Shabbat Parashat Vayeitzei - 5781

Shabbat Parashat Vayeitzei - 5781

Rabbi Hal Miller

  And Yaakov departed from Beersheva and went to Charan. He encountered

  the place and spent the night there because the sun had set. [Bereishit 28:10-11]

  And he called the name of that place Beit El, however Luz was the city's name

  originally. [Bereishit 28:19]

The Torah makes a lot of references to places here. If it has to tell us that Yaakov

went to Charan, why does it also tell us that he departed Beersheva? If he was

already in Beersheva, that would seem obvious. It then tells us that he reached

"the place", and later that "the name of that place was Beit Eil", but also it gives

us the previous name. What are we supposed to learn from all this?

Rashi answers the first question, saying that "the departure of a righteous person

from a place makes an impression, for at the time that a righteous person is in a

city, he is its grandeur." Although Rashi does not mention it here, we could apply

the same logic to Lot having to leave Sdom before the destruction of that city.

Radak thinks this is a normal thing, "It is the custom of Scripture to first tell us the

beginning and the end of something before elaborating on what occurred in the

interval." Beis HaLevi finds a lesson in this occurrence, "There are two motivations

for relocating, wanting to leave one location, and wanting to be in the other. The

Torah is telling us that both applied here." Rav Moshe Feinstein tells us that the

motivation for Yaakov to serve God was the same at the beginning of this trip as

at the end.

"The place", according to Rashi, is the one mentioned previously in 22:4, "and he

perceived the place from afar", referring to Mt. Moriah. Radak thinks it is merely

a spot where people traveling from Beersheva usually spend a night, being the

distance from the starting point that is usual for a day's travel. Onkelos says, "he

happened upon the place", which sounds like chance and would indicate a

difference of opinion with Radak. Saadiah Gaon combines these, "he happened

upon the chosen place", but Saadiah seems to indicate that 'chosen' was not by

travelers, rather by God.

Shemos Rabbah and the Gemora [Berachos 26b] differ with the understanding

that Yaakov "encountered' or "happened upon", and instead interpret it as Yaakov

prayed at the place.

Regarding the name of Luz, Rashbam says the Torah is reporting the name of the

nearest town, and that it got dark before Yaakov could reach there. Rav Hirsch

finds more purpose to the verse. This place is the most important bit of real estate

in the world, but up to this point, nothing unusual had been noted about it. The name

reflects only that a hazelnut tree was growing there. Our verse is indicating that a

great event is about to occur there, for which the name Beit Eil, "House of God",

would be appropriate.