This Must Be The Place

Vayetze

Gen. 28:10-33:3

Précis: As Jacob travels towards the household of his uncle Laban, he dreams of a ladder (some translate it as a ramp) to heaven, with angels ascending and descending. He vows to build a great House for God on the spot. Jacob meets and falls in love with Laban’s younger daughter, Rachel. Laban agrees to the match, provided that Jacob works for him for seven years. Laban switches the older daughter, Leah, for Rachel; Jacob works an additional seven years for Rachel’s hand. Jacob then works for Laban another six years, and acquires great wealth and flocks through shrewd husbandry. During the stay with Laban, most of the children of Jacob are born. At the conclusion of the parasha, after tense negotiations with Laban, Jacob leaves with his possessions and family.

Gen. 28:16 “And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.'"

As a general rule, our text specifically identifies places of importance. In the stories of the march through the Wilderness following the Exodus from Egypt, it seems that every place or area is identified and often re-identified. In last week’s reading, Isaac names every place where he digs wells which Abraham had previously dug. In the cited verse above, “the place” (in Hebrew, “hamakom”) is left unnamed. This is despite rabbinic tradition that it is the same place where God made the original Covenant with Abraham and with Isaac, and now again with Jacob.

            When a location is important in our text, it is often given a name which connects to the experience there. Why is this not the case with the current situation, where it remains simple “the place?”

            A variety of answers are offered by the Sages. Some suggest that “the place” is a location for prayer, since one of God’s names is “HaMakom.” Others suggest that the name is left out so that we concentrate on what events occurred there. In other words, “the place” refers not to a location but to the experience which happens there. Jacob did not intend to stop at a particular place, but he stopped, slept, and unexpectedly dreamed.

            Jacobs realizes that God was there, but that he had failed to know it. At times, some of our most significant experiences are spontaneous and unexpected. This may arise when we have a religious encounter, a moment of true kavanah. Our text is asking us to be open to such occurrences, and to appreciate God’s presence in our lives. Be ready for the transcendent moment when (or where) we least expect it.