Vayetze - in Classical Rabbinic Interpretation - Genesis Chapter 28

Genesis Chapter 28

Rabbi Judan taught in Rabbi Aibu's name that the words, “the righteous comes out of trouble,” in Proverbs 12:13 allude to Jacob, as Genesis 28:10 reports, “And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba” (and away from Esau, who sought to kill him).

A Midrash noted that Genesis 24:10 reports that Abraham sent Eliezer to woo Rebekah with ten camels and “having all goodly things of his master's in his hand,” but Jacob traveled to Haran without a single ring or bracelet. Rabbi Haninah taught that Isaac sent Jacob away empty-handed. Rabbi Joshua, however, taught that Isaac sent Jacob well provided, but Esau arose and stripped him of all he had. The Midrash taught that Jacob then thought to himself that he would not lose confidence in God, for as Psalm 121:2 teaches, his help would come from God. As Psalm 121:3 teaches, God would not suffer his foot to be moved (לַמּוֹט, la-mot) and the Midrash taught that this meant that God would not allow Jacob to die (la-mayt). As Psalm 121:7 teaches, God would keep him from all evil, and thus from the evil Esau and Laban. And Psalm 121:8 teaches, God would guard his going out, and thus as Genesis 28:10 reports, “Jacob went out from Beer-sheba.”

Hezekiah taught that Jacob was 63 years old when Isaac blessed him (as a Baraita taught), and Jacob spent another 14 years secluded in the Land of Israel studying under Eber and a further 7 years working for the Matriarchs. Thus he married at the age of 84, whereas Esau married at the age of 40 (as Genesis 26:34 reports). Thus we learn that God hastens the happiness of the wicked and delays that of the righteous.

Rabbi Hoshaya noted that Genesis 28:7 already stated, "And Jacob hearkened to his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-aram," and thus Rabbi Hoshaya asked why Genesis 28:10 says, "and Jacob went out from Beer-sheba." Rabbi Hoshaya taught that Jacob reasoned that when his father desired to emigrate from the Land of Israel, he first sought permission at Beer-sheba, so Jacob too went to Beer-sheba to seek God's permission.

Rabbi Judan and Rav Huna commented on why Genesis 28:10 says, "and Jacob went out from Beer-sheba." Rabbi Judan taught that it means that Jacob sought to leave "out of the well of the oath." (Be'er, בְּאֵר, means "well." And Rabbi Judan connected Sheba, שָׁבַע, with shevuah, שְּׁבֻעָה, which means "oath," as in the oath that Genesis 21:31 reports Abraham and Abimelech swore to each other.) Rabbi Judan taught that Jacob reasoned that he did not want Abimelech to demand that Jacob swear to Abimelech (a commitment of nonaggression) as Jacob's grandfather Abraham swore to him, and so delay Jacob's descendants from entering the Land of Israel for seven generations. (As a result of Abraham's oath to Abimelech, seven generations — from Abraham to Joshua — passed before the Israelites entered the Land of Israel. Thus to avoid another seven generations of delay, Jacob went "out of the well of the oath" to evade a further commitment of nonaggression.) Rav Huna taught that the words of Genesis 28:10 mean "out of the well of the birthright." Rav Huna taught that Jacob reasoned that he did not wish to allow Esau to rise up against him and assert that Jacob had cheated him by taking his birthright, and thus lose the advantage of Esau's oath (when Esau conveyed his birthright in Genesis 25:33). Rabbi Berekiah taught that the words of Genesis 28:10 mean "out of the well of the blessings." Rabbi Berekiah taught that Jacob reasoned that he did not want Esau to rise up against him and assert that Jacob had cheated Jacob by taking Esau's blessings, and so frustrate his mother Rebekah's labors on his behalf.

Our Rabbis taught that Jacob reached Haran on that same day as Genesis 28:10 reports that he "went toward Haran." Rabbi Berekiah said in Rabbi Isaac's name, however, that Genesis 28:10 merely speaks as people do colloquially when they say, "So-and-so has gone to Caesarea," when in fact So-and-so has not actually arrived in Caesarea. (Similarly, here Genesis 28:10 does not mean that Jacob reached Haran on the same day that he set out.)

Once in the meat market of Emmaus, Rabbi Akiba asked Rabban Gamaliel and Rabbi Joshua about the words of Genesis 32:32, “And the sun rose on him,” inquiring whether the sun rose on only him and not on everyone. Rabbi Isaac said that it meant that the sun which had set early for his sake now rose early for him. Rabbi Isaac noted that Genesis 28:10 reports that Jacob left Beersheba in the south of the Land of Israel and went toward Haran north of the Land, and Genesis 28:11 reports that “he lighted upon the place” identified (in Genesis 28:10–22) as Bethel in the center of the Land. Rabbi Isaac explained that when he reached Haran, he asked himself how he could have passed through the place where his fathers had prayed and not have prayed there too. So Rabbi Isaac deduced that he immediately resolved to turn back, and as soon he did, the earth contracted and he immediately “lighted upon the place.” After he prayed, he sought to return to Haran, but God chose to give this righteous man a night’s rest and immediately (as Genesis 28:11 reports) “the sun was set.”

Reading the words, “And he lighted upon the place,” in Genesis 28:11 to mean, “And he met the Divine Presence (Shechinah)” Rav Huna asked in Rabbi Ammi's name why Genesis 28:11 assigns to God the name “the Place.” Rav Huna explained that it is because God is the Place of the world (the world is contained in God, and not God in the world). Rabbi Jose ben Halafta taught that we do not know whether God is the place of God’s world or whether God’s world is God’s place, but from Exodus 33:21, which says, “Behold, there is a place with Me,” it follows that God is the place of God’s world, but God’s world is not God’s place. Rabbi Isaac taught that reading Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is a dwelling place,” one cannot know whether God is the dwelling-place of God’s world or whether God’s world is God’s dwelling-place. But reading Psalm 90:1, “Lord, You have been our dwelling-place,” it follows that God is the dwelling-place of God’s world, but God’s world is not God’s dwelling-place. And Rabbi Abba ben Judan taught that God is like a warrior riding a horse with the warrior’s robes flowing over on both sides of the horse. The horse is subsidiary to the rider, but the rider is not subsidiary to the horse. Thus Habakkuk 3:8 says, “You ride upon Your horses, upon Your chariots of victory.”

The Gemara noted that Genesis 28:11 reports that “he took of the stones of the place” (in the plural) but Genesis 28:18 reports that “he took the stone” (in the singular). Rabbi Isaac deduced that all the stones gathered themselves together into the same place so as to be the stone upon which this righteous man would rest his head, and as a Tanna taught in a Baraita, all the stones merged into one.

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi (according to the Jerusalem Talmud and Genesis Rabbah) or a Baraita in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yose the son of Rabbi Haninah (according to the Babylonian Talmud) said that the three daily prayers derived from the Patriarchs, and cited Genesis 28:11 for the proposition that Jews derived the evening prayer from Jacob, arguing that within the meaning of Genesis 28:11, “came upon” (וַיִּפְגַּע, vayifga) meant “pray,” just as a similar word (יִפְגְּעוּ, yifge’u) did in Jeremiah 27:18 (according to the Jerusalem Talmud) or another similar word (תִּפְגַּע, tifga) did in Jeremiah 7:16 (according to the Babylonian Talmud and Genesis Rabbah).

Bar Kappara taught that every dream has its interpretation. The “ladder” in Genesis 28:12 symbolizes the stairway leading up to the altar in the Temple in Jerusalem. “Set upon the earth” implies the altar, as Exodus 20:20 (20:21 in NJPS) says, “An altar of earth you shall make for Me.” “And the top of it reached to heaven” implies the sacrifices, the odor of which ascended to heaven. “The angels of God” symbolize the High Priests. “Ascending and descending on it” describes the priests ascending and descending the stairway of the altar. And the words “and, behold, the Lord stood beside him” in Genesis 28:13 once again invoke the altar, as in Amos 9:1, the prophet reports, “I saw the Lord standing beside the altar.”

The Rabbis related Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28:12–13 to Sinai. The “ladder” symbolizes Mount Sinai. That the ladder is “set upon (מֻצָּב, mutzav) the earth” recalls Exodus 19:17, which says, “And they stood (וַיִּתְיַצְּבוּ, vayityatzvu) at the nether part of the mount.” The words of Genesis 28:12, “and the top of it reached to heaven,” echo those of Deuteronomy 4:11, “And the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven.” “And behold the angels of God” alludes to Moses and Aaron. “Ascending” parallels Exodus 19:3: “And Moses went up to God.” “And descending” parallels Exodus 19:14: “And Moses went down from the mount.” And the words “and, behold, the Lord stood beside him” in Genesis 28:13 parallel the words of Exodus 19:20: “And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai.”

Interpreting Jacob’s dream of a ladder in Genesis 28:12, a Tanna taught that the width of the ladder was 8,000 parasangs (perhaps 24,000 miles). The Tanna noted that Genesis 28:12 reports “the angels of God ascending and descending on it,” and thus deduced from the plural that at least two angels were ascending and two descending, and when they came to the same place on the ladder, there were four angels abreast. And Daniel 10:6 reports of an angel that “His body was like the Tarshish,” and by tradition the sea of Tarshish is 2,000 parasangs long.

A Midrash taught that those angels who escort a person in the Land of Israel do not escort that person outside of the Land. Thus “the angels of God ascending” in Genesis 28:12 refers to those who had escorted Jacob in the Land of Israel (who were then returning to heaven) while “descending” refers to those who were to escort him outside of the Land.

A Tanna taught that the angels ascended to look at the sight of Jacob above and descended to look at the sight below, and they wished to hurt him, and thus immediately (as Genesis 28:13 reports) “the Lord stood beside him.” Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish said that were it not expressly stated in the Scripture, we would not dare to say it, but God is made to appear like a man who fans his son to protect him from the heat.

Rabbi Johanan taught that the wicked stand over their gods, as Genesis 41:1 says, “And Pharaoh dreamed, and, behold, he stood over the river.” (The Egyptians worshiped the Nile as a god.) But God stands over them, as Genesis 28:13 says, “and, behold, the Lord stood over him.” (Thus, idolaters must stand over and protect their idols, but God protects God’s people.)

The Gemara asked what the significance was of God’s promise in Genesis 28:13 to give Jacob “the land on which you lie,” which would have been about 6 feet of land. Rabbi Isaac deduced that God rolled up the whole Land of Israel and put it under Jacob, thus indicating that his descendants would easily conquer it.

Rabbi Judan said that Jacob declared that Isaac blessed him with five blessings, and God correspondingly appeared five times to Jacob and blessed him (Genesis 28:13–15, 31:3, 31:11–13, 35:1, and 35:9–12). And thus, in Genesis 46:1, Jacob “offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac,” and not to the God of Abraham and Isaac. Rabbi Judan also said that Jacob wanted to thank God for permitting Jacob to see the fulfillment of those blessings. And the blessing that was fulfilled was that of Genesis 27:29, “Let people serve you, and nations bow down to you,” which was fulfilled with regard to Joseph. (And thus Jacob mentioned Isaac then on going down to witness Joseph's greatness.)

Rabbi Akiva taught that for Jacob’s sake God divided the sea for Jacob’s descendants, for in Genesis 28:14, God told Jacob, “You shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east.”

The Rabbis taught that God’s promise in Genesis 28:15, “and, behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go,” answered all of Jacob’s requests, except that for sustenance. Jacob prayed in Genesis 28:20, “If God will be with me,” and God assured Jacob, “Behold, I am with you.” Jacob prayed, “And will keep me,” and God assured Jacob, “And I will keep you.” Jacob prayed, “In this way that I go,” and God assured Jacob, “wherever you go.” Jacob prayed in Genesis 28:21, “So that I come back to my father's house in peace,” and God assured Jacob, “and will bring you back.” But the Rabbis taught that God did not answer Jacob’s request for sustenance. Rabbi Assi, however, taught that God answered Jacob’s request for sustenance, too, for in Genesis 28:15, God says, “for I will not forsake you,” and forsaking applies to sustenance, as in Psalm 37:25,, “Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”

Rabbi Jacob bar Idi pointed out a contradiction between God’s promise to protect Jacob in Genesis 28:15 and Jacob’s fear in Genesis 32:8; Rabbi Jacob explained that Jacob feared that some sin might cause him to lose the protection of God's promise.

Reading the words “and Jacob vowed a vow” in Genesis 28:20, a Midrash taught that of four who made vows, two vowed and profited, and two vowed and lost. The Israelites vowed and profited in Numbers 21:2–3, and Hannah vowed and profited in 1 Samuel 1:11–20. Jephthah vowed and lost in Judges 11:30–40, and Jacob vowed in Genesis 28:20 and lost (some say in the loss of Rachel in Genesis 35:18 and some say in the disgrace of Dinah in Genesis 34:2, for Jacob’s vow in Genesis 28:20 was superfluous, as Jacob had already received God's promise, and therefore Jacob lost because of it).

Reading the words, “love the stranger, in giving him food and clothing,” in Deuteronomy 10:18, Akilas the proselyte asked Rabbi Eliezer whether food and clothing constituted all the benefit of conversion to Judaism. Rabbi Eliezer replied that food and clothing are no small things, for in Genesis 28:20, Jacob prayed to God for “bread to eat, and clothing to put on,” while God comes and offers it to the convert on a platter. Akilas then visited Rabbi Joshua, who taught that “bread” refers to the Torah (as in Proverbs 9:5, Wisdom — the Torah — says, “Come, eat of my bread”) while “clothing” means the Torah scholar’s cloak. A person privileged to study the Torah is thus privileged to perform God's precepts. Moreover, converts’ daughters could marry into the priesthood, so that their descendants could offer burnt-offerings on the altar. The Midrash offered another interpretation: “Bread” refers to the showbread, while “clothing” refers to the priestly vestments. The Midrash offered yet another interpretation: “Bread” refers to challah, while “clothing” refers to the first shearings of the sheep, both of which belong to the priests.

The Tosefta deduced from Genesis 28:21 that Jacob spoke as if God was not Jacob’s God when Jacob was not in the land of Canaan.

Rabbi Ilai taught that the Sages ordained at Usha that if a person wishes to give charity liberally, the person should not give away more than a fifth of the person’s wealth. Rav Nahman (or some say Rav Aha bar Jacob) cited Genesis 28:22 as proof for the proposition, as in the words “And of all that You shall give me, I will surely give a tenth to You,” repetition of the verb “to give a tenth” or “tithe” implies two tenths or one fifth. The Gemara did the math and questioned whether the second tenth would not be less than the first tenth, as it would be taken from the nine-tenths that remained after the first tenth had been given away and thereby represented only 1/10 x 9/10 = 9/100 of the original capital. Rav Ashi replied that the words “I will . . . give a tenth of it” in Genesis 28:22 implied that he would make the second like the first.

Rabbi Berekiah and Rabbi Ahi taught in the name of Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani that Jacob would not have told God, “of all that You shall give me, I will surely give a tenth to You,” in Genesis 28:22 unless God had already offered Jacob, “Ask what I shall give you,” as God offered Solomon in 1 Kings 3:5. Rabbi Jonathan taught that God invited three people to ask what God could give them: Solomon in 1 Kings 3:5, Ahaz in Isaiah 7:11,, and the Messiah in Psalm 2:8. Rabbi Berekiah and Rabbi Ahi in the name of Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani cited two more: Abraham in Genesis 15:2 and Jacob in Genesis 28:22, teaching that neither Patriarch would have asked God unless God had first offered to give them what they asked.