Vayeitzei: Jewish Geography

Dec 6

Original Author - Ruthie Davis, inspired by Avi Neuman, edited by the GrowTorah Summer Inchworms 2021

In Parshat Vayeitzei, with a brother plotting his murder and a father on his deathbed eager for Yaakov to find a wife in Charan, Yaakov leaves. His departure forces him into broken spaces: isolated, unknown, transitory. Nevertheless, it is in one such space that he is brought closest to Hashem.

Our parsha opens with Yaakov's journey towards Charan. On the way, he lies down, taking a rock as a pillow. Yaakov dreams there of a ladder set upon the earth with its top reaching towards the heavens. Angels are ascending and descending before him, as Hashem appears to Yaakov and promises that the land upon which he is lying will be for him and his offspring; that He will be with him and guard him wherever he goes.[1]

In coming to this vision we are told that Yaakov “encountered the place.” The passuk repeats the word “מקום” (“place”) three times:

וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם וַיָּלֶן שָׁם כִּי־בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו וַיִּשְׁכַּב בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא׃
He encountered the place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. [2]

What is it about the place that is so important? Rashi tells us that the physical space that would one day hold the Beit HaMikdash moved towards Yaakov at Beit-El.[3] Furthermore, Rashi[4] relays from the Midrash that the sun set early that day so that Yaakov would be drawn to lie down on that spot. These signs seem to signify a certain magnetism toward this particular place, but also a mutable and temporary physical world.

In a different vein, to understand what it means that Yaakov encountered the place, the commentator, the Beit Yaakov, connects it to the name of Hashem - HaMakom. Yaakov encountered “the Place”, as it were, rather than “the place”. The Beit Yaakov invokes the Midrash Rabbah, which asks why we sometimes refer to Hashem as Makom. He answers that it is because Hashem is the place of the world; it is not that the world is His place.[5]

What does it mean for Hashem to be a “Place?” The Beit Yaakov goes on to explain that Yaakov’s encounter with Makom is like the clarity of the morning light. Until it comes in, the world is a liminal mix of light, dark, and shadow; a place in which meaning is difficult to ascertain.

Then comes that moment when light begins to illuminate the day. Within that transition we experience a powerful sense, a clarity: Makom, like this light, is the most profound expression of the awe and unity of landscape, of geography, of Creation.

The groundedness and material nature of Yaakov’s concerns did not diminish the supreme spirituality of Beit-El. On the contrary, we understand that his appreciation of Hashem, of Place broadly, is tied to the specificity and site of Beit-El. He repeats “hamakom hazeh” – while “hazeh” could be superfluous, its use shows that through connecting with this place, and no other, Yaakov is made aware of the heavens, of Place, and the world.

Following his exhilarating vision, the vow Yaakov makes still binds his relationship to Hashem to the provision of simple, even mundane, needs. He cannot get lost in the wonder of Hashem’s promise; while traveling he has more pressing concerns. He says, “If Hashem will be with me and guard me on this path that I travel, and give me bread to eat and clothing to wear; and I return in peace to my father’s house, then Hashem will be a G-d to me.”[6]

The immediacy of his concerns is not a rejection of spirituality, it is a framing allowing him to trust and connect with Hashem, even beyond visions and promises. It brings Hashem down to earth, just as this place enables him to understand The Place. Though encounters like Yaakov’s with Hashem Himself are few and far between, his experience of space is something we can all appreciate. Our immediate surroundings, in their glorious specificity, are our best way of understanding, connecting with, and caring for the world at large.

After this experience, alive with a new purpose, the Torah says that Yaakov “lifted his feet.”[7] Sforno[8] tells us that this signifies his sense of purpose. Though he is originally compelled to leave, after his encounter with Hashem, Yaakov voluntarily continues on with a renewed sense of direction. He steps forward to struggle with the realities of sustenance, family, social living, and justice. Let us care for the pressing needs, let us revel in the places where we find ourselves, and through that, let us find direction in our connections with Hashem and the world at large.

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