. They base this on Genesis 22,4 where Abraham is reported as having recognised that site as the place where he was to offer up his son Isaac as a total offering to G'd. This is, of course, a homiletical approach. We naturally accept the words of our sages as absolutely true insights and they do not contradict our own explanation at all. Rashi has already explained that Mount Moriah had been transplanted for the occasion so that Jacob could offer up his prayer at that holy site. וישכב במקום ההוא. He lay down on that site. The Torah reports that Jacob dreamed and wants us to know that it is not the lying down that inspired the dream but במקום ההוא, the nature of the site. The wording also alludes to what we are told in Chullin 91, that the earth under Jacob folded up, i.e. that Jacob lay down on that whole strip of earth from Moriah to Luz. This is what G'd referred to in verse 13.

וילן שם, “he spent the night there.” He was forced to do so by the prevailing conditions seeing that the sun had set. Concerning that line, כי בא השמש, Rav Yehudah (Pessachim 2) stated that a person should make it a rule to commence any journey on Tuesdays, the day of which the Torah writes twice that G-d saw that what He had created on that day was “good.” (Genesis 1,913) If the sun had not set unexpectedly, Yaakov would have kept walking to put more distance between himself and Esau. ויקח מאבני המקום, “he took some of the stones lying around on that place” (to make some kind of headrest for himself). According to tradition these stones had been part of the altar on which his father Yitzchok had been bound on the occasion of the Akeydah. According to Rashi, during the night these stones fused so that when he awoke there was only one stone. We have a tradition also that the meaning of this phenomenon was that Yaakov’s children as opposed to those of his father and grandfather, would all remain true to their father’s religious outlook. Some commentators (Rash’bam) claim that Yaakov had taken only a single stone and that this is the reason why the Torah wrote immediately after these words: (after he awoke) “he took the stone which he had placed as his headrest.” וישכב במקום ההוא, “he lay down in that place.” The Torah emphasises that he lacked the normal means to ensure a good sleep, i.e. sheets, cushion and a blanket to cover his body, even though he was very close to a town which could have furnished these items. This is why the Torah bothers to inform us that the name of that town used to be Luz when it was first founded. He was not forced to “rough” it, but seeing that he intended to get up early in the morning to continue on his journey, he chose to do this. We have proof of this when the Torah continued after relating his dream (18), with the words: וישכם יעקב בבקר, “Yaakov arose early in the morning.” If he had stayed at an inn in the town, he could not have left that early as the gates of the town were not yet open. An alternate exegesis: the reason why he stayed outside of the town overnight is that he did not know where the entrance to the town was located as we know from Judges 1,24, where it is written concerning Luz: הראנו נא מבא העיר, “please show us where the entrance to the town is located.”

וישכב במקום ההוא, ”he lay down in that place.” All the Torah had to write was: “he lay down,” just as the Torah wrote וילן שם, “he spent the night there.” Why did the Torah add the words: “in that place?” The words במקום ההוא are restrictive. The Torah means that all he did in that place was to lie down. But in another place, i.e. at the academy of Ever he spent 14 years studying Torah before journeying on to Charan and to Lavan.

And he encountered the place and lodged there because the sun had set. Our Sages said (Chullin 91b, see there) that this was Mount Moriah, about which it is said and he saw the place from afar. The text refers to this location simply as “the place” because every other place has an accompanying name, either named after its owner or based on the nature of the place, as this is how it is distinguished from other places. However, this place’s essence and name were concealed, as explained above in Parshat Vayeira on the verse Hashem will see (Genesis 22:14). Therefore, it is called simply “the place” because it does not yet have a name by which it would be distinguished from other places. Another explanation for why it is simply called “the place”: Because it is the place of the world, both from the perspective that there lies the Foundation Stone from which the world was founded, and from the perspective that still the entire world is founded upon it, as from it emanates abundance to the entire world. And Jacob sensed that this would be the place of the Temple because he saw that the sun set there at an unusual time, because this holy place dims the sphere of the sun and does not need the sun. On the contrary, the sun needs it, as our Sages said (Bamidbar Rabbah 15:2): Rabbi Avin said, “You find that one who wants to make windows for himself makes them wide on the inside and narrow on the outside so that they draw light from outside. But the windows of the Temple were wide on the outside and narrow on the inside — why? So that light would emanate from the Temple and illuminate the world, as it is said And the earth shined with His glory (Ezekiel 43:2), and it is written A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary (Jeremiah 17:12).” See this version in Yalkut Shimoni Parshat Tetzaveh. And from here is proof that the sun does not illuminate the Temple; therefore, the sun’s light dimmed immediately upon reaching this holy place, and at evening time there shall be light because God illuminated the supreme light from this holy place until God appeared to him in a vision that night. There is another appropriate allusion in what they said in the Midrash Yalkut that the sun set two hours before its time. And why specifically two hours? Rather, this alludes to the future, that similarly the sun of Israel would set two years before its time, as Rashi explained in Parshat Va’etchanan (Deuteronomy 4:25) that God hastened the exile two years before its time, as it is said And the Lord hastened with the evil (Daniel 9:14). If so, the Temple that would be built in this place was destined to be destroyed two years before its scheduled setting time. Therefore, this allusion came to Jacob through this sunset, which would be a sign passed down to him that in the future the Temple would be destroyed two years before its time. Therefore, he took from the stones of the place and put them under his head. They said in the Midrash (brought by the Rama in Orach Chaim 555:2) that pious people and men of [good] deeds have the custom on the night of Tisha B’Av to place a stone under their head, and they said that they have support for this from this verse, and he took from the stones of the place, etc. For Jacob saw the destruction — and who told the author of this Midrash that Jacob saw the destruction? Rather, he certainly learned this from the sun setting two hours early, as mentioned. “And he took from the stones of the place and put them at his head, etc.” After he realized that this place would become the House of God which dims the sun’s orbit, he therefore took from the stones of the place and placed them as protection for his head, to demonstrate the beloved holiness upon them, as it is written For Your servants desire its stones (Psalms 102:15). He took 12 stones corresponding to the 12 tribes, as it appears in the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 68:11), and the stones quarreled, each one saying “Upon me shall the righteous one rest his head,” until they became one stone. This hints to the future, as written by the Guide for the Perplexed, that the Holy One Blessed be He concealed the location that would become the place of the Temple and the King’s palace so there wouldn’t be quarreling between the tribes, as each tribe would desire that holy place. For the sake of peace it was said that the Lord will choose from all your tribes (Deuteronomy 12:5) and it is written only in the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes (Deuteronomy 12:14). How so? When David bought the threshing floor from Araunah the Jebusite, he collected money from all the tribes, as Rashi explains there. Therefore, this quarrel that occurred between the stones which ultimately became one stone was a sign and marker for the future, that likewise there would be a quarrel between the crown stones — the 12 tribes of God — as each tribe would say “upon me shall the Righteous One of the world rest His head,” referring to the Temple, about which it is said From the beginning, exalted, was the place of our sanctuary (Jeremiah 17:12). Eventually they became one stone through David collecting gold from all of them. Regarding this stone, it was said about the Second Temple And he shall bring forth the headstone (Zechariah 4:7), meaning the very stone that was at Jacob’s head was brought forth to establish God’s Temple. Jacob made it into a bed to lie upon, to be a sign that this would be “the bed of Solomon” — the king to whom peace belongs — as Rashi explains in Song of Songs on the verse Behold, it is Solomon’s bed (Song of Songs 3:7). And he lay down in that place. This implies that before this he had not lain in a bed, for he did not want to ascend to his sleeping couch until he found the place of Solomon’s bed [i.e., the future site of the Temple]. And so too did David make a vow, as it is said How he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: “I will not enter my house or go to my bed — I will not allow my eyes to sleep or my eyelids to slumber until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob” (Psalms 132:2). The text specifically mentions Jacob repeatedly because he too made such a vow similarly, as evidenced by the phrase and he lay down in that place — but not before then.

ויקח מאבני המקום, “he took from the stones of that place, etc.” According to the plain meaning of the text, he took a single one of these stones. The sages explaining the allegorical meaning of the text, say that Yaakov took quite a number of such stones, but that these stones miraculously all became fused into a single stone.

And he dreamed, and behold — a ladder was fixed in the earth with its top reaching to the midst of the heavens, and behold, the angels of Hashem were ascending and descending upon it.

עלים וירדים ASCENDING AND DESCENDING — It states first ascending and afterwards descending! Those angels who accompanied him in the land of Israel were not permitted to leave the Land: they ascended to Heaven and angels which were to minister outside the Land descended to accompany him (Genesis Rabbah 68:12).

AND BEHOLD A LADDER SET UP ON THE EARTH AND THE TOP OF IT REACHED TO HEAVEN; AND BEHOLD THE ANGELS OF G-D ASCENDING AND DESCENDING ON IT. In a prophetic dream, He showed Jacob that whatever is done on earth is effected by means of the angels, and everything is by decree given to them by the Supreme One. The angels of G-d, whom the Eternal hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth, would not do anything minor or major until they return to present themselves before the Master of the whole earth, saying before Him, “We have traversed the earth, Verse 11. and behold it dwells in peace, or is steeped in war and blood,” and He commands them to return, to descend to the earth and fulfill His charge. And He further showed him [Jacob] that He, blessed be He, stands above the ladder, and promises Jacob with supreme assurance to inform him that he will not be under the power of the angels, but he will be G-d’s portion, and that He will be with him always, as He said, And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee wherever thou goest here. for his [Jacob’s] excellence is superior to that of the other righteous ones of whom it is said, For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. And in the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer the Great this vision was akin to the one seen by Abram at the time of the covenant “between the parts” -18. for He also showed Jacob the dominion of the Four Kingdoms, The Four Kingdoms represent the great world powers seen in a vision by Daniel (Chapter 7), who in succession will subject Israel until such time when Israel’s final and complete deliverance will be effected by the Messiah. The power of the fourth kingdom, that of Rome, is still in sway. See Ramban further at the beginning of Seder Vayechi. Jacob, like Abraham, was thus shown the events that will happen to his descendants during all the generations of their exiles. their ascent and descent. This is the meaning of angels of G-d (mentioned here), just as it is said in the visions of Daniel: the prince of the kingdom of Greece, and the prince of the kingdom of Persia. Similarly, the angels mentioned in the verse before us are to be understood as the representatives of the various nations. And He promised him that He, exalted be He, will be with him wherever he will go among the nations, and He will guard him and rescue him from them. Thus the Rabbis have said: “The Holy One, blessed be He, showed him the Four Kingdoms, their dominion and their destruction. He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Babylon ascending seventy rungs and then descending the ladder. Then He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Media ascending one hundred and eighty rungs 158, n.12), which asserts that the correct reading is: “He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Media going up fifty-two rungs and then descending. And He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Greece going up one hundred-eighty rungs and then descending.” The number of rungs represent the amount of years that these kingdoms held sway over Israel. and then descending. And then He showed him the prince of the kingdom of Edom ascending and not coming down. Jacob then said to the prince of Edom, Yet thou shalt be brought down to the nether-world. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to [the prince of Edom], Though thou make thy nest as high as the eagle, etc.” And though thou set it among the stars, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Eternal.

The interpretation that "sullam" ["ladder"] derives from "semel" ["image"] or corresponds numerically to "Sinai" is midrash. R. Shlomo the Spaniard said that the ladder alludes to the supernal soul, and "the angels of God" represent the thoughts of wisdom. R. Yeshua said that the meaning of the ladder is that his [Jacob's] prayer ascended by it and his salvation descended from heaven. These commentators have not looked at the prophecies of Zechariah, Amos, and Jeremiah. The meaning [of the ladder] is allegorical: nothing is hidden from Hashem; earthly affairs depend upon the heavenly ones — as if there were a ladder between them, on which angels ascend to report events after they have traveled through the earth (as is also written), and other angels descend to carry out Hashem's missions, in the manner of a king and his servants.

והנה מלאכי אלוקים עולים ויורדים.והנה ה' נצב עליו, this foreshadowed the future when the “angels of G’d” the superpowers who had become very powerful in our world would begin their decline and end up at the bottom of the rungs of the ladder. The Lord G’d Who stood above the ladder is the symbol of the promise that G’d will never abandon the Jewish people, as we know from Jeremiah 46,28 כי אעשה כלה בכל הגויים ואותך לא אעשה כלה, “even when I utterly destroy all the gentile nations, I will not destroy you.”

ויחלום והנה סולם, And he dreamed that there was a ladder, etc. Inasmuch as many dreams contain matter without significance, the Torah added the word והנה to indicate that in this dream every detail appeared to Jacob as especially vivid and significant. He had total recall of everything he dreamed and referred to each detail later on. This is why the word והנה is repeated before every segment of the dream. The Torah thereby characterises the dream as a prophetic revelation.

עולים ויורדים בו, “ascending and descending on it.” They first ascended and then descended; afterwards they remained at the bottom. They behaved like a human being who climbs the ladder in his house to get to the loft, and then descends on it again. This is what led Yaakov to understand that this location was intended to become G-ds house on earth. He surmised that for the time being this was the residence of the angels he had seen. Angels, servants of the Lord, must have their residence in G-d’s house. If G-d was to establish a residence on earth also, they would have to ascend to heaven first in order to accompany their Lord to His alternate residence. If these angels were meant to only briefly remain on earth, the Torah should have described their movements as יורדים ועולים, “descending and then ascending, “(back to their residence) The Jerusalem Targum understands the function of these angels as having been to accompany Yaakov from here on in wherever he went. The reason that they ascended was to relay their messages to other angels in the celestial spheres that they had been assigned to descend to earth. They were to show them that there was a human being of the stature of Yaakov on earth. They would recognise him at once as a likeness of his features had long been engraved at the base of G-d’s throne.

ויחלום, “he had a dream.” This dream was not of the same order as are ordinary dreams people dream. However, at the same time it was not a true prophetic vision either. This is why the Torah wrote at the end: וייקץ יעקב משנתו והנה חלום, “and Yaakov awake from his sleep, and here it had been a dream.” A true prophetic vision would be described by the Torah not as שנה, sleep, but either as במראה אליו אתודע, or as בחלום אדבר בו, as we know from Numbers 12,7. Seeing that neither of these two expressions is in evidence here, this downgrades the visionary element. והנה סולם מוצב ארצה, “and here a ladder was standing on the ground, etc.” According to the plain meaning of the text Yaakov observed that the feet of the ladder stood in Beer Sheva, where he was lying; this is the meaning of the words מוצב ארצה, whereas the meaning of the words: “its head reached heavenwards” refers to the Temple. This is the gateway from which the angels ascend to heaven or descend to earth. When G’d appeared to be standing on top of the ladder, Yaakov realised that the site he was lying on was the gateway to heaven, and that it was an appropriate place for prayer. The Holy Temple is the House of G’d. Yaakov realised that the Holy Temple was of crucial importance in channeling communication from man to G’d and vice versa. [When the author speaks of the plain meaning of the text, I believe he refers to Yaakov subsequently describing what he had seen and what it meant (verse 16-17) Ed.] Rashi too quotes Bereshit Rabbah 68, where Rabbi Eleazar in the name of Rabbi Yossi ben Zimra describes the bottom of the ladder as standing at Beer Sheva, the angle being such that the top was vertically above Mount Moriah. When the Midrash spoke about the שיפוע, the angle of the elevation, it meant that at its zenith the ladder was above Mount Moriah. In other words, the point at which it appeared to reach heaven was directly above where the Holy Temple would stand in the future. A Midrashic approach sees the dream as hyperbole of the revelation at Mount Sinai in the future. The word סלם, ladder, is equated with סיני, Mount Sinai. The numerical value of the letters in both words are the same, i.e. 130. The words מוצב ארצה, are a reference to the Jewish people who would stand at the bottom of the Mountain at the time of the revelation. ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר (Exodus 19,16). The words וראשו מגיע השמימה are akin to Deut. 4,11 וההר בוער באש עד לב השמים, “and the mountain was all aflame burning up unto the heart of the heaven.” The words ומלאכי אל-הים are a reference to Moses and Aaron who acted as G’d’s messengers, Moses ascending the mountain. Seeing that Moses was also reported as descending (Exodus 19,14), he symbolised both of the motions ascribed to the angels in the dream. When G’d addressed Yaakov, saying אני ה’ אלוקי אברהם אביך, this was equivalent to G’d saying to the Jewish people at Sinai אנכי ה’ אלוקיך, “I am the Lord your G’d, etc.” According to Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer chapter 35 G’d showed Yaakov in his dream the four empires who would host Israel in its various exiles, showing them to him in their ascendancy as well as in their eventual decline. He showed him how the celestial representative of the Kingdom of Babylon would ascend seventy rungs on the ladder only to descend all of them again. He showed him the Medes ascending 52 of the rungs of this ladder and then descending again. Then He showed him that the spiritual representative of the Greek Empire ascended 180 rungs of this ladder only in order to have to descend all of them again. Finally, he showed Yaakov how the spiritual representative of the Roman Empire climbed the whole ladder without descending. While doing so that representative boasted that he would conquer heaven whereas Yaakov quoted Isaiah 14,14 where the descent of the Roman Empire is predicted also by the words אך אל שאול תורד “but You will bring him down to She-ol.” G’d had told him “even if you rise like the eagle I will bring you down from there” (Ovadiah 4). According to this Midrash Yaakov’s dream contained a prophetic message that at the end of all the various exiles the Jewish people would resume their leading role in the world, seeing that all the patriarchs had similar visions starting with the covenant between the pieces when Avraham was first told about the exile his descendants would experience before they would inherit the land of Israel as their homeland. We have already quoted these various Midrashim in connection with our commentary on Genesis 15,12. Other Midrashim variously describe the angels Yaakov saw ascending and descending as the angels of Sodom which had been demoted as their charges had been destroyed, or that they were the angels who accompanied Yaakov while he was in Eretz Yisrael now taking their leave in order to be replaced by other angels who would guard him while he was in Charan, etc. Other Midrashim describe the angels Yaakov saw ascending and descending as inquisitive angels who wanted to get a close up look at the choicest of the patriarchs, Yaakov, whose likeness was engraved on G’d’s throne. None of these Midrashim are mutually exclusive as the ladder was not narrow and many angels were able to climb or descend at the same time, each one at his own speed. A rational approach to the dream. The ladder represents the various levels of this universe. The universe may be regarded like a pyramid with the terrestrial part, the part inhabited by man at the bottom of the pyramid. Above our world is that of the planetary system; still “higher” is the world inhabited by disembodied creatures. In other words: the ladder has three basic rungs. David also characterized the world in a similar manner when he said (Psalms 103,20): ברכו ה’ מלאכיו, “bless the Lord, His angels.” He followed this by saying: (verse 21) ברכו ה’ כל צבאיו, משרתיו, עשי רצונו, “bless the Lord, all His hosts, His servants, who do His will; “ Finally, he said (verse 22) ברכו ה’ כל מעשיו וגו’, “bless the Lord all His creatures, etc.” Solomon also portrayed the world in a similar way in Song of Songs in three consecutive verses in Song of Songs 5,13-14-15). The verses are: לחיו כערוגות הבושם, מגדלות מרקחים. שפתותיו שושנים נוטפות מור עובר. ידיו גלילי זהב, ממולאים בתרשיש, מעיו עשת שן מעולפת ספירים. שוקיו עמודי שש, מיוסדים על אדני פז. מראהו כלבנון בחור כארזים. The conventional translation of these verses is as follows: ”His cheeks are like beds of spices, producing banks of perfume; His lips are like lilies, they drip flowing myrrh. His hands are rods of gold, studded with beryl; his legs are like marble pillars set in sockets of fine gold. He is majestic as Lebanon, stately as cedars” The author views Solomon as paraphrasing different parts of the universe and its functions. He uses the cheeks, hand and thighs, to describe these three levels of the universe. In those verses the spiritual concept of the Jewish people, known in Talmudic parlance as כנסת ישראל, praises the Lord and His creation. The לחיו, “cheeks,” represent the world of the angels who tell the prophets what they should prophesy; the hands represent the world of the planetary systems The word שפתותיו, “his lips,” are a reference to the prophets who relate what they have been told by the angels, the source of their information. The word נוטפות, is the actual prophetic message. The word is derived from והטף אל דרום, (Ezekiel 21,2) “let your words flow southwards.” Solomon also compares prophecy to מור, “myrrh”, as the soul derives similar pleasure from prophecy as it does from the spice by that name. “His hand,” is a reference to the planetary system, the word גלילים being essentially the same as גלגלים, “orbiting planets”. They are compared to “hands,” as all of man’s activities are influenced by these orbiting stars and planets. In fact everything that goes on in our terrestrial world depends on these planets. The words “filled with beryl,” is a reference to the stars which form the satellites of many of these planets. The word תרשיש represents something more precious than gold. Whereas the planets themselves are in outer space, the “stars” are perceived of filling some of the void between earth and the planets. The words מעיו עשת שן are a reference to the 12 horoscopes; this is why Solomon mentioned מעולפת ספירים, adorned with sapphires, i.e. with 12 sapphires. The words שוקיו are a reference to our terrestrial world, the bottom rung of this material existence. Just as the legs of a human being are the “lower” part of his whole body, so the part of the universe we live in is the low end of the entire universe. The word שוקיו applies to the two elements fire and wind, whereas the word אדני פז are a reference to the other two elements water and earth. The entire universe is portrayed as if it were a ladder. G’d informed Yaakov in this dream/vision that He stands above this pyramid and oversees all that goes on within it. He mentioned the lower part of the universe first as it was the part which Yaakov was standing on and which was therefore closest to his thinking. The words וראשו מגיע השמימה, “and its head reached to heaven,” are a reference to the world of the planetary system, who appear to touch the outer fringes of the universe. When David describes them as proclaiming the honour of the Lord (Psalms 19,2), they are described as part of the celestial regions. Finally, when the dreams described the angels ascending and descending on that ladder, the reference is to that celestial region inhabited by disembodied intelligences. Our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 68,12) used this division of the world into three parts (rungs) to state that the angels, (their habitat) represent one third of the universe. They base it on a verse in Daniel 10. We are not to understand this to mean that the “upper third” of the universe is reserved for the angels, but that angels “share” in all three parts of the world.” This is the way Nachmanides explains this in connection with his commentary on the cherubs on top of the Holy Ark. [Rabbi Chavell could not find this except in the writings of Maimonides in his “Moreh” section 2 near the end of chapter 10. Ed.] According to this view the words עולים ויורדים בו, “ascending or descending on it,” refer to the temporary nature of angels who have been created for specific tasks and who are destroyed when they have completed that task. The existence and usefulness of an angel is described as עליה, ascent, whereas the redundancy and subsequent destruction of the angel is described as ירידה, descent. Our sages in Eichah Rabbati 3,21 phrased it thus: “On every single day G’d creates a class of angels who proceed to praise him in song and are then going on their way.” These are the types of angels that came into existence on the fifth day of creation. A different group of angels whom G’d created on the second day of creation enjoy permanent life. The word בו in our verse refers to the ladder which had served as the illustration for the composition of the universe as a three-tiered pyramid. G’d is described as towering above the ladder (universe) exerting His influence even on the angels. The angels in turn exert their influence on the tier of the planetary system, which in their turn exert their influence on the creatures in the terrestrial part of the universe. In other words, all the creatures in the terrestrial universe are subject to the direct influence of the planetary system. This was confirmation to Yaakov of the validity of astrology as a discipline worth studying. These planets, etc. however, were not independent powers but were presided over by the agents of G’d called “angels,” who in turn were under the direct supervision of G’d Himself. Solomon described this system when he wrote (Kohelet 5,7) אם עשק רש וגזל משפט וצדק תראה במדינה אל תתמה על החפץ כי גבה מעל גבה שומר וגבהים עליהם. “If you see oppression of the poor, and the suppression of justice and right in the State, do not be astonished at the fact, for there is One higher than the high who watches and there are high ones above them.” The first part of the verse speaks of the injustice perpetrated in the terrestrial part of the universe. Solomon warns us not to jump to the conclusion that the world consists only of this part and that therefore the whole universe must be corrupt. Justice does exist, and there are forces at work which are superior to those which are active in our terrestrial part of the universe, and the considerations which guide these forces are of the kind that we human beings often cannot understand, because His reasoning is so much superior to our reasoning (Isaiah 55,8). This ultimate Supervisor of what is allowed to go on in the universe is none other than the Creator Himself. Solomon refers to G’d in the plural as גבהים, matching the plural ending in the word אל-הים. This is not the only occasion when G’d [who is primarily known as One, Unique, Ed.] is referred to in Scripture in the plural. Another example is Joshua 24,19 כי אל-הים קדושים הוא, “for G’d is holy (pl).” You will note that Joshua adds the word הוא, “He,” after the word קדושים (pl), to make certain that we do not misunderstand that the word אל-הים implies power-sharing by G’d. The reason that the word אל-הים is in the plural is because in the final analysis G’d combines within Himself all the various forces that are active within His universe. Maimonides’ approach to the dream involving the ladder (Moreh Nevuchim 1,15) is that the Torah included the planets in the part of the universe called here “ladder.” The words מוצב ארצה refers to this planetary system being based on earth its lower extremity, whereas the words וראשו מגיע השמימה refer to the upper extremity of that part of the universe. The heaven is also known as ערבות, as we know from Deut. 33,26 רוכב שמים בערבות, “riding through a part of the heavens called ערבות.” It is a collective name for the entire system known as מרכבה, ”G’d’s entourage.” On this ladder anyone who wants to is free to ascend or to descend. The מלאכי אל-הים which the Torah speaks of are the prophets as per Numbers 20,16 וישלח מלאך ה’, the meaning obviously being “a prophet.” The same term is found in Chagai 1,13 where the word מלאך also refers to the prophet, a mortal human being. When the Torah describes such prophets as ascending the ladder it tells us that there is a limit to how high a prophet can ascend. Once he has reached his destination he receives the prophetic instruction G’d wants to grant him. When the prophets are also described as “descending the ladder,” this means that they are returning and preparing to deliver their respective messages. On the other hand, in the tenth chapter of section two of this same work, Maimonides writes in a different vein concerning the same subject. He first introduces the subject by saying that the planetary system is composed of the four basic raw materials which also make up earth and all that is part of the terrestrial universe and that as a result they are exerting their influence on what goes on earth. For instance, the moon exerts a gravitational pull on the waters on earth causing tides. The sun on the other and, exerts a powerful pull on the terrestrial element fire. The five other fixed stars combined exert their influence on the terrestrial element wind, whereas the moving stars exert their combined influence on the fourth terrestrial element, the earth. Accordingly, we may assume that the various planets are made up of the same basic raw material, elements, as is the כדור הארץ, our globe. According to Maimonides we have to conclude that the ladder had four rungs, seeing that the planets each exerted influence on 4 separate elements on earth. [According to Rabbi Chavell Maimonides bases himself on a version of a Midrash Tanchuma saying the ladder had four rungs. This version is not extant today. Ed.] According to what Maimonides writes in chapter 10 section 2 of the Moreh, Yaakov first achieved an understanding of the elements which exist and which extend as far heavenwards as the parts of the heaven known as ערבות. This is the meaning of מוצב ארצה וראשו מגיע השמימה, “standing on earth its top extending up until heaven.” The “heaven” meant by the verse is that called ערבות. G’d presides, i.e. “was standing” above that part of heaven. The words מלאכי אל-הים appear to refer to the four basic elements two of which were observed by Yaakov as ascending the ladder whereas the other two were perceived by him as descending. The “light” elements he perceived as ascending, whereas the two “heavy” elements, water and earth, he perceived as descending by comparison. If the dream appears to describe the planets as first descending and then ascending, i.e. when G’d is described as immediately above the heaven, this may be parallel to a vision described by Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1,16. The prophet’s vision also included four phenomena... [I confess that I do not understand the meaning of that prophecy. Maimonides apparently seizes on the word אופנים as being equivalent to גלגלים, the planets. The author supports what he perceives as Maimonides’ understanding of this prophecy. Since I do not understand it myself, I will omit this passage. Ed.]

“And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, etc.” The Rav HaMoreh [Maimonides] wrote that the Holy One, Blessed be He, explained to Jacob the order of the chain of levels of the three worlds. For in saying set up on the earth, this refers to the lower world; and its top reached to heaven refers to the middle world; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it refers to the world of angels. And behold, the Lord stood above it indicates that the Blessed One is high above all heights and rules over all. The Abarbanel challenged his words, saying that this vision to Jacob does not fit with either the timing or the location. And I say to resolve the words of the Moreh that this vision is neither out of its time nor out of its place. For it is known what the ancients wrote, and so you will find in the Akeidah and in Rabbeinu Bachya, and so wrote the Abarbanel himself, that even the gentile scholars agreed on this: that the three parts of the Tabernacle correspond to these three worlds, as you will find all explained well in the books of the great scholars we mentioned. And according to this representation, this is certainly its proper place, for Jacob was at the site of Mount Moriah, which was prepared from ancient times for the building of the Holy Temple. Therefore, God showed him in this vision the structure of the three worlds and their representation, hinting that in the future, the Holy Temple would be built here according to the pattern of these three worlds. Another interpretation: For this reason, the Holy One, Blessed be He, showed him [Jacob] the structure of all the worlds, to indicate that their source is from this place which is called the Foundation Stone [Even Shetiyyah], because from there the world was founded. Another explanation is that from there, divine abundance flows to all worlds, because the lower beings add strength to the power above, as it were. Therefore, the angels of God ascend first, because from there they draw the waters of divine abundance from the springs of salvation, and afterward they descend to channel [this abundance] from above to below. This secret is alluded to in Rashi’s commentary on Song of Songs, on the verse How beautiful are your steps (Song of Songs 7:2), where Israel praises the Holy One, Blessed be He, from above to below, while the Holy One, Blessed be He, counts their praises from below to above, just as He began here with the ladder set on the ground, from below to above — and the glory of God is to conceal a matter. I am puzzled by Rabbi Isaac Abarbanel who wrote that this vision is not appropriately placed here, and all the more so according to the Midrash (Genesis Rabbah 68:12) which says that behold a ladder refers to the [Temple’s] ramp, set on the ground refers to the altar, etc. You have been shown to know that all of them [agree] that the matter of the ladder indicates the Temple, where Jacob was on that night. Furthermore, regarding the Holy Temple, there sat the Sanhedrin on their seats, from where Torah would emerge. The wisdom acquired by a person [comes] through distinct levels, for initially one who investigates intellectual matters must recognize the nature of earthly existence — this is [symbolized by] the ladder set on the earth. From there, one ascends to a greater level, which is recognizing the nature of entities in the middle world regarding the movement of celestial spheres and their motions — this is what it means when it says its top reached the heavens. From there, one ascends to understand the nature of the separate intelligences in the upper world. This is what it means when it says angels of God ascending and descending on it. It mentions ascending and descending because these represent the four camps of the Divine Presence, as explained in Recanati’s commentary on Parshat Balak: Uriel is minister of air, Michael is minister of water, Raphael is minister of earth, and Gabriel is minister of fire. It is known that water and earth naturally descend, while air and fire naturally ascend. Therefore, it mentions two ascending and two descending. From there, one ascends to grasp the existence of the blessed God — this is what it means when it says behold, God was standing over him. According to all these interpretations, this vision relates to the place. However, regarding the temporal aspect, since Jacob was fleeing from Esau and fear arose in his mind that [Esau] might confront him with the sword, therefore from heaven they delayed him to pray in the place where his forefathers had prayed, for the Temple is called a house of prayer. It had already been established that as long as Jacob’s voice resonates [in prayer/study], the hands of Esau have no power over him. Furthermore, the Holy Temple is the opposite of Esau, for Esau’s craft was forging copper and iron to make swords, while regarding the Temple it is written no iron tool was heard (1 Kings 6:7), and it is written you shall not lift up any iron upon them (Deuteronomy 27:5). Therefore, they showed Jacob the place of the Temple to say that in its merit he would be saved from iron weapons, as it says Behold, I am with you and will protect you wherever you go. According to our Sages of blessed memory (Bereishit Rabbah 60:16), the ladder was positioned in Beer-sheva, with its end at Beit El, and the middle of its slope corresponding to the Temple. This was to indicate that the Temple is the intermediary that connects the two extremes — the upper realms whose top reaches heavenward and the lower realms which are set on earth. For there is where the Divine Presence dwells with the lower beings, as it is written And I will dwell among them (Exodus 25:8). That is, within the place that stands in the middle in order to connect the extremes, and they become unified on earth. And some say that the purpose of the ladder was to show that God was standing over him — over Jacob — and the Holy One, blessed be He, made for him a dwelling in the lower realms with all His angels who do His will. Therefore it first says ascending and afterwards descending because their dwelling is below in the lower realms. And regarding the ladder it says set toward the earth [artzah] and not “set on the earth [ba’aretz],” which surely means that the feet of the ladder were in heaven and reached down to earth, hence it says artzah meaning “toward the earth.” And what it says and its top reached — every extremity is called a “top” [rosh], and this indicated that through Jacob the world was inverted, and anyone who seeks God should descend below, for there God stands over Him.

ויחלום, והנה סולם מוצב ארצה, “he dreamt, and here in his dream there was a ladder which had been placed on earth, etc.” There are numerous allegorical explanations which our sages have offered in explaining the purpose of this phenomenon in Yaakov’s dream. Some say that the ladder represents Mount Sinai, and that the angels ascending and descending on it symbolise Moses and Aaron. Others believe that the ladder represents an altar and that the angels represent the priests, who in real life, ascend and descend from the altar. I believe that the correct explanation is that G’d showed Yaakov by means of a dream, that whatever occurs on earth is engineered by angels carrying out G’d’s will, and though G’d had known long in advance whatever would come pass, He showed Yaakov an image purporting the angels telling G’d that they had now carried out His will. Moreover, He wanted Yaakov to know that although the angels are His messengers, carrying out His will, this did not mean that G’d personally, left the earth and the angels to their own devices, but that He took an ongoing interest in the affairs unraveling on earth, and was ever ready to intervene when the need would arise. Thus He assured Yaakov of His ongoing protection on the journey fraught with danger that he had undertaken. In Bereshit Rabbah 68,13 we are also told that the angels ascending and descending represented the ascent and subsequent descent of the 4 super powers which ruled over the Jewish people in their respective exiles.

And behold, the Glory of Hashem stood over him, and He said: I am Hashem, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land upon which you are lying — to you will I give it, and to your descendants.

נצב עליו STOOD ABOVE HIM to guard him (Genesis Rabbah 69:3). ואלהי יצחק AND THE GOD OF ISAAC — Although we do not find in the Scriptures that God associates his Name with that of the righteous whilst they are yet alive by writing, “The God of so-and-so”, — because it is said (Job 15:15) “Behold He putteth no trust even in His holy ones” — here, however, He associated his Name with that of Isaac because his eyes had become dim and he was confined to the house, so that he might be regarded as dead and as though the evil inclination had already passed away from him and he was unlikely to sin any more (Midrash Tanchuma, Toldot 7). שכב עליה THE LAND WHEREON THOU LIEST — The Holy One, blessed be He, rolled together the entire Land of Israel under him, thus intimating to him that it would be as easily conquered by his descendants (Chullin 91b) as a piece of land four cubits in length, which is the space covered by a person lying down (see Rashi, Chullin 91b, and the note of the ב"ח thereon).

הארץ אשר אתה שוכב עליה, a reference to the region currently known as “the land of Canaan,” לך אתננה, so that you will be considered as a “prince of G’d,” as was your grandfather (23,6) as well as your father (26,28)

והנה ה׳ נצב עליו. And here G'd was standing upon it. The word עליו also refers to Jacob, i.e. that he perceived G'd as standing above him. This is in line with what Bereshit Rabbah 82,6 tells us that the patriarchs were the carriers of G'd's presence. Inasmuch as Jacob was the fourth "leg" of that מרכבה [perceived here as a chair G'd is transported on, Ed.] G'd leaned more heavily on Jacob than on the other three "legs." The singular עליו is justified then. אלוקי אברהם אביך, "the G'd of your father Abraham." The reason the Torah added the superfluous word "your father," as well as the reason why Abraham is described as Jacob's father without the addition of Isaac was intended to emphasise that Esau had no share in the heritage of Abraham. The Torah here made Jacob the sole heir of Abraham. This heritage did not come to Jacob via his father Isaac but directly from his grandfather Abraham. I have already explained in chapter 16,21 that there was never a question of Ishmael sharing in Abraham's inheritance since Ishmael was legally a slave and as such could not inherit anything from anybody. Ishmael was pointedly described as "the son of this slavewoman" not as Abraham's son (21,13). Esau was precluded from claiming any part of Abraham's inheritance. While it is true that the fact that a son is a heretic does not disqualify him from inheriting his father's estate (Kidushin 18), in this instance the gifts and blessings bestowed upon Abraham by G'd were given him with the express understanding that they be handed down to Jacob afterwards as we know from Genesis 21,12 that his seed would be known only through Isaac (Nedarim 31). Although the expression זרע does not imply that such seed must be morally fit in order to qualify for that description and therefore for the right to inherit, the fact that all the blessings of Abraham were transferred to Jacob excludes Esau as an heir. It is true that in connection with people who offer their children to the idol Moloch we find in Sanhedrin 64 that the term זרעו is used by the Torah, and that it includes children who have not turned out properly. The fact remains that usually the word זרע refers to children who follow in the footsteps of their fathers. When the Talmud Kidushin 18 quotes Deut. 2,5 as proof that Esau did inherit, this is in connection with Esau's children receiving an inheritance from their father; it does not mean that Esau himself was qualified to inherit from his grandfather Abraham.

אברהם אביך, “your father Avraham;” we learn from here that grandchildren are to treated as if they were one’s children. הארץ אשר אתה שוכב עליה, “the earth that you are lying on;” what does the Torah tell us here that we did not know? G-d tells Yaakov that seeing that at this time he is receiving a minute amount of earth, this is symbolic of the fact that in due course his descendants will expand in all four directions of the globe. “You, i.e. they, will conquer all the land that is presently around you.” It was a well known practice in those days that kings who wished to reward their most important subjects would do so by symbolically giving them a token of the real reward. The recipients would then be free to personally, or with the help of their servants, conquer the lands the king had assigned for them. Rashi here describes G-d as symbolically folding the whole of the land of Israel beneath Yaakov’s head. All this G-d showed him in the dream in which he saw the ladder.

והנה ה’ נצב עליו “and here the Lord was standing above it, etc.” According to the plain meaning of the text the word עליו refers to the ladder. A kabbalistic approach: the word עליו refers to Yaakov, i.e. G’d appeared to Yaakov as if He were standing above him.” What the Kabbalists are trying to tell us is that Yaakov viewed himself in this dream as the carrier of the שכינה, the Divine Presence, and its entourage. The Torah would thereby have compared Yaakov to one of the cherubs of whom it has been said וירכב על כרוב ויעוף, (Samuel II 22,11) “He mounted a cherub and flew.” The patriarchs are the true מרכבה, the “chariots” supporting the שכינה, the benevolent Presence of G’d. They performed a task on earth which the angels perform in the celestial spheres. Kabbalists (True scholars, i.e. the sages of the Talmud) have expressed this thus when speaking about the כרובים, cherubs: The face of a human being is considered the major “face,” whereas the face of the cherub is considered as the “minor” face. (compare Rashi, Sukkah According to Kabbalists it was this idea David referred to in Psalms 104,25 where he referred to חיות קטנות עם גדולות, “small and large חיות.” Let me enlighten you on this subject. We already mentioned that Yaakov’s facial features are engraved on G’d’s throne (Bereshit Rabbah 68,12 and that the angels descended to compare Yaakov’s sleeping countenance with that engraved on G’d’s throne). This was the reason the Torah describes him as יושב אהלים, “dweller in tents,” (25,27) i.e. he was “at home” both in a celestial residence as well as in a terrestrial one. This idea is expressed even more forcefully in connection with the revelation at Mount Sinai where the “nobles” of Israel (Exodus 24,10) are described as having a vision of אל-הי ישראל ותחת רגליו, “of G’d, and Israel who is at His feet.” This is also what Yaakov had in mind when he said to Rachel who had demanded that he make children for her (30,2) התחת אל-הים אנכי. This statement was not a rhetorical question but he explained to Rachel that he was not G’d-like, but his image was inscribed below, i.e. beneath the throne of G’d who has the power to bestow children. אני ה’ אלוקי אברהם אביך ואלוקי יצחק, I am the Lord G’d of Avraham and the G’d of Yitzchak.” According to the plain meaning of these words G’d here assures Yaakov that He will give the land to Yaakov and his descendant, that he will be with him and will protect him in all his undertakings, similar to Psalms 91,11 כי מלאכיו יצוה לך לשמרך בכל דרכיך, “for He will command His angels to protect you on all your paths.” The reason that the pronoun אני is used is to show that the angel who appeared to Yaakov wanted him to understand that he was acting as G’d’s messenger, i.e. was part of the Divine establishment. It is as if G’d had said: אני חלקך ונחלתך, (Numbers 18 20) “I am your share and your heritage.” The Priests were informed that they are an integral part of the Divine. Similarly, we have a statement (Deut. 32,9) describing the whole Jewish nation in similar terms, i.e. כי חלק ה’ עמו יעקב חבל נחלתו, “For His people are part of G’d, Yaakov is a portion of His heritage,” and not merely a portion of the angels which had been mentioned. This paragraph contains both an assurance to Yaakov personally at this time that G’d will be with him on the journey he had undertaken and that He would bring him safely back to his father’s house, but G’d also gave him an assurance regarding his offspring. G’d would be with them also wherever they would be even if at times they would be in exile just as Yaakov at this time. Our sages in Megillah 29 expressed it thus: Wherever the Jewish people will be exiled the שכינה will be exiled with them. The שכינה would look after the Jewish people and protect them from many troubles they would otherwise experience while in captivity. A kabbalistic approach to our verse and passage: When G’d said “I am the G’d of your father Avraham and the G’d of Yitzchak,” He mentioned two attributes. The attribute of גדולה and the attribute of גבורה. Remember that the site upon which Yaakov was dreaming was Bet El, a site of which Yaakov was to say when he woke up “this must be a House of G’d, and hence the gateway to heaven.” The place was also known as Luz. it is not the same Bet El as the one which is located near the town of Ai which Joshua had trouble capturing and near which Jerobam placed one of his golden calves to prevent his subjects from making the pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem (Kings I 12,29). Yaakov named the site Bet El (verse 19) because this is where he had a vision of G’d. This verse does not mean to conceal something but to explain something. It explains such statements as אל-הים קדושים (Joshua 24,19), and אל-הים שופטים (Psalms 58,12), where it appears at first glance as if the plural ending applied to G’d as “Holy” or “Judge,” indicates that there is more than one G’d. This is also the reason that Onkelos translates the words מה נורא as מה דחילו (pl) and not as מה דחיל (sing.) as we could have expected. Concerning this revelation to Yaakov that G’d appeared to him as two attributes Isaiah said (Isaiah 6,2) שרפים עומדים ממעל לו, “seraphim are standing above him.” It was a reference to two attributes of G’d. These two attributes of G’d are particularly manifest at Bet El. This was also the reason that the heretic King Jerobam was careful to erect not one golden calf but two golden calves. The Jewish people in the desert had made one golden calf for themselves when Moses did not return when they expected him. They had thought that he was dead and they felt they needed a new symbol to replace Moses and to serve as their visible inspiration. They were fully content with a single leader. Jerobam had a different motivation. He wanted to counteract the Divine attribute of גדולה and hoped that the presence of that golden calf, something G’d hated, would drag away spiritually positive influences and forces from Jerusalem, i.e. from the Temple. The second golden calf which Jerobam made was intended to counteract the Divine attribute of גבורה, as he wanted to be the stronger of the two kings ruling over Israel. This attribute is the specific attribute with which a king ought to be endowed. He hoped that by weakening the presence of this attribute in Jerusalem he would thereby strengthen his own hold on that attribute. The reason that he placed both golden calves outside of Jerusalem was that he wanted to undermine Jerusalem as the עיר דוד, “the city of David.” Jerusalem was also known as the עיר הצדק, “the city of righteousness (Isaiah 1,26)”. The power of the Kingdom of David was concentrated in that city as the attribute of righteousness is manifest in that city. צדק, righteousness was the outstanding attribute, the virtue of David. We know this from Isaiah 32,1 הן לצדק ימלך מלך, “a king shall reign in righteousness” (the king being the Messiah, a descendant of King David). Jerobam was intent on nullifying this monarchy. It had been made even stronger both symbolically and spiritually, seeing that the Temple in Jerusalem was “opposite” the celestial Temple. All these considerations prompted Jerobam to distance himself from the site of the Holy Temple and the holy city Jerusalem. The Talmud Sanhedrin 102 phrases it thus: וירבעם יצא מירושלים מפתקה של ירושלים, the words: “Jerobam left Jerusalem” mean much more than that he set foot outside the walls of Jerusalem. These words mean that he wanted to put all that Jerusalem stood for behind him, never to return to that city.” Actually, Jerusalem comprised the five lower emanations. He wanted to escape the restrictions inherent in one’s being on the level of the lower emanations only. His plan was fatally flawed as he meant to attain access to higher emanations only in order to dethrone David and what his dynasty stood for. This is why the sages applied to him the verse from Proverbs 28,24 “that if someone robs his own father or mother saying he did not commit any sin he thereby becomes a companion to the destroyer, i.e. איש משחית.” What he did was to rob the higher regions of G’d’s universe in order to make profane use of his plunder. Seeing that the regions he robbed were the emanations known as כבוד and תפארת, that Jerusalem comprised the lower 5 emanations beneath that of תפארת, harmony, this is the mystical dimension of the verses in Kings I12, 26-27: “Jerobam said in his heart now: ‘there is a danger that the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. If the people were to go up to Jerusalem to offer meat-offerings in the House of G’d in Jerusalem and the heart of the people will become friendly towards Rechavam their master the King of Yehudah, they will kill me and return to Rechavam the King of Yehudah’”. The King took counsel and constructed two golden calves saying to the people: “enough of your pilgrimages to Jerusalem; here are your symbols of the G’d of Israel, the ones who have led you out of Egypt.” The plural used when he said הנה אלוהיך ישראל, referred to the two emanations or attributes of G’d which we have mentioned. When the Book of Kings proceeds to describe where these two golden calves were placed, i.e. one at Bet El and one in Dan, he had clearly violated the commandment לא תעשון אתי אלוהי כסף, “do not make beside Me silver or golden deities (Exodus 20,23).” However, the worst part of his sin was that he portrayed what he had done as a shortcut to heaven, wanting to make his people believe that now that they had symbols of higher emanations than were to be found in Jerusalem there was no longer any point in making the trip to the Temple in Jerusalem. The Book of Kings testified to Jerobam’s real concern namely that when the people would make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem it would not take them long to find out that they had been fooled by their King, and they would then kill him. You are aware that the prophet (Amos 7,8) already predicted doom and retribution concerning Bet El and said that he saw the attribute of Justice demanding the destruction of both Bet El and Dan. The wording there is: והנה א-דני נצב על חומת אנך ובידו אנך... ויאמר א-דני הנני שם אנך בקרב עמי ישראל לא אוסיף עוד עבור לו וקמתי על בית ירבעם בחרב. “Lo, my Lord G’d was standing on a wall and He was holding a plumb line. And the Lord G’d declared: ‘I am going to apply a plumb line to My people Israel, I will pardon them no more. And I will turn upon the house of Jerobam with the sword.” The “plumb line” mentioned is a measuring rod used to determine the guilt level of the people. The numerical value of the Hebrew word אנך is 71, an allusion to the 71 elders in the Supreme court needed to pass judgment on a Jewish King. The words לא אוסיף לעבור, mean that G’d will not continue to appear to ignore the iniquities perpetrated by the King as well as his people. The unusual expression ונשמו במות ישחק, “the shrines of Yitzchak shall be laid waste,” which is also part of the prophet’s prediction should really have been ונשמו במות ירבעם, “the shrines of Jerobam will be laid waste.” The reason for this unusual statement as well as the unusual spelling of the name Yitzchak with the letter ש instead of the customary צ, is due to Jerobam having seized on the attribute of Yitzchak, i.e. גבורה in his nefarious scheme. The letter ש is reminiscent of the element אש, fire, itself an allusion to the attribute גבורה. We find this supported in the Sefer Yetzirah 3,8, the idea being that the shape of the letter ש suggests the upward draft of fire, of flames. In Amos 7,9 the prophet continues to describe what will happen to מקדשי ישראל, “the Sanctuaries of Israel which will be destroyed.” The plural form of this expression is a clear hint that the prophet refers to the two sites Dan and Bet El where the respective golden calves were positioned. Seeing that Amos prophesied this destruction as occurring at Bet El, it is not surprising that immediately afterwards (verse 10) the prophet reports the local High Priest Amatziah sending word to the King that a rebellion was occurring against Jerobam, that the prophet Amos was inciting against him telling the people to uproot any so-called sanctity in Bet El and to return to the true source of sanctity in Jerusalem. He advised Amos to flee to Jerusalem and to pursue his career as a prophet there. He ordered Amos to desist from prophesying in Bet El (verse 13), claiming that the Temple in Bet El and Jerobam were in fact one and the same (philosophically speaking). The words מקדש מלך and בית ממלכה referred to in Amatziah’s threat against Amos, were references to the respective attributes or emanations גדולה and גבורה which we have spoken of.

“I am the Lord, God of Abraham your father and God of Isaac.” We find regarding Moses our teacher that close to his death he was called man of God (Deuteronomy 33:1), and after his actual death the special Name [YHVH] was mentioned, as it is said (ibid 34:5) And Moses, servant of the Lord, died. Similarly, Abraham who had already died was designated with the special Name, saying the Lord, God of Abraham. However, regarding Isaac who was only considered as if dead because he was blind and confined to his house — but wasn’t actually dead — therefore only the name Elohim [God] was mentioned, as this name is shared between the Lord and creatures, as it is written (Exodus 7:1) See, I have made you as a god [elohim] to Pharaoh. And the reason it mentions your father regarding Abraham but not regarding Isaac is either to counter those who claim Sarah became pregnant from Abimelech, or to teach that grandchildren are considered like children. And regarding what it says the land upon which you lie — He folded all the land beneath him. See the explanation of this matter in Genesis on the verse from where he was taken (Genesis 3:23), because there is the Foundation Stone and there is the center of the world, and one who lies in that place is as if lying on all the land, because from there all the climate zones spread out. Therefore it says and you shall spread out west — meaning from this place you shall break forth in all four directions, because through acquiring this place you acquire all four directions of the world, as that is their source.

והארץ אשר אתה שוכב עליה, “and the earth that you are lying upon, etc.” What did G’d’s gift amount to, seeing that Yaakov occupied only 4 cubits square of earth on the spot he lay on? Bereshit Rabbah 69,4 quotes an opinion according to which G’d had compressed the entire surface of the Land of Israel beneath Yaakov at the time when he had this dream. He meant to show him that the conquest of the land would not be difficult at all when the time came. My sainted father, the רא'ש, explained the plain meaning of our verse as follows: the location where Yaakov was sleeping was in fact the site of the future Temple, as pointed out by the Midrash; whereas Avraham had described that site as הר, “mountain,” i.e. something not easily accessible, Yaakov viewed it as בית, a house, a place where everyone can feel at home, in this instance the אבן השתיה, stone covering the orifice in the earth, the “navel” of the earth in the parlance of our sages, leading to the innermost part of earth, a site covered by the altar in the future. Seeing that whatever blessing there is on earth is distributed centrifugally to all parts of the earth, Yaakov was in fact lying on the entire earth. (By the way, Yitzchok had viewed the site of the temple, i.e. G’d’s manifestation on earth as שדה, as we know from Genesis) [whereas originally, G’d walked on earth just as did man; He withdrew after Adam’s sin, and He kept withdrawing until Avraham reversed the process, beginning with viewing His manifestation while on earth, yet not easily accessible. Ed.] G’d’s blessing comparing Yaakov’s offspring to the dust of the earth, meant that just as dust scatters all over the globe, so Yaakov’s offspring would scatter all over the globe at one time or another.

And your descendants shall be as numerous as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed for your sake, and for the sake of your descendants.

ופרצת means AND THOU SHALT BECOME STRONG, like (Exodus 1:12) “the more they became strong".

"U-faratzta" ["and you shall spread out"] — equivalent to "ve-ravita" ["and you shall multiply"] (Deut. 30:16); and similarly "va-yifrotz ha-ish" ["and the man spread greatly"] (Gen. 30:43).

והיה זרעך כעפר הארץ, ופרצת, after your descendants will have multiplied so that they are as the dust of the earth, numerically speaking, you will spread out. The expression is to be understood as similar to Isaiah 51,23: ותשימי כארץ גוך וכחוץ לעוברים, “so that you made your back like the ground, like a street for passers by.” Precisely when the Jewish people will have reached a seeming low point in their collective experience (downtrodden by the Egyptian taskmasters, or in later exiles) they will expand and become powerful in a measure never before seen on earth. ימה וקדמה צפונה ונגבה, when that time arrives Bileam’s prophecy in Numbers 24,17 וקרקר כל בני שת, “it will smash the foundation of all mankind.” The final redemption of the Jewish people will come after they have suffered the low point in their history. (Compare Sanhedrin 95: “if you see a generation experiencing so many persecutions and setbacks that it appears a raging river is inundating them, wait for the ending for the prophet Isaiah in his description of the redemption writes of it immediately after having described the very opposite in chapter 59, 19-20”) ונברכו בך כל משפחות האדמה ובזרעך, the same type of blessing mentioned in Isaiah 61,6 i.e. because you will then be known and revered as the priests of the Lord, they will receive their Divine blessing through you.

ונברכו בך כל משפחות האדמה, "and through you all the families of the earth will experience blessings." We find that this blessing was fulfilled when Jacob was in Aram. Bereshit Rabbah 70 records that until Jacob's arrival there the people suffered from a shortage of water. As soon as Jacob arrived those people were blessed with an abundance of water. Similarly we find that the famine stopped as soon as Jacob arrived in Egypt i.e. the Nile overflowed its banks again to irrigate the fields. The reason the Torah added the word ובזרעך, was that Jacob's descendants too were to confer blessings on the whole of mankind. As long as the Temple stood the seventy nations of the world enjoyed G'd's blessings because the Israelites offered sacrifices on the festival of Sukkot on their behalf (Sukkah 55). Even while the Jewish people are in exile the continued existence of the other nations is due to the Jewish people as we know from Song of Songs 1,5: "when my mother's children were angry at me they appointed me keeper of the vineyards (of the idols)." [The "mother" is mother earth in this context. Ed.] If we look for allusions we can find that the whole paragraph alludes to man as a species. Zohar 1,147 understands the words ויצא יעקב as describing the soul when it first departs from the higher world and takes up residence within a body. This body is called יעקב on account of the evil urge which constantly tags along, at our heels, so to speak. The words מבאר שבע, from "the well of the oath," is a reference to the source the souls come from which is known as "the well of living waters." The word שבע refers to the oath G'd makes every soul swear when it departs from heaven that it will not violate Torah laws while inside a human being (compare Niddah 30). The words וילך חרנה are an allusion to the statement of our sages in Sanhedrin 91 that the evil urge enters man from the moment he leaves his mother's womb. This is based on Genesis 4,7 that "sin crouches at the entrance" The words ויפגע במקום are a reminder that man has to invoke G'd's help through prayer, G'd being the מקומו של עולם, the site of the universe. When the Torah continued וילן שם כי בא השמש, this is a reminder that man has to conduct himself properly all his life until he dies, i.e. "until his sun sets." This is why our sages said in Avot 2,4: "do not be certain of your righteousness until the day you die." The Torah continues: "He took from the stones of that site;" this is analogous to the statement by Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish in Berachot 5 that a person should constantly strive to provoke his good urge i.e. criticise himself by struggling against the evil urge. Should he fail to overcome his evil urge he should busy himself with Torah study as suggested by David in Psalms 4,5. When the Torah refers to מאבני המקום, that Jacob took from the stones of that site, this refers to the בנינו של עולם the building blocks by means of which the world is built, i.e. Torah. These words may also relate to the stones used to kill the evil urge and its representatives. This is what the Talmud means in Sotah 21 when we are told that Torah saves one from the evil urge not only when one is actively engaged in its study but even when one is temporarily not busy with Torah. The Torah goes on: וישם מראשותיו, "he placed these stones under his head," to allude to the statement of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish that when one fails to vanquish the evil urge one should resort to reciting the קריאת שמע which is recited at night, seeing David speaks of על משכבכם, on your bed, in Psalms 4,5. The words וישכב במקום ההוא he lay down in that place, allude to the final statement on the subject by Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish that if one fails to overcome one's evil urge one should think of the day when one is going to die. This is why the Torah preferred to use the word וישכב to the word ויישן, he slept, since that word implies a lying down from which one may not get up again. Having employed all those means to try and overcome one's evil urge one may be confident of success. After all this, the Torah shows that Jacob had become worthy of having a prophetic revelation in a dream. It is worth while to study the dreams of Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach which are recorded in the Zohar 1,139 and in the Zohar Chadash לך לך section 25. The ladder is the mystical aspect of the human soul, something that is not entirely uprooted from the body at the time he is asleep. Part of that soul remains in the body. When the Torah speaks of the ladder being rooted in the ground with its head in the heavens, it refers to these two parts of the soul. The proof of all this is that when man sleeps he subsequently awakens by moving his sleeping body; if the entire soul had previously departed from him he would not be able to experience these motions of his body. The picture drawn for us by the Torah therefore is that of a sleeping person who is not detached from either heaven or earth but remains in contact with both. During his sleeep the evil urge is not able to act as a barrier between man and G'd seeing that part of man's soul is in direct contact with heaven. The מלאכים עולים ויורדים, the angels described as ascending and descending in Jacob's dream are an allusion to the good deeds which man attempts to perform in this world and which enable his soul to transmit light of a supernatural dimension to the source his soul emanates from. These are called מיין נוקבים, "feminine waters" in the Zohar 1,18. Another name for these lights is מלאכי אלוקים, "angels of G'd." In Avot 4,11 Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov calls the products of each good deed פרקליט, advocate. When these advocates rise heavenwards they in turn activate "masculine waters" to descend. [The concept is that just as there is an interaction between the waters in the heavens and those beneath on earth or below, without which nature cannot function and produce vegetation, there is a parallel process of a spiritual nature. In our Midrashim this interaction is compared to the sexual intercourse between man and woman which results in conception. Ed.] The Torah refers to that impact on what descends on man's soul in the words ויורדים בו, "they descend upon him." The Torah continues והנה ה׳ נצב עליו to tell us that after such an interchange of spiritual forces man becomes capable of prophetic insights. This means that G'd will no longer speak to such a person only in a dream but that he will experience a divine revelation. Jacob's experience during that night then made every Jew in the future a potential vehicle for prophecy, for divine revelation. This is also mentioned by Maimonides who states in chapter 5 of his Hilchot Teshuvah that in principle not a single Israelite is unable to become a vessel for prophecy.

והיה זרעך כעפר הארץ “and your descendants will be as the dust of the earth, etc.” From a purely textural point of view, G’d assures Yaakov in this verse that his descendants will be very numerous, comparable to the dust of the earth. He could have used another simile, namely that the descendants of Yaakov would be like the stars in the heavens, a simile which had been used in 26,4. The reason G’d did not choose that particular simile was that he wanted to allude to a second element here, something not connected to a numerical increase. The reference to dust always evokes feelings of something low, something that one steps on, in other words a reference to periods when the Jewish people would be in exile, treated by their host countries as if they were merely dust to be walked on. There is another aspect to dust, i.e. a positive, encouraging side. As a result of stepping on dust, the dust frequently rises and covers the person who has stepped on it, or at least his feet. Thus, in due course, after completion of their various exiles the Jewish people will experience that they rise above those who had previously trodden upon them. Isaiah 14,2 expressed it thus: והיו שובים לשוביהם ורדו בנוגשיהם, “they shall be captors of their captors and masters of their taskmasters.” This then explains why G’d compared the descendants of Yaakov to dust. We have another statement by Isaiah 26,5 in which the prophet makes a similar point: that initially “He leveled Israel to dust in order to eventually orchestrate its redemption.” (compare Rabbi Yochanan in Rosh Hashanah 31 where he explains Isaiah 52,2). We sing the words of that verse weekly in the Lecha Dodi hymn when we usher in the Sabbath [at the time of the author that song had not yet been composed, Ed.] by singing התנערי, מעפר קומי, “rouse yourself and rise from the dust.” In Yaakov’s dream G’d immediately added the words “and you will spread out to the west, to the east, to the north and to the south, to make plain that the mention of “dust” was to be interpreted positively as the dust of the earth endures forever. Similarly, Yaakov’s descendants would endure forever.

“And your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out.” The text should have said “and they shall spread out” [using plural form]. This alludes to what our Sages said in the Midrash (Lamentations Rabbah 2:7): When hardship comes, only Jacob feels it, as it is said He burned in Jacob like a flaming fire (Lamentations 2:3). And when good comes, only Jacob feels it, as it is said When the Lord restores the fortunes of His people, Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad (Psalms 14:7). Therefore it says and you shall spread out [in singular form], because since Jacob alone feels their good fortune, it appears as though he alone is the one who spreads out. Regarding the matter of “the dust of the earth,” it appears that this prophecy refers to the Egyptian exile. For during that time, our Sages said (Sotah 11b) that the Egyptians would plow on their backs, as it is stated The plowers plowed upon my back (Psalms 129:3). And they [the Israelites] would come to their homes in large groups [having multiplied in the field]. Thus, we find that the cause of their multiplication was because they were like the dust of the earth that is plowed upon — so too did [the Egyptians] plow upon their backs. And because of this, they multiplied abundantly within the land itself, and they became so numerous that they were sufficient to be divided into four divisions [flags/camps] in each direction. Therefore it says and you shall spread out westward and eastward, etc. And as it is written Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number the fourth part of Israel? (Numbers 23:10) Which Onkelos translates as “the four camps,” telling you that they merited the four divisions [flags/camps] because Jacob was like this dust that everyone plows upon. Another interpretation: “And your offspring shall be like the dust” — [this will occur] in merit of their affliction, that they will be like this dust that everyone treads upon, [and through this] they will burst forth and multiply. For all the affliction that was [intended] to prevent increase [“lest they multiply”] resulted instead in reward — “so did they multiply.” Another interpretation: In the merit of Abraham’s humility, who said I am but dust and ashes (Genesis 18:27), they will merit to spread out in all four directions, as it is written And the humble shall inherit the land (Psalms 37:11). Another interpretation: Since it is said regarding those who observe the Sabbath, and I will feed you the inheritance of Jacob your father (Isaiah 58:14), which refers to the inheritance without boundaries mentioned here, therefore He said that your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth. For just as the earth needs to rest, as it is said and the land shall rest a Sabbath unto the Lord, so too shall your offspring rest on the seventh day, and in this merit they shall spread westward and eastward, etc. “And you shall spread out westward, eastward, northward, and southward.” The reason it mentions the opposing directions facing each other, rather than listing them in order, is because it is said in the Midrash (see Midrash Tehillim 44:2) that salvation comes to Israel only when they are at their lowest point, as it is said (Psalms 44:26) For our soul is bowed down to the dust, and what is written after it? Arise for our help. The reason for this is that as long as they are not at their lowest point, they do not place their trust in God and instead devise human strategies to escape from snares. Therefore, God distances man from Himself and abandonment increases, because they did not trust in God’s salvation. But when they see that their efforts have failed and there is no helper or supporter, then their eyes are lifted to God to call upon Him in their time of distress, and God listens. At that time, salvation comes through an escape from one extreme to the other — from the depths of lowliness to the heights of elevation. Since naturally it would be unbelievable to tell that they would rise from their low state to the highest heights, therefore Jacob was shown in this vision three levels in succession in terms of impressiveness. First it was said your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth — at that time when their soul will be bowed to the dust, at that time you shall spread out — meaning the one who breaks through will rise before them to elevate them to the height of greatness. And if you would say that even if they rise from lowliness to some height, it’s impossible to jump from one extreme to the other to reach such a great level, rather when they stumble they will receive a little help, as in Daniel’s prophecy (11:34) — therefore it says westward and eastward. These two directions are opposite and contradictory, for in the east the sun always rises and in the west it always sets. And after the time when Israel’s sun will set, as Rashi explained on the verse and in the evening he divides spoil (Genesis 49:27), at that time of setting they will flee to the opposite extreme, to have their throne like the sun before Him. And if you would say this will only happen if they are like the western direction where even though the sun sets there, it still has some rising in that direction — so too Israel when they have a little rising they will ascend to be like the eastern direction, for even there the sun doesn’t always shine as in the winter solstice, so too their authority will not be permanent. Therefore it says northward and southward — for even if they will be like the northern direction where it is cold and dark in its clouds (Isaiah 5:30) and has no light at all, so too Israel will be completely devoid of light — from there they will rise to the opposite extreme to be like the southern [dromi] direction, which is called so because it “dwells high [dar rum]” for the sun always shines there and dwells in its heights. So too will Israel’s sun shine permanently, as it is written (Isaiah 60:20) Your sun shall no longer set, and they will forever dwell in the heights of the world. This is a promise about the final redemption.

And behold, My Word is with you as your support, and I will guard you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land, for I will not forsake you until I have done what I have spoken to you.

אנכי עמך I AM WITH THEE — God promised him this because he was in terror of Esau and Laban. עד אשר אם עשיתי UNTIL I HAVE DONE — The word אם is here used in the sense of כי (cf. Gittin 90a). דברתי לך means I have spoken in thy interest and concerning thee: whatever I promised to Abraham regarding his seed it was in reference to you that I promised it and not in reference to Esau, for I did not say to him “Isaac shall be called thy seed” (which would have signified that all Isaac’s descendants would be regarded, also, as Abraham’s) but I said (21:12) ביצחק “In Isaac” and not all the issue of Isaac”. In the same way wherever לי or לך or לו or להם are used after a verbal form of דבר, they are used in the sense of “concerning”. This verse proves that this is so, since it cannot mean “I have spoken to thee” as He had never spoken to Jacob before this occasion.

כי לא אעזבך, when I said that after the exile you will expand in all directions of the globe, know no boundaries, this is possible only because even during the long years of exile I did not abandon you, as stated explicitly in Leviticus 26,44 לא מאסתים ולא געלתים, “I will not have rejected them, nor will I have abhorred them.” עד אשר אם עשיתי, as long as I have not carried out what I have said to you now. (i.e. the part commencing with ופרצת). There are occasions when the word עד is used in the sense of בעוד, such as Song of Songs 1,12 עד שהמלך במסבו, ”while the king was on his couch.” Or, Proverbs 8,26 עד לא עשה ארץ וחוצות, “while G’d had not yet made earth or even clumps of dust.” However, once G’d would have performed this great salvation, not only would He continue to treat His people with loving kindness by not abandoning them, but He would add a new dimension to it by walking among them, as promised in Leviticus 26,12 והתהלכתי בתוככם, “I will be walking amongst you (constantly).”

ושמרתיך, “I will guard you;” this was necessary because of Esau’s threat to kill Yaakov. והשיבותיך אל האדמה הזאת, “I will bring you back to this soil;” this promise was fulfilled as stated in Genesis 35,27: וישב יעקב אל יצחק אביו “Yaakov returned to his father Yitzchok.” כי לא אעזבך, “for I shall not abandon you;” on this way. את אשר דברתי לך “what I have said to you;” to bring you back to this soil. People always need protection when on a journey. For proof the author cites: Psalms 91,11: לשמרך בדרך, “to guard you while you are on the way.”

והנה אנכי עמך, “and here I am going to be with you, etc.” Onkelos translated these words as והא מימרי בסעדך, “and this word (promise) will assist you.” When the Torah writes in Exodus 3,12 ואהיה עמך, “and I shall be with you,” (G’d encouraging Moses to accept the role of leader) Onkelos translates this as ארי יהי מימרי עמך, “behold My promise will be with you” The (apparently minute) difference in the way Onkelos renders G’d’s promise to Moses reflects the difference between the spiritual level of these two men at the time G’d communicated with them. Seeing that in verse 13 the Torah wrote והנה י-ה-ו-ה נצב עליו ויאמר אני י-ה-ו-ה, Onkelos was forced to use the description בסעדך similar to when the Talmud in Shabbat 89 quotes G’d as telling Moses he should have assisted Him when he saw G’d write the crowns on the Torah. Yaakov was on a level where G’d applied to him the attribute of שדי, G’d as Master of nature. Whatever assistance Yaakov would receive would not be by means of נסים גלוים, the kind of miracles which upset the laws of nature. Moses, on the other hand, was already being addressed by the Ineffable Name, by a higher attribute of G’d. Yaakov only dreamed; Moses was wide awake when he saw the burning bush. If you were to challenge my explanation by pointing out that in 46,4 Onkelos translates the words אנכי ארד עמך as אנא איחות עמך, indicating that Yaakov was on a level not inferior to that of Moses, the context of that verse forced Onkelos to translate it in the way he did. The purpose of G’d’s message at that time was to reassure Yaakov that even in exile G’d’s Presence would be with the people, i.e. the שכינה would descend to Egypt with the Israelites.

Jacob awoke from his sleep and said: Truly, the Glory of Hashem dwells in this place, and I did not know it.

ואנכי לא ידעתי AND I KNEW IT NOT — for had I known it I would not have slept in such a holy place as this.

"Surely Hashem is in this place" — the meaning is that there are places where miracles are seen. I cannot explain why this is so, for it is a profound mystery.

אכן יש ה' במקום הזה, there can be no question that this is a location from where the gift of prophetic insights is dispensed, seeing that I have been granted such an insight without even having expected it or prepared myself for it spiritually. It is a fact that the characteristics of a person undergo changes in the land of Israel just as the climate and very air in this country are different, contribute to one’s mental and spiritual progress. Our sages have phrased this (Baba Batra 158) as “the very air of the Land of Israel makes one wiser.” ואנכי לא ידעתי, if I had realised the special distinction of this site I would have prepared myself mentally for receiving these Divine insights.

וייקץ יעקב, Jacob awoke, etc. What did Jacob mean by the word אכן in this verse? It appears to mean that something concealed had been revealed to him. Why would he then express surprise at having been unaware of such knowledge, i.e. ואנכי לא ידעתי? Did he have to be aware of everything that is hidden? Perhaps we may explain this by referring to Chulin 91 where the words "for the sun had set" are interpreted to mean that Jacob personally experienced an unusually early sunset on that day. This was designed to force him to spend the night at that site. What Jacob meant then was that at the time when the early sunset occurred he had not understood its meaning. He did so now only with the help of the dream he had dreamt. When Jacob said: יש השם במקום הזה, that G'd is in this place, he meant that G'd is present at this site all the time, in contrast to other sites. This is why G'd wanted him to spend the night there in order to communicate with him there. Jacob apologised for not having prepared himself for a divine revelation; had he been aware of the significance of that site he would surely have done so. Prophecy requires the recipient to first prepare himself mentally. Perhaps if Jacob had prepared himself to become the recipient of a message from G'd he might have prophesied while awake instead of while dreaming. This may have been what he bemoaned in this verse. Rashi explains simply that Jacob meant that if he had known the holy nature of that site he would not have allowed himself to go to sleep there. If that were the only meaning of Jacob's words we could say to him (Rashi) that Jacob then would not have experienced all the promises G'd made to him during his dream. We therefore need to include what I have just written in order to explain the verse satisfactorily.

“Indeed, the Lord is in this place, etc.” The text mentions the word “place” [makom] three times, corresponding to the three Temples. Regarding the First Temple, where the Divine Presence dwelt, yet they did not know God because their hearts followed after their idols, it says here Indeed the Lord is in this place, and I did not know. Regarding the Second Temple, it states How awesome is this place; this is none other than the house of God, for it is known that during the Second Temple period, there was awe of the Temple among all nations. Even Alexander the Great was afraid to raise his hand against it and would stand up in the presence of Simon the Righteous. This was despite lacking five fundamental elements: the Divine Presence, prophecy, the Ark, the Urim and Thummim, and the heavenly fire. All that remained was its designation as the “house of God,” which is why it states here this is none other than the house of God. For in the First Temple, God appeared to them eye to eye, to the extent that they could point to His glory saying This is my God and I will glorify Him, This is our God, but in the Second Temple, this direct revelation was absent and only the name remained — that it was the house of God. Regarding the Third Temple, it states And he called the name of that place Beth El, but Luz was the city’s name originally. It’s as if the name Luz was not completely uprooted even after its destruction following its construction. However, in the future, its construction will be eternal, for the naming indicates eternal existence, and this will be its name forever, as it is said and the name of the city from that day shall be ‘God is there’ (Ezekiel 48:35). Radak explained that this means God’s name will never depart from within it. And similarly at the beginning of the passage, the word “place” appears three times, corresponding to the three Temples. Regarding the First Temple, it states “he encountered the place and lodged there because the sun had set” - since their days there were not lengthy but rather like a single overnight stay. Their short dwelling in the House alludes to the brief duration of the Temple’s sanctified existence, until “the sun set” - as “the sun and moon withdrew their light” (Joel 2:10). And we explained above regarding its setting two hours before its time, alluding to the setting of Israel’s sun two years before the appointed time. Regarding the Second Temple, it states “he took from the stones of the place,” as it is similarly stated regarding the building of the Second Temple, “And he shall bring forth the headstone” (Zechariah 4:7). It says “from the stones” and not “all the stones,” because the stones of the Tablets and the stones of the Urim and Thummim were missing. Regarding the Third Temple, it states “and he lay down in that place,” for when he saw the Third Temple in its construction and its eternality, then he lay down and his sleep was sweet, saying “This is my resting place forever,” excluding the first two Temples where they had no rest from their enemies.

And he was awestruck and said: How awesome is this place! This is none other than a place of divine favor before Hashem, and this is the gate that faces the heavens.

כי אם בית אלהים THIS IS NONE OTHER THAN THE HOUSE OF GOD —R. Eleazar said in the name of R. José the son of Zimra: “This ladder stood in Beersheba and [the middle of]) its slope reached opposite the Temple” (Genesis Rabbah 69:7). For Beersheba is situated in the South of Judah, Jerusalem in the North of it on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin and Bethel in the North of Benjamin’s territory, on the border between the land of Benjamin and that of the children of Joseph. It follows, therefore, that a ladder whose foot is in Beersheba and whose top is in Bethel has the middle of its slope reaching opposite Jerusalem. Now as regards what our Rabbis stated (Chullin 91b) that the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “This righteous man has came to the place where I dwell (i.e., the Temple at Jerusalem, whilst from here it is evident that he had come to Luz) and shall he depart without staying here over night?”, and with regard to what they also said, (Pesachim 88a) “Jacob gave the name Bethel to Jerusalem”, whereas this place which he called Bethel was Luz and not Jerusalem, whence did they learn to make this statement (which implies that Luz is identical with Jerusalem)? I say that Mount Moriah was forcibly removed from its locality and came hither (to Luz), and that this is what is meant by the “shrinking” of the ground that is mentioned in the Treatise (Chullin 91b) — that the site of the Temple came towards him (Jacob) as far as Bethel and this too is what is meant by ויפגע במקום, “he lighted upon the place” (i.e., he “met” the place, as two people meet who are moving towards each other; cf. Rashi on Genesis 5:11). Now, since Jacob’s route must have been from Beersheba to Jerusalem and thence to Luz and Haran and consequently when he reached Luz he had passed Jerusalem, if you should ask, “When Jacob passed the Temple why did He not make him stop there?” — If it never entered his mind to pray at the spot where his fathers had prayed should Heaven force him to stop there to do so? Really he had reached as far as Haran as we say in the Chapter גיד הנשה (Chullin 91b), and Scripture itself proves this since it states, “And he went to Haran”. When he arrived at Haran he said, “Is it possible that I have passed the place where my fathers prayed without myself praying there?” He decided to return and got as far as Bethel where the ground "shrank” for him. This Bethel is not the Bethel that is near Ai (cf. Genesis 12:8) but that which is near Jerusalem, and because he said of it, “It shall be the House of God”, he called it Bethel. This, too, is Mount Moriah, where Abraham prayed, and it is also the field in which Isaac offered prayer as it is written, “[Isaac went out] to meditate (i. e., to pray; cf. Genesis 24:63) in the field”. Thus, too, do we read in the Treatise (Pesachim 88a) in a comment on the verse Micah 4:2: “[O come ye and let us go up] to the mountain of the Lord (i.e. the mountain upon which the Temple is built) and to the house of the God of Jacob”. What particular reason is there for mentioning Jacob? But the text calls the Temple not as Abraham did who called it a mount, and not as Isaac did, who called it a field, but as Jacob did who called it Beth[el]—the House of God. (To here from “This Bethel” is to be found in a certain correct Rashi-text) מה נורא HOW FEARFUL — In the Targum it is translated by “How דחילו is this place!” דחילו is a noun, like סוכלתנו which is the Targum of תבונה “understanding” (Deuteronomy 32:28), and [וכסו [למלבש which is the Targum of ובגד ללבש “and raiment to put on”) (Genesis 28:20) וזה שער השמים AND THIS IS THE GATE OF HEAVEN — a place of prayer where their prayers would ascend to heaven (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 35). The Midrash states (Genesis Rabbah 69:7) that the Heavenly Temple is situated immediately opposite the Earthly Temple (so that the Temple at Jerusalem-Bethel may be styled “the gate” to the Heavenly Temple)

THIS IS NONE OTHER THAN THE HOUSE OF G-D, AND THIS IS THE GATE OF HEAVEN. This refers to the Sanctuary which is the gate through which the prayers and sacrifices ascend to heaven. Rashi comments, Rabbi Elazar the son of Rabbi Yosei the son of Zimra said, ‘This ladder stood in Beer-sheba and its slope15“Its slope.” In our text of Rashi: “the middle of its slope.” Ramban will explain later that the reference is to “the end” of the slope, which is the head of the ladder. reached unto the Sanctuary in Jerusalem. Beer-sheba is situated in the southern part of Judah, and Jerusalem is to its north on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin, and Beth-el was in the northern portion of Benjamin’s territory, on the boundary between Benjamin’s territory and that of the children of Joseph. It follows, therefore, that a ladder whose base is in Beer-sheba and whose top is in Beth-el has its slope15“Its slope.” In our text of Rashi: “the middle of its slope.” Ramban will explain later that the reference is to “the end” of the slope, which is the head of the ladder. reaching opposite Jerusalem. Now regarding the statement of our Rabbis that the Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘This righteous man has come to the place where I dwell, [namely, the Sanctuary in Jerusalem, and shall he depart without spending the night?’], and with regard to what they also said, ‘Jacob gave the name Beth-el to Jerusalem’ this place which he called Beth-el was Luz and not Jerusalem! And whence did they learn to say so, [implying that Luz is identical with Jerusalem]? I therefore say that Mount Moriah [the Temple site in Jerusalem] was forcibly removed from its place and came here to Luz, and this movement of the Temple site is ‘the springing of the earth’ which is mentioned in Tractate Shechitath Chullin.“The slaughtering of unconsecrated beasts.” This tractate is now generally called Chullin (Unconsecrated Beasts). 91b. It means that the site on which the Sanctuary was later to stand came towards Jacob to Beth-el. And this too is what is meant by vayiphga bamakom (and he met the place): here. [as two people meet, who are moving towards each other]. If you should ask, ‘When our father Jacob passed the site of the Sanctuary [on his way from Beer-sheba to Haran] why did He not detain him there?’ The answer is: If it never entered his mind to pray at the place where his fathers had prayed, should Heaven make him stop there? He had journeyed as far as Haran, as we say in the chapter of Gid Hanasheh,20“The sinew of the hip.” It is the seventh chapter of Tractate Chullin (see Note 18) 91b. and Scripture itself helps us clarify this point by saying, And he went to Haran. here. When he arrived at Haran he said, ‘Is it possible that I have passed the place where my fathers prayed without praying there myself?’ He decided to return and had returned as far as Beth-el, whereupon the ground of the Temple site sprang for him until Beth-el.”All these are the words of the Rabbi. See also Note 139, Seder Bereshith. But I do not agree with them at all for ‘the springing of the earth’ which the Rabbis mention in connection with Jacob is like that which they have said happened to Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, namely, that he reached Haran in one day. As they have said in Tractate Sanhedrin,2395a. “The earth sprang for three persons: Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, our father Jacob, and Abishai the son of Zeruiah.” In coming to the rescue of David, a miracle occurred, and he reached him at once though he was far away from him. And the Rabbis explained: “Eliezer, the servant of Abraham — for it is written, And I came this day unto the fountain, which teaches that on that very day he embarked on his journey. Jacob — for it is written, And he met the place. here. When he arrived at Haran he said, ‘Is it possible that I have passed the place where my fathers prayed without praying there myself?’ As soon as the thought of returning occurred to him, the earth sprang for him, and immediately he met the place.” Thus the Rabbis explicitly say that as soon as the thought to return occurred to him in Haran, the earth sprang for him and he met the place where his fathers prayed, but not that he returned to Beth-el, nor that Mount Moriah sprang and came there to Beth-el. In Bereshith Rabbah 9:15. the Rabbis further equated them both [Eliezer and Jacob] with respect to “the springing of the earth.” Thus they said: “And he arose, and went to Aram-naharaim — on the very same day. And I came this day unto the fountain — this day I embarked on the journey, and this day I arrived.” With respect to Jacob the Rabbis interpreted in a similar vein: “And he went to Haran here. — the Rabbis say on the very same day.” And furthermore, what reason is there for Mount Moriah to “spring” and come to Beth-el, as Rashi claims, after Jacob had troubled himself to return from Haran to Beth-el, a journey of many days? Additionally, the middle part of a ladder is not referred to as its “slope.” And, finally, what reason is there for the middle of the ladder to be opposite Beth-el, [where, according to Rashi, the side of the Sanctuary had been transported], when the middle part of an object does not possess significance beyond that of its whole? There is, however, another intent to these Midrashim. The Rabbis have said in Bereshith Rabbah,3168:6. “Rabbi Hoshayah said, ‘It has already been stated, And Jacob hearkened to his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-aram. What then does Scripture teach by repeating, And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba? here. Rather, the redundancy teaches us that Jacob said, “When my father desired to leave the Land of Israel, at what location did he seek permission for it? Was it not in Beer-sheba? I, too, shall go to Beer-sheba to seek this permission. If He grants me permission, I shall leave, and if not, I shall not go.” Therefore Scripture found it necessary to state, And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba.’” here. The intent of this Midrash is that the Rabbis were of the opinion that Jacob was blessed by his father in Hebron, the land of his father’s sojournings, and it was to Hebron that he came when he returned to his father from Paddan-aram, as it is said, And Jacob came unto Isaac his father to Mamre, to Kiriath-arba — the same is Hebron — where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. Now if so, the verse stating, And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba here. teaches that when his father commanded him to go to Laban he went to Beer-sheba to receive Divine permission, and that is the place wherein he spent the night and saw visions of G-d, and it was there that He gave him permission to exit from the Land of Israel, even as He said, And I will keep thee wherever thou goest and will bring thee back unto this land. here. And the ladder which he saw, in the opinion of Rabbi Yosei the son of Zimra, he saw with its feet in Beer-sheba, in the very place where he lay, and with the end of its slope which is the top of the ladder reaching to a point opposite the Sanctuary. It was supported by heaven at the gate through which the angels enter and exit. The revered G-d stood over him, and therefore he knew that Beer-sheba was the gate of heaven, suitable for prayer, and the Sanctuary was the house of G-d. And in the morning Jacob continued his journey from Beer-sheba and arrived at Haran on the same day, and this was “the springing of the earth” mentioned with respect to Jacob. This is the opinion of Rabbi Yosei the son of Zimra who said in Bereshith Rabbah,3569:5. “This ladder stood in Beer-sheba and its slope reached to the Sanctuary, as it is said, And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba; here. And he was afraid and said, How fearful is this place.” here. And the stone which he erected as a pillar here. he did not erect in the place where he slept, for Beer-sheba is not Beth-el and it was in Beth-el that he erected it, and there he went upon his return from Paddan-aram, as it is said, Arise, go up to Beth-el … and make there an altar unto G-d who appeared unto thee, etc. But he erected it [after carrying the stone from Beth-el to Jerusalem] See my Hebrew commentary, p. 160. opposite the slope, at the place where the head of the ladder stood, which he had called the house of G-d, and this is the city which had previously been called Luz. here. Thus in the opinion of Rabbi Yosei the son of Zimra, Luz was Jerusalem which Jacob called Beth-el. here. Possibly this may be so, according to the verses in the book of Joshua. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 160, for further discussion of this matter. It is certainly true that it is not the Beth-el near Ai Whereas the Beth-el referred to here had previously been called Luz. for that Beth-el was originally so named in the days of Abraham Whereas the Beth-el referred to here had previously been called Luz. and prior to that. But Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Shimon differs there with Rabbi Yosei the son of Zimra, and he says: “This ladder stood upon the Sanctuary site and its slope reached to Beth-el. What is his reason? And he was afraid, and said, here. etc. And he called the name of that place Beth-el.” here. Thus in the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Shimon the verse stating, And he lighted upon the place, here. means Mount Moriah. And he tarried there all night, because the sun was set for him not at its proper time [so that he should spend the night there], for as our Rabbis have stated: “[The Holy One, blessed be He, said], ‘This righteous man has come to the place where I dwell. Shall he then depart without staying there over night?’” And so Jacob saw the ladder with its feet standing in that place, and its slope, which is its top, reached to a point which was opposite that particular Beth-el [which was mentioned in connection with Ai during Abraham’s era], Whereas the Beth-el referred to here had previously been called Luz. and that was the city of Luz. And Jacob said that the very place where he spent the night was the house of G-d, and the slope of the ladder was the gate of heaven, thus Mount Moriah is excellent for prayer, and Beth-el also is a suitable place for the worship of G-d. And he erected the pillar in Beth-el, for in the opinion of all Rabbis he erected it opposite the slope of the ladder. The opinion of Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Shimon, [i.e., that Jacob slept on Mount Moriah, and he erected the pillar in Beth-el], is in agreement with the Midrash in the Gemara of the chapter concerning Gid Hanasheh,20“The sinew of the hip.” It is the seventh chapter of Tractate Chullin (see Note 18) 91b. and that of Chapter Cheleck,44“Portion,” i.e., in the World to Come. This is the tenth chapter of Tractate Sanhedrin, 95b. which states that Jacob left Beer-sheba and came to Haran, and when he reconsidered and decided to return and pray at Mount Moriah, the place where his fathers had prayed, then the earth “sprang” for him and he lighted immediately upon Mount Moriah. Perhaps it is the Rabbis’ opinion that the earth “sprang” for him both when going from Haran to Mount Moriah and when returning from Mount Moriah to Haran. This would be in agreement with the opinion of the Rabbi who says: “And he went to Haran here. — on the same day. And he lighted upon the place here. — at once, very suddenly.”I found it more explicitly in Pirkei Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol: “Jacob was seventy-seven years of age when he left his father’s house, This makes Jacob seventy-seven years old when he left Haran. The Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer refers to it as “when he left his father’s house,” but the intent is as explained. (Rabbi David Luria.) and he followed the well that travelled before him from Beer-sheba to Mount Moriah, a two-day journey, and he arrived there at midday, etc. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, ‘Jacob, you have bread in your travelling-bag, the well is before you, enabling you to eat and drink and lie down in this place.’ Jacob replied, ‘Master of all worlds, the sun has yet to descend fifty stages, and shall I lie down to sleep in this place?’ Prematurely, the sun then set in the west. Jacob looked and saw that the sun had set in the west, so he tarried there all night, because the sun was set. here. Jacob took twelve stones from the stones of the altar upon which his father Isaac had lain bound as a sacrifice and put them under his head. By the fact that his resting-place contained twelve stones, G-d informed him that twelve tribes were destined to be established from him. But then all twelve stones were transformed into one stone to inform him that all twelve tribes were destined to become one nation in the earth, as it is said, And who is like Thy people, like Israel, a nation one in the earth? In the morning Jacob awoke with great fright, and said, ‘The house of the Holy One, blessed be He, is in this place,’ as it is said, And he was afraid, and said: How fearful is this place! here. From here you learn that whosoever prays in Jerusalem is considered as if he prayed before the Throne of Glory, for the gate of heaven is open there to receive the prayer of Israel, as it is said, And this is the gate of heaven. here. Jacob then wanted to collect the stones [which he had used as a resting-place for his head in order to build an altar], but he found them all to be one stone, and so he set it up as a pillar in that place. Thereupon oil flowed down for him from heaven, and he poured it on top of the stone, as it is said, And he poured oil upon the top of it. here. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? With His right foot He sank the anointed stone unto the depths of the abyss to serve as the key-stone of the earth, just as one inserts a key-stone in an arch. It is for this reason that it is called Even Hashethiyah (The Foundation Stone), (Yoma 53b.) for there is the center of the earth, and from there the earth unfolded, and upon it stands the Temple of G-d, as it is said, And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be G-d’s house. here. The use of the present tense in the Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer — “and upon it stands the Temple of G-d” — may either be a reference to the remains of the ancient Sanctuary and its environs, which were still visible in the days when the Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer was composed, or it may preferably indicate that although the Temple is now in ruins the place thereof is still deemed sacred as in the days when the House of G-d was firmly established on the sacred mountain. From there he [Jacob] went on his journey, and in the twinkling of an eye he arrived in Haran.” Thus far [extends the quotation from the Pirkei Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol]. Thus, all Midrashim — despite some minor differences among them — acknowledge that “the springing of the earth” occurred to Jacob through which he travelled a journey of many days in the twinkling of an eye. It is possible that all Midrashim concede to one another, and that on all these journeys of his — when going from Beer-sheba to Haran, when he desired to return to Mount Moriah, and when he left there to go to Haran — the earth “sprang” for him. But there is not one of all these Midrashim which says, as Rashi said, [that Mount Moriah was forcibly removed from its location and was transported to meet him in Beth-el].

"For this is none other than the house of God" — meaning that when a person prays there in his time of need, his prayer is heard, because the place has been chosen [for this]. Many wonder how Jacob could have erected a pillar. They have forgotten that Moses erected twelve pillars. Scripture does not forbid erecting a pillar to Hashem; it only says: "You shall not erect for yourself a pillar that Hashem your God hates" (Deut. 16:22) — and when I reach that passage I will explain it.

He was afraid. Because of the disrespect he had inadvertently shown by sleeping there. This is none other. The place that he saw in his dream was the site designated for the Beis Hamikdosh. The gate. The ladder signified that it was from that place that prayers ascend to heaven.

"Shaken, he said..." He felt that his heart was moved to fear on its own, and gave a reason for this when he said "this is none other than the abode of God." He was careful to use the Divine name Elohim, because this is the source of fear, as it is written "... and God (Elohim) made it so that they fear Him." (Kohelet 3:14) It is known that the name Elohim strikes fear in the heart of man. When Yaakov said "this is the gate..." he meant that the place aligned with it above is the gate of heaven. This is why he used the word 'this' (zeh) twice. He also intended to explain the lofty status of the place by saying that this is the House of God, a physical place preceded by the knowledge that God had chosen a place to cause His name to dwell. He said 'this is that place!' He proved further that this was the chosen place when he said 'this is the gate of heaven.' Yaakov said this because he saw angels rising and descending, and he already knew that the sacred place below was aligned with the gate of heaven.

אין זה כי אם בית אלוקים, “this can only be the house of G-d.” Rashi explains this exclamation as follows quoting Rabbi Elazar in Bereshit Rabbah 69,7: “the foot of the ladder was in B’eer Sheva. It stood at an angle so that the halfway mark was precisely above the site where the Temple would be built in the future; its top would have been above Bet El.” [Bet El being the northernmost point and B’eer Sheva the southern most point. Jerusalem would be at the half way mark. Ed.] אין זה כי אם בית אלוקים, “this can only be (the location of) the House of G-d.” Rashi endeavours to find the source for the statement by the sages that G-d had said that it is intolerable that a righteous person of the calibre of Yaakov who needed a place to spend the night, should be unable to find more than a stone to lay his head on. Also why would Yaakov call the place that had been known as Luz “Yerusalem,” i.e. the house of G-d? Furthermore why afterwards does he refer to “Beyt El,” a place much further north? Clearly there appears to be some contradiction here! Our sages themselves seem to have had second thoughts when they said that Yaakov renamed called Luz as Beyt El Being aware of these difficulties, Rashi says; “therefore I say that Mount Moriah had been moved and Yaakov had arrived there, i.e. as far as Beyt El, (all on the same day)[If any reader finds all this as strange, I remind him that if G-d enabled Eliezer, Avraham’s servant, to cover a similar distance with his 10 camels when he went to look for a wife for his master in the course of one day, then Yaakov’s experience can certainly not be considered as so unbelievable. Ed.] There is also the problem that Yaakov instead of walking from B’eer Sheva to Charan would be travelling from west to East, as testified to by Isaiah 9,11 ארם מקדם ופלשתים מאחור, “Aram to the East and the land of the Philistines at the back.” (to the west) Moreover, we (our author) had previously explained that Aram and Charan are one and the same. (compare verse 10). According to what we have read here Yaakov was traveling from the south to the north according to what Rashi explained earlier. We have to say that Yaakov travelled the same route that his grandfather Avraham had traveled when coming from Charan, southward after having left both Ur Casdim and Charan on his way to the land of Canaan. He had proceeded southward in stages all the way to B’eer Sheva. Both he and Yitzchok had taken up residence in towns on this route from time to time as we have read in previous portions of the Torah. The route was well known and they were familiar with it. This is the reason why Yaakov also used this route. As to Rashi quoting Yaakov as having said that possibly he had failed to stop at a place where his father and grandfather had offered prayers to G-d, this must have referred not to Mount Moriah, for he had prayed there repeatedly as stated by our sages in Bereshit Rabbah at the end of chapter 78,16, where we are told that no one can properly appreciate how many libations Yaakov had offered at Mount Moriah, but to Beyt El, for Avraham had prayed there and built an altar as recorded in Genesis 12,78. Our sages in Sanhedrin 44 are on record that if Avraham had not prayed between Beyt El and Ai, the Jewish people would long ago have perished completely (Joshua 7,25 when they were defeated there during the first encounter They were saved only due to the merit acquired by the prayers Avraham had offered in that region.) The reason that this location is referred to as Beyt El is on account of the prayers offered there in the future, for in Yaakov’s time it was still known as Luz. Yitzchok had also offered prayers at that altar which his father Avraham had built. Even though we do not possess a written record of it, it is quite plausible to assume that he used this altar on numerous occasions in order to offer prayers. Yaakov, on the other hand, had not had an opportunity to offer prayers at that location up until now. This is also why he said: “is it possible that I simply passed by this place without stopping to offer up a prayer?” He therefore decided to retrace his steps after coming to Charan, and to go back as far as Beyt El to offer a prayer there. In response to Yaakov’s determination to do so, G-d folded the earth beneath him to expedite matters. What this meant in practice was that the town known as Luz was transported to the vicinity of Charan, saving him many days of walking. G-d’s motivation was that the prayer of a righteous person such as Yaakov should preferably be said in a Temple or other sacred site. As a result, the mountain of Moriah was immediately uprooted and removed as far as Charan. After having prayed there Yaakov continued on his way. When G-d saw that, He said: seeing that this righteous person has taken so much trouble to come to My residence, how can I allow him not to have shelter for the night? This is why He arranged for the sun to set prematurely so that Yaakov would spend the night there. During that night he dreamt the dream reported in detail in our chapter where it became clear to him that the place he had slept was destined to become a Temple in the future. Realising that this was the meaning of the dream, he called the site “house of G-d,” renaming the town of Luz to be known as Beyt El. (House of G-d). This is the meaning of the line: “he called that site Beyt El, the site being that which had previously been known as the town of Luz. The stone which had served as Yaakov’s “pillow,” which had come from Mount Moriah, remained at that site. Yaakov anointed it with oil as a symbol of its future significance. As soon as he had done this, he proceeded on his trek to Charan. It would be wrong to understand the verse as meaning that Yaakov arose in the morning in the town of Charan. This is clear from the Torah telling us in 19,1 that Yaakov then set out in the direction of the people residing in the land of the Orientals. When he met the shepherds huddled around the well he asked them where their home was and they told him that their home was Charan. When Yaakov, 20 years later, was on the way from Lavan to the land of Canaan, he passed this location and he named the site Beyt El and erected a monument at the site. (Genesis 35,7, and 15)[This is a unique exegesis, as, normally, Yaakov is understood as having had to return to that site after having already settled in the land of Canaan and having overlooked his promise to erect a Temple at that site so that G-d had to remind him. (compare chapter 33,18 30) Ed.] וזה שער השמים, “and this is the gateway to heaven.” According to Rashi, Yaakov referred to the Temple in heaven which is understood to be “opposite” the terrestrial Temple. If, you the reader were to ask how it is possible that the Temple in heaven is opposite that on earth, seeing that the site of that Temple had been moved by G-d, as we have explained? The answer is that it had been moved to be next to Yaakov. When Yaakov had traveled, the site of the terrestrial Temple had always moved with him, as the miracle had been performed for him and not for a piece of earth.

וזה שער השמים, “and this must be the gate to heaven.” The expression זה occurs three times in this verse. Bereshit Rabbah 69,7 therefore claims that G’d showed Yaakov a Temple built and destroyed; when Yaakov saw the Temple built, he exclaimed: “how awesome is this place!” When he was shown the Temple ruined, he exclaimed אין זה, “this cannot be!” When he was finally shown the Temple rebuilt, he exclaimed “this must be the gateway to heaven.” According to this version of the Midrash G’d showed Yaakov only two Temples. It is possible to explain our verse in a manner which shows that it contains allusions to all three Temples. It is a well known fact that the word זה on occasion serves as an allusion to G’d, such as in Exodus 15,2 זה אלי ואנוהו, ”this is my G’d and I want to glorify Him.” When Yaakov said “מה נורה המקום הזה, “how awesome is this place,” he referred to the first Temple which was a home for G’d’s Presence, for the שכינה. When he exclaimed אין זה he referred to the second Temple which did not house G’d’s presence seeing that such symbols of G’d’s Presence as the Holy Ark, the cherubs, the Urim Vatumim in the High Priest’s breastplate, etc, were all lacking. We have this information on the authority of the prophet Chagai who wrote in Chagai 1,8 וארצה בו ואכבדה, and the word ואכבדה is spelled defective, the last letter being missing. Since the last letter was the letter ה, this was an allusion to five important ingredients which were absent in the second Temple. Both the heavenly fire which consumed the sacrifices and the שכינה were also missing. When Yaakov was shown the third Temple he exclaimed וזה שער השמים, “and this finally is the gateway to heaven.” The reason he chose the word שמים when referring to the third Temple is that we have a tradition that the reason the first two Temples were destroyed is that they were built by mortal man. Seeing that the third Temple will be built by G’d Himself, there is no need to worry about it being destroyed, ever. This is the mystical dimension of the words ישכון לבטח עליו, “He will reside upon it in safety.” When Moses (Deut. 33,12) blessed the tribe of Binyamin in whose territory the Temple will be built, he alluded to all three Temples. The words ישכון לבטח עליו refer to the first Temple seeing that G‘d’s presence which is referred to as ידיד ה' will reside there. The words חופף עליו כל היום, ”He hovers over it all day long,” refer to the second Temple. Finally, the words ובין כתיפיו שכן, “and He will rest between its shoulders,” refer to the third Temple. You will find that in Nazir 32 the words היכל ה' היכל ה', היכל ה' המה (Jeremiah 7,4) are understood as referring to the three Temples. If there had to be three Temples, this is proof that the first two were going to be destroyed. [Jeremiah’s words in that chapter were spoken some time before the destruction of the first Temple. Ed.] You will note from the plural המה in that verse that the people who spoke these words, and whom the prophet quotes sarcastically, must have made a Freudian slip when they said this word, not being aware that they referred to two Temples that were going to be destroyed. The word המה has been used to describe something permanent in Ezekiel 10,20 when the prophet describes ואדע כי ככרובים המה, “and I realised that they were cherubs.” Similarly, we find this expression used to describe something enduring in Psalms 25,6 כי מעולם המה, “for they are as old as time.” Our sages, commenting on Exodus 27,20 כתית למאור, ”pounded for illumination,” say that whereas the first Temple stood for 410 years and the second Temple stood for 420 years the combined total being 830 years, this total is reflected in the numerical value of the letters in the word כתית. The expression כתית pounded, crushed, expressed the fate in store for the first two Temples. Concerning the third Temple, however, the verse in Exodus 27,20 continues with the word להעלות נר תמיד, “to provide eternal light.” There is a Midrash in Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer, 35 referring to the words: וזה שער השמים, “and this is the gateway to heaven.” According to this Midrash we learn from this verse that when one prays in Jerusalem one is as if praying opposite the gateway to the celestial Sanctuary, to the throne of G’d’s glory. The meaning of the Midrash is that from Jerusalem, the gateway to heaven, prayers ascend to their ultimate destination.

אין זה כי אם בית אלוקים, וזה שער השמים, “this must be the House of G’d, and at the same time the gateway to heaven.” This is a reference to the eventual Temple, the site from which the prayers of mankind will ascend to heaven without making any detours. The reason why prayers ascend more swiftly towards heaven from here, is the fact that they accompany the fragrance of the smoke of the various sacrifices. Rashi explains that according to the view of Rabbi Yossi ben Zimra, the feet of the ladder were standing in Beer Sheva, whereas its head was above Bet El, whereas the middle point of its slope was directly above the site that would become the site of the Temple. When Yaakov eventually returned to the land of Israel, and he remembered that he had not prayed at that site, he retraced his steps as far as Bet El to make up for that failure. The site of the Temple, Mount Moriah “jumped” to meet him. This is what our sages described as קפיצת הארץ, “a jump by the earth.” (a contraction of the earth’s surface) Nachmanides queries that the Talmud Sanhedrin 95 appears to attribute the earth’s “jump” both to Eliezer and to Yaakov, seeing we are told there that there were three individuals for whose benefit the earth’s surface contracted in such a manner, the three being Eliezer, Yaakov, and Avishai. The meaning is not that the earth repeatedly jumped to yet another location, but that just as it had accommodated Eliezer, whose purpose had been lofty, so it accommodated, facilitated Yaakov’s journey. Yaakov, being angry at himself for passing a holy site without offering a prayer there, set out to retrace his steps to make up for his omission. Before he could do so, the earth moved in his direction to forestall his having to turn back. Nachmanides speculates that although, apparently there is a divergence of opinions as to where precisely the feet of the ladder in Yaakov’s dream were anchored, it is possible that all the sages agree that Yaakov experienced three occasions when the earth contracted to enable him to fulfill a meritorious deed more easily. The three occasions were: when he went from Beer Sheva to Charan and wanted to turn back in order to pray at Chevron where his fathers had prayed. Similarly, on his return from Charan. to Mount Moriah, and his return from there back to Charan after having prayed there. [the speculative nature of how to reconcile conflicting interpretations is due to the apparent contradiction of where precisely Yaakov spent that night, seeing that the text speaks of Luz, i.e. Beyt El, neither of which can be identified with Moriah.

Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone that he had set as his supports and set it up as a pillar, and poured oil upon its top.

AND HE SET IT UP FOR A PILLAR. Our Rabbis have explained the difference between a pillar and an altar by saying that a pillar consists of one stone while an altar is composed of many stones. It further appears that a pillar is made for pouring libations of wine upon it and for the pouring of oil upon it, but not for sacrifices and not for offerings, whereas an altar is for bringing Burnt-offerings and Peace-offerings thereon. When Israel entered the Land, the pillar was prohibited to them because the Canaanites had established it as an ordinance of an idolatrous character to a greater extent than the altars. Even though it is written concerning the altars, Ye shall break down their altars, [since the altars were not as prevalent as pillars among the Canaanites, He did not prohibit the Israelites from making their own altars]. It may be that He did not want to prohibit all sacrifices, and so He retained the altar as fit for libations and sacrifices.

"And he poured oil on its top" — in order to recognize it upon his return.

וישם אותה מצבה, he sanctified it as an altar which he would erect on his return from Charan. The Torah testifies in Genesis 35,14 that this is indeed what Yaakov did on his way home to the land of Canaan. ויצב יעקב מצבה במקום אשר דבר “Yaakov established an altar on the site where he had said.”

ויקח את האבן, “he took the stone;” according to the sages in Pirkey de rabbi Eliezer, chapter 35, this stone was the one known in later generations as the even shetiyah’ symbolising the navel of the globe a mystical stone at the site where the Holy Ark had stood in the Holy of Holies during the first Temple. This stone, if removed, would expose a hole going down to the center of the earth. It is supposed to have served G-d as the first piece of solid material of what would be the globe on which we live. ויצק שמן על ראשה, “he poured some oil on top of it;” he anointed it in order to make it suitable to serve as an altar for sacrifices when he would return from Padan Arom. We know that later on when the Jewish people built a Tabernacle in the desert in Moses’ time, every vessel that was used in that Temple had to be anointed with a special type of oil in order to qualify for such use. (Numbers 7,1) When G-d told Yaakov to return to this site in Genesis 31,13, He made reference to Yaakov having already anointed this stone when he was fleeing from Esau. An alternate exegesis: he poured oil on this stone as a mark by which to recognise this stone on his return when he would fulfill his vow to make it part of a Temple. (Ibn Ezra)

וישם אותה מצבה, “he set it up as a pillar.” He did not erect this pillar at the site where he slept, i.e. Beer Sheva, but at Bet El which is Jerusalem, the site where the ladder’s top reached Heaven. ויצק שמן על ראשה, “he poured oil on its top.” The act of either pouring oil or wine on a pillar is equivalent to offering a sacrifice on the altar. Rabbi Saadyah Gaon writes that the reason for Yaakov pouring oil on this pillar was in order for him to be able to identify this particular stone pillar so that in the future he could separate it from other adjoining stones. Seeing that oil remains visible for a long time, he would in due course be able to make an altar of it. Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 35 adds that when Yaakov returned to gather up the stones which had formed his “pillow,” he found that they had all merged into a single stone. Upon seeing this he poured oil on that stone, the oil being provided by heaven. The Midrash derives this from the words in our verse “he poured oil on its head” [instead of “on their heads”, seeing that the Torah had described Yaakov as taking “from the stones” pl). when he lay down to sleep. When G’d observed Yaakov doing what he did, He dipped the right leg of that stone into the deep recesses of the earth, תהום, linking it to the very core of the earth. He made a wedge of this stone much as a person who places a wedge in an arch. This is why the foundation of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was known as אבן שתיה, the stone the whole universe is supported by. It is part of the “navel” of the earth. From that place the earth “opened up” and the Sanctuary was erected on that site. This is precisely what Yaakov had in mind when he predicted that “this stone will become the House of the Lord.” Having anointed the stone with “miracle” oil, Yaakov proceeded to Charan and covered the distance instantly.

ויקח את האבן אשר שם מראשותיו, “He took the stone which he had made into a pillow for his head.” This was in spite of what we learned in Zevachim 116 that it is forbidden to construct an altar made of matter which has already been used secularly. When it concerns a new structure that one built oneself for the purpose, it is acceptable for a layman to do so.

And he called the name of that place Beth-el; but Luz was the name of the city at first.

ואולם לוז שם העיר לראשונה, “however, the name of the town was Luz, originally. The town was now renamed (probably at the time when the Jewish people conquered that region) on account of the important historical figure Yaakov who had spent the night outside it.

ואולם לוז שם העיר לראשונה, “however, the name of this town used to be Luz.” The place they called Bet El at that time is Jerusalem now. Why did the Torah bother to tell us that at a still earlier point in history the town had been known as Luz? What benefit do we derive from such information? Perhaps the Torah wanted to hint that the name Luz had been the starting point of the earth rejuvenating itself. It was the site at which earth first started to develop into the globe as we know it. The words לוז השדרה, (Vayikra Rabbah 18,1) mean the place in the spine from which the tissue is able to regenerate itself at the time of the resurrection. Just as the coming into existence of the physical universe out of nothing was something miraculous, so the resurrection when it occurs will be a miracle of similar dimensions. King David had already alluded to this phenomenon when he described the creation of soul, body as well as the eventual resurrection as originating in the “centre” called Zion. He phrased it thus in Psalms 3, 1-3: אל אלוקים ה' דבר, ויקרא ארץ ממזרח שמש עד מבואו. מציון מכלל יופי אלוקים הופיע. “G’d the Lord spoke and summoned the world from east to west. From Zion, perfect in beauty, G’d appeared.”

Jacob made a vow, saying: If the Word of Hashem will be with me as my support, and will guard me on this journey that I am going, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

אם יהיה אלהים עמדי IF GOD WILL BE WITH ME — if He will keep for me these promises which He has made me that He would be with me, even as He said to me (v. 15), “Behold, I am with thee” (Genesis Rabbah 70:4), ושמרני AND IF HE WILL KEEP ME — even as He said to me (v. 15) “And I will keep thee whithersoever thou goest”, (Genesis Rabbah 70:4) ונתן לי לחם לאכול AND IF HE WILL GIVE ME BREAD TO EAT — even as He said (v. 15) “For I will not forsake thee” (Genesis Rabbah 70:4), — for one who has to beg his bread is called “forsaken”, as it is said (Psalms 37:25) “I have not seen the righteous forsaken and his seed begging bread”.

IF (‘IM’) G-D WILL BE WITH ME. Rashi comments: “If He will keep for me these promises which He made to me.” The reason for the condition is lest the sin cause the abrogation of the promises. And so the Rabbis said in Bereshith Rabbah,5576:2. “Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Acha, ‘And behold, I am with thee, here. and yet it is written, If G-d will be with me! However, from here you infer that there is no assurance to the righteous in this world.’”In line with the simple meaning of Scripture it is further possible that the word im does not indicate a doubt in the matter, but such is the way of Scripture when referring to future events, such as: until ‘im asithi’ (I have done). here. And so also: ‘Ve’im’ there shall be the jubilee of the children of Israel. In all these cases it means if there will come a time when the condition is satisfied, then the deed will be fulfilled, that is to say, ve’im does not mean “if it occurs,” but rather “when it occurs.”

אם יהיה אלוקים עמדי, to remove from me all the pressures which I am under, pressures which prevent man from giving his attention to matters which should receive his attention, i.e. to G’d and what He expects from man. What troubled Yaakov was what our sages in Eyruvin 41 described as the three problems which are liable to unbalance someone’s mind as well as his relationship to his Creator. They are: gentiles, being involved personally in natural disasters, and excessive poverty. ושמרני, from wicked gentiles who would force him to change his lifestyle; ונתן לי לחם לאכול, so that I will not be forced to violate both my own integrity and that ordained for me by my Maker.

וידור יעקב נדר לאמור. Jacob made a vow saying. The word לאמר is to remind us that unless a vow has been verbalised it is not valid. Mere good intentions do not rate as a vow. אם יהיה אלוקים עמדי, "If the Lord will be with me, etc." The word אם in this case is not to be understood as something conditional but is similar to the אם כפר יושת עליו in Exodus 21,30, or the אם in Exodus 22,24: אם כסף תלוה את עמי. In both those instances the meaning is "when," i.e. something that will definitely occur (compare Baba Kama 4,5 and Mechilta on Parshat Yitro) Jacob also included the attribute of Justice in his vow. So far G'd had spoken to him only in His capacity as Hashem, the attribute of Mercy. He undertook to tithe his acquisitions provided that also the attribute of Justice would prove to be with him. This is why he chose the expression אלוקים and not השם when formulating his vow.

וידר יעקב נדר, “Yaakov made a vow;” if you were to ask that according to the Talmud in Chulin, 2 (based on Kohelet 5,4) that it is better not to make any vows than to make vows and not pay them on time, so why did Yaakov make such a vow? The word: לאמור which follows the quote above was added in the Torah to show that Yaakov, who was in dire circumstances, made the vow due to his desperate situation; we are to learn from this that in such circumstances G-d even welcomes a vow, as it is proof that the person making it has turned to Him for help. אם יהיה אלוקים עמדי, “if G’d will be with me;” what made him doubt that G’d would be with him? After all he was on an errant for his father to fulfill the commandment to take for himself a suitable wife? Answer: he was afraid that before being able to carry out his mission he might have become guilty of some sin so that he would forfeit that the protection that being on a mitzvah errand would normally afford him. Some commentators prefer to understand the whole verse as an oath, meaning: “I swear to do this in order that G’d will listen to my prayer. [The reason for this interpretation, I believe, is that otherwise the conditional word אם, “if” in the vow sounds as if he presented G’d with an ultimatum, that he would acknowledge G’d as his G’d only on these conditions first having been met. Ed.]

וידר יעקב נדר לאמור, “Yaakov vowed a vow, saying, etc.” Bereshit Rabbah 70,1 concentrating on the apparently extraneous word לאמור, wants to know the need for this word. The answer given is that Yaakov wanted to teach his future offspring that the time to make vows is when one finds oneself in difficulties one does not know how to extricate himself from. Although, as a general rule, the Torah frowns on the making of vows, when a person vows due to finding himself in distress this is perfectly permissible. This why David said (Psalms 119, 106) “I have sworn an oath and I mean to keep it.” ונתן לי לחם לאכול ובגד ללבוש, “and He will give me bread to eat and clothes to wear, etc.” This is what the righteous ask of G’d. They are only allowed to pray for necessities, the definition being things which a human being cannot do without. We are all aware that man has a tendency to ask for things which he could do well without and these are the very things which are liable to cause him problems, confusion, aggravations. This is why it befits a truly G’d-fearing individual to practice the advice of our sages (Avot 4,1) that the truly wealthy person is he who enjoys the portion G’d has allotted to him. Solomon expressed the same sentiment when he said (Proverbs 15,16) “better a little with fear of the Lord, than a great treasure with trouble.” Solomon immediately provides an illustration of what he means when he said in verse 17 of the same chapter: “better a meal of vegetables where there is love, than a fattened ox where there is hate.” [At this point the author sermonizes on this theme quoting various sources which all convey the same lesson. I have decided to omit this. — Ed.] The author claims that gemstones, etc. which are found only in a few places on earth are proof that one can do well without them. Had they been necesssary, G’d would have provided them in abundance. Similarly, the author distinguishes between one kind of necessity and another. Whereas a person can go for days without eating, he can only survive a relatively short time without water or other drinks. This makes water a more urgent necessity than food. Air, on the other hand, is even more critical to man’s survival than water, as one cannot even live for 10 minutes when one is deprived of air to breathe. Yaakov asked for the kind of necessities which are essential but not critical every minute of the day.

“If God will be with me, etc.” Heaven forbid to suggest that Jacob doubted God’s promise, as God had already said to him Behold, I am with you and will protect you wherever you go. Rather, the explanation of the matter is that Jacob wasn’t asking at all about physical protection, which had already been promised to him, but was now asking about protection of the soul from sin. The evidence for this is that in God’s promise it states I will protect you wherever you go, while Jacob said protect me on this path that I am going, and he should have said “protect me wherever I will go.” Also, the word anokhi [I] is entirely superfluous. The Holy One, Blessed be He said I will return you to the land, attributing the return to God, while Jacob said and I will return in peace to my father’s house, attributing the return to himself. God said to the land, while Jacob said to my father’s house. From all these differences we can learn that Jacob was only asking for protection of the soul from sin, as this is something dependent on human free will yet also requires divine assistance, as David prayed saying Turn my eyes away from seeing falsehood (Psalms 119:37). Therefore, regarding physical protection it mentions protect you wherever you go, using the word all/wherever because all paths are presumed dangerous and his travels would be many. However, the good path is only one, therefore he said protect me on this path, as if pointing with his finger to a specific path about which one would say “this is it,” and this is the path of God in Torah and commandments. For he had already said Indeed, God is in this place because from there Torah would emerge, therefore he said this as if pointing with his finger to something before him, which is the house of God from which one treads a paved path to walk in God’s ways. And since walking in the path of Torah depends on human free will, therefore he added the word anokhi saying that I am going, because the matter depends on me in conjunction with divine assistance about which he said protect me. Therefore he said I will return in peace — complete/whole from sin, and attributed the return to himself because the matter depends on his choice as mentioned. And regarding physical protection He said I will return you to the land because the Land of Israel is where God’s eyes constantly seek, therefore one needs more protection outside the Land than in it, therefore he only needed the promise that He would settle him in the Land of Israel, and upon coming to the land he would automatically be protected. But regarding protection from sin, that he should not learn from the ways of Laban — and not only Laban, for even the Canaanites dwelling in the land did not do good among their people, and there was concern he might learn from the ways of the Amorites — therefore he said to my father’s house, for then he would be saved from this concern of learning from the ways of the wicked. And he inserted a condition between these connected matters: And give me bread to eat and clothing to wear — for protection from sin means not learning from the ways of the wicked. There is also another way through which all disputes and afflictions come about, and that is wealth which blinds its owners and prevents a person from following the straight path. It was not for nothing that Solomon requested and said Give me neither poverty nor riches, but provide me with my daily bread (Proverbs 30:8). Therefore, Jacob also said that God should withhold from him gold and many pearls, but rather give him bread sufficient for eating and clothing sufficient for wearing — meaning only what is necessary and not give him excess. This explains why he mentioned to eat and to wear — for he could have simply said “give me bread and clothing.” Would you think he would wear the bread and eat the clothing, that he needed to specify bread to eat? Rather, certainly he wanted to negate by this that he should not be given bread more than necessary for his eating, and clothing more than necessary for his needs, and thus be saved from sin. Therefore, he immediately said and I will return in peace to my father’s house, for with this condition he would be able to return in peace — complete, without sin — as Rashi explained.

אם יהיה אלוקים עמדי, “if G’d will be with me, etc.” He referred to G’d’s personal promise to him that He would not become a victim of the way of the righteous who are forever fearful of not possessing sufficient merit, and therefore consider any assurance to them by G’d as only conditional, i.e. אם. [the problem in the text is how did Yaakov dare to apply the word “if” to G’d’s promise. Ed.] Another view of this line is the reason why Yaakov prefaced this line with the word אם, “if,” is not that he conditioned his continued righteous way of life on G’d’s protection, but that seeing it was based on a dream, he could not be sure that this was a divine revelation rather than wishful thinking on his part. Divine promises experienced in a dream may be just that, a dream without substance. Still another interpretation of this verse is that it was an oath. “Just as I am certain that G’d will be with me and that I will return safely to my father’s house, so I am certain that after that I will erect a house of G’d on this site.” Nachmanides states that the word אם does not necessarily have to mean a conditional “if.” An example of such a different meaning of the word אם is found in Numbers 36,4 ואם יהיה היובל לבני ישראל, where it means: “and when the Jubilee year will arrive for the Children of Israel, etc.” Yaakov refers to what he will do as soon as G’d’s promise to him has been fulfilled.

and I return in peace to my father's house — then the Word of Hashem shall be my God.

ושבתי SO THAT I RETURN — even as He said (v. 15) “I will restore thee again into this land” (Genesis Rabbah 70:4), בשלום IN PEACE, perfectly free (שלם) from sin, not having learnt evil from Laban’s ways, והיה ה' לי לאלהים AND IF THE LORD WILL BE MY GOD, in that His Name shall rest upon me from the beginning to the end: that no unworthy person shall be found in my descendants (Sifré, ואתחנן 31) — just as it is said (v. 15), “I will do that which I spake concerning thee”; and this promise He made to Abraham, as it is said (17:7) “To be a God unto thee and unto thy seed after thee”.

THEN THE ETERNAL SHALL BE MY G-D. This is not a condition, as Rashi would have it. It is rather a vow, and its purport is as follows: “If I will return to my father’s house, I will worship the proper Name of the Eternal in the Chosen Land at the location of this stone which will be for me a house of G-d, and there I will set aside the tithe.” There is in this matter a secret relating to that which the Rabbis have said: “He who dwells outside the Land of Israel is like one who has no G-d.” [Thus, according to the meaning of the above quotation, the Eternal will be Jacob’s G-d only when he returns to the Land of Israel.]

The meaning of "and Hashem will be my God" — [this refers to] that revered Name, for so it is written: "and behold Hashem stood above him" (Gen. 28:13). You will find this [discussed further] in the portion "Ve-eleh Shemot" [Exodus]. And the meaning of "shall be God's house" — a fixed place for my prayer, and to tithe from all that You give me — that is, from wealth — to give it to whoever is worthy of receiving it for the honor of Hashem. As for [the suggestion that] the Levite is the tenth [and thereby fulfills this vow] — that is homiletical, for there is nothing in the Torah requiring a person to tithe his children; only cattle, flocks, and produce are tithed.

ושבתי בשלום, from all the problems besetting man, i.e. a reference to what the Talmud had called רוח רעה. והיה ה' לי לאלוקים, then G’d will be a judge, and He can examine to see if I did not fulfill my vow to the best of my ability. The letter ו at the beginning of the word והיה, [where we would perhaps have expected Yaakov to use an ordinary future tense such as יהיה, Ed.], may be in lieu of the word הנה, meaning that Yaakov would already from now on act on the assumption that G’d would provide him with the necessities he had asked for and therefore he was willing to be judged by the attribute of Justice, not relying on the attribute of Mercy.

והיה ה׳ לי לאלוקים. "Then Hashem will be my Lord." This sounds, G'd forbid, as if until now Hashem had not been Jacob's G'd. Rashi explains that Jacob meant that G'd would not find any of his children as morally unfit. I do not know where such a thought is alluded to in Jacob's words. [actually Rashi quotes a Sifri in Parshat Va-Etchanan section 31. Ed.] Besides such a promise, i.e. that his children would be morally fit, is at best a conditional promise [seeing that the matter lies within the will-power of the children, Ed.]. When would the stone then be able to serve as a monument for this encounter Jacob experienced during his dream? The proper explanation of what Jacob said is that he was prepared to conduct himself in such a way that G'd would consent to associate His name with him even during his lifetime. He had previously done this with Abraham after the latter's death and with Isaac only after he had become blind and therefore beyond the reach of the evil urge (compare verse 13). The words לי לאלוקים are clear evidence of Jacob's intention. This was a tremendous undertaking by Jacob. You will find in Genesis 33,20 that G'd reminded him of that undertaking and that Jacob then fulfilled this vow by erecting a monument in G'd's honour.

ושבתי בשלום אל בית אבי, “and I shall return in peace to my father’s house, etc.” We notice that every detail which formed part of Yaakov’s vow and whatever he mentioned was fulfilled for him. When he asked G’d ושמרני בדרך, “and He will watch over me on the journey,” G’d most certainly watched over him and protected him. As to his request for לחם, bread or food, this was a reference to the women whom he married. The term לחם to describe someone’s wife is used by Joseph (Genesis 39,6) when he told the wife of his master Potiphar that the only thing in his household Potiphar had withheld from him was הלחם אשר הוא אוכל, “the bread which he eats.” Another instance where לחם, bread, is used to describe someone’s wife, is found in Exodus 2,2 where Yitro tells his daughters to invite Moses so that “he may eat bread.” He did not mean to invite him merely to eat bread but to let him marry one of his seven unmarried daughters. As to Yaakov’s request for clothes to wear, this was part of his wealth when he had large flocks of sheep which provided him with wool. His request to return to his father’s home safely and in good health was answered when we read in 33,18 ויבא יעקב שלם, “Yaakov arrived home safely.” As to Yaakov fulfilling his part of the bargain and making אלוקים his G’d [ to make the attribute of Justice the yardstick by which G’d would measure him; Ed.] this is referred to in the Torah in 33,20 where we read: ויקרא לו קל אלוקי ישראל, “Yaakov called G’d the G’d of Israel.”

“And the Lord will be my God.” In his vow, he accepted upon himself to serve God out of love and not out of fear, because one who serves out of fear is called a servant of Elohim — meaning they serve the attribute of judgment [associated with that name of God] from which they are afraid. Whereas one who serves out of love is called a servant of Hashem [the Tetragrammaton, associated with the attribute of mercy], for love and mercy are one and the same concept. Therefore it says And the Lord will be my Elohim. And if you wish to interpret that the [payment of the] vow begins from [the words] and this stone as Rashi explains, then he said And the Lord will be for me — meaning that He should not judge me with the attribute of justice alone, but rather combine the name of mercy with the name Elohim [judgment]. This is what it means when it says And the Lord will be my Elohim — that He should combine [the attribute of mercy] with the name Elohim, [and] then and this stone etc. And in Genesis Rabbah (70:4), it expounds “If God will be with me and protect me” as referring to protection from the four cardinal sins, which are: idolatry, sexual immorality, bloodshed, and evil speech, and they based this on scripture. It appears that this midrash also wanted to resolve this difficulty: Was Jacob really doubtful about the Holy One’s promise? Rather, since the Holy One said to him I will not abandon you until if I have done [what I promised] using the word if, it indicated as though He said “if I will do it or not do it,” and this depends on whether sin will not cause [the promise to be nullified]. Therefore, [Jacob] said “if God will be with me and protect me” from sin, and specifically mentioned these four primary categories of damage, for they were the cause of the destruction of both the First and Second Temples. Thus he said that if God protects him from these four cardinal sins, then this stone that I have set up as a monument will be God’s house. And from the positive statement, we can infer the negative — that if they do not protect themselves from these four cardinal sins, then it will not be God’s house, for it will be destroyed because of them.

והיה ה' לי לאלוקים, “the Lord will then be even my G’d as attribute of Justice.” According to Rashi, these words are a continuation of those that preceded them, i.e. the words אם יהיה אלוקים עמדי, so that Yaakov is saying that once the Lord will be his G’d in practice, having displayed His personal benevolent providence to Yaakov by extending His protection to him, he will convert this stone into a house of worship for that G’d where he will bring the tithes that he spoke about. Some commentators understand the words ושבתי בשלום אל בית אבי, “and I will return hale and hearty to my father’s house, etc.,” as the source of the halachic ruling that travelers, while engaged on their journeys, are relieved from the need to perform certain commandments that would make their getting home safely more difficult.

And this stone that I have set up as a pillar shall be one upon which I will worship before Hashem, and of all that You give me I will set apart a tenth before You.

והאבן הזאת THEN THIS STONE — This is how you should explain the ו of והאבן: if He will do these things mentioned in Genesis 28:15 as He promised, then I, also, will do this: והאבן הזאת אשר שמתי מצבה THEN THIS STONE WHICH I HAVE SET UP FOR A PILLAR etc. — Explain it as the Targum translates it: “I shall serve the Lord upon it” This, indeed, he did on his return from Padan-aram, when God said to him, (Genesis 35:1) “Arise, go up to Bethel”. What is stated there? “And Jacob set up a pillar … and he poured out a drink-offering thereon” (Genesis 35:14).

והאבן הזאת, and concerning this stone, etc. According to Zohar 1,72 the stone in question is the אבן שתיה, the stone G'd used as the foundation of the Holy Temple and which He had buried in the interval in the depths of the abyss at the "navel" of the earth. According to Tanchuma Parshat Terumah, Jacob prepared the shittim wood for the Tabernacle in the desert at this time. Perhaps this is what G'd referred to in Exodus 25,8 when He said: "They shall make for Me a Sanctuary;" G'd referred to this wood from which the Israelites were to construct this Sanctuary. When the Torah there continued: "and I shall dwell amongst them," G'd may have referred to preparations made by Jacob for both the Tabernacle and the Holy Temple.

והאבן הזאת literally: “and this stone,” but the meaning must be: “I will offer sacrifices and separate tithes on this stone (altar).” The letter ו at the beginning of the word: והאבן, appears superfluous.

עשר אעשרנו לך, “I will give two tithes of it to You.” Yaakov kept his promise to give a tithe of everything that was his, including even his children. [This has been discussed in connection with 27,19. Ed.] Our verse forms the basis of a Talmudic statement in Ketuvot 50 that even someone who dispenses charity very generously should not disburse more that one fifth of his wealth so as not to risk becoming a charge on charity himself. Yaakov serves as the example seeing he tithed 20% of his wealth.