Parashat Vayeitzei: God is In this Place

(י) וַיֵּצֵ֥א יַעֲקֹ֖ב מִבְּאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ חָרָֽנָה׃ (יא) וַיִּפְגַּ֨ע בַּמָּק֜וֹם וַיָּ֤לֶן שָׁם֙ כִּי־בָ֣א הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח֙ מֵאַבְנֵ֣י הַמָּק֔וֹם וַיָּ֖שֶׂם מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָ֑יו וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב בַּמָּק֥וֹם הַהֽוּא׃ (יב) וַֽיַּחֲלֹ֗ם וְהִנֵּ֤ה סֻלָּם֙ מֻצָּ֣ב אַ֔רְצָה וְרֹאשׁ֖וֹ מַגִּ֣יעַ הַשָּׁמָ֑יְמָה וְהִנֵּה֙ מַלְאֲכֵ֣י אֱלֹקִ֔ים עֹלִ֥ים וְיֹרְדִ֖ים בּֽוֹ׃ (יג) וְהִנֵּ֨ה ה׳ נִצָּ֣ב עָלָיו֮ וַיֹּאמַר֒ אֲנִ֣י ה׳ אֱלֹקֵי֙ אַבְרָהָ֣ם אָבִ֔יךָ וֵאלֹקֵ֖י יִצְחָ֑ק הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֤ר אַתָּה֙ שֹׁכֵ֣ב עָלֶ֔יהָ לְךָ֥ אֶתְּנֶ֖נָּה וּלְזַרְעֶֽךָ׃ (יד) וְהָיָ֤ה זַרְעֲךָ֙ כַּעֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֔רֶץ וּפָרַצְתָּ֛ יָ֥מָּה וָקֵ֖דְמָה וְצָפֹ֣נָה וָנֶ֑גְבָּה וְנִבְרְכ֥וּ בְךָ֛ כׇּל־מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָ֖ה וּבְזַרְעֶֽךָ׃ (טו) וְהִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֜י עִמָּ֗ךְ וּשְׁמַרְתִּ֙יךָ֙ בְּכֹ֣ל אֲשֶׁר־תֵּלֵ֔ךְ וַהֲשִׁ֣בֹתִ֔יךָ אֶל־הָאֲדָמָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את כִּ֚י לֹ֣א אֶֽעֱזׇבְךָ֔ עַ֚ד אֲשֶׁ֣ר אִם־עָשִׂ֔יתִי אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁר־דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי לָֽךְ׃ (טז) וַיִּיקַ֣ץ יַעֲקֹב֮ מִשְּׁנָתוֹ֒ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָכֵן֙ יֵ֣שׁ ה׳ בַּמָּק֖וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וְאָנֹכִ֖י לֹ֥א יָדָֽעְתִּי׃ (יז) וַיִּירָא֙ וַיֹּאמַ֔ר מַה־נּוֹרָ֖א הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה אֵ֣ין זֶ֗ה כִּ֚י אִם־בֵּ֣ית אֱלֹקִ֔ים וְזֶ֖ה שַׁ֥עַר הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ (יח) וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם יַעֲקֹ֜ב בַּבֹּ֗קֶר וַיִּקַּ֤ח אֶת־הָאֶ֙בֶן֙ אֲשֶׁר־שָׂ֣ם מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָ֔יו וַיָּ֥שֶׂם אֹתָ֖הּ מַצֵּבָ֑ה וַיִּצֹ֥ק שֶׁ֖מֶן עַל־רֹאשָֽׁהּ׃ (יט) וַיִּקְרָ֛א אֶת־שֵֽׁם־הַמָּק֥וֹם הַה֖וּא בֵּֽית־אֵ֑ל וְאוּלָ֛ם ל֥וּז שֵׁם־הָעִ֖יר לָרִאשֹׁנָֽה׃

Genesis 28:10-19

(10) Jacob left Beer-sheba, and set out for Haran. (11) He came upon a certain 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. (12) He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and messengers of God were going up and down on it. (13) And standing beside him was ה׳, who said, “I am ה׳, the God of your father Abraham’s [house] and the God of Isaac’s [house]: the ground on which you are lying I will assign to you and to your offspring. (14) Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants. (15) Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (16) Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely ה׳ is present in this place, and I did not know it!” (17) Shaken, he said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven.” (18) Early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. (19) He named that site Bethel; but previously the name of the city had been Luz.

רש"י על בראשית כ״ח:ט״ז:א׳

(א)ואנכי לא ידעתי. שֶׁאִם יָדַעְתִּי, לֹא יָשַׁנְתִּי בְּמָקוֹם קָדוֹשׁ כָּזֶה:

Rashi on Genesis 28:16:1

(1) 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.

אור החיים על בראשית כ״ח:ט״ז:ג׳

(ג) ואומרו יש ה׳ פי' שם הוא מקום שבו ה׳ מצוי תמיד יותר מכל המקומות, ואשר לזה רצה ה׳ לדבר אתו שם מדי עוברו שמה, ואמר ואנכי לא ידעתי קודם טעם הדבר כי אם היה יודע היה מכין עצמו לנבואה כי הנבואה צריכה הכנה כידוע. ואפשר אם היה מכין עצמו היה מתנבא בהקיץ ולא בחלום ידבר בו, ולזה מתאונן על מה שלא השכיל על דבר. ורש"י ז"ל פי' ואם ידעתי לא ישנתי במקום קדוש ע"כ. ואם לזה לבד נתכוין נאמר אליו ואם לא ישנת לא היית חולם חלום נבואיי בכל ההבטחות, ובהכרח להשלים הכוונה במה שפירשתי:

Or HaChaim on Genesis 28:16:3

(3) 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.

רש"י על בראשית כ״ח:י״א:א׳

(א)ויפגע במקום. לֹא הִזְכִּיר הַכָּתוּב בְּאֵיזֶה מָקוֹם אֶלָּא בַּמָּקוֹם – הַנִּזְכָּר בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר, הוּא הַר הַמּוֹרִיָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בּוֹ וַיַּרְא אֶת הַמָּקוֹם מֵרָחֹק:

Rashi on Genesis 28:11:1

(1) 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”.

Aviva Zornberg, The Murmuring Deep, p. 267-273

"Surely, God is in this place. And I did not know." He wakens, that is, with the deep conviction that he did not know. He has brushed against a knowledge that could only arise from the way of ignorance. In such profound shifts of experience, the revelation is the not-knowing; the sense of previous darkness itself intimates a dawning light. In a startled moment, Jacob recognizes the shape of his own ignorance: "Surely, God is in this place." Why is it so unexpected that God should be in this place? What strange beauty has just touched him?...

Mount Moriah becomes...a place in Jacob's mind, uncannily overwhelming him, just as the sudden sunset becomes his personal syncope, a kind of blackout, which moves him to a new genre of prayer - arvit - the prayer in darkness. This is the place he unwittingly bypassed on his journey: "How could I have forgotten to pray?"...

I suggest that, for Jacob, the Akedah is the unreachable place. His prayers cannot find inspiration in the thought of that terror. But, having unwittingly traveled past Mount Moriah, guilt assails him (Jacob): "How could I have passed by the place where my fathers prayed, without praying there?" He sets himself to return, and finds himself abrasively hurtling against that place, that darkness. A new prayer is born: arvit (maariv), which represents an unimaginable possibility - that divine light can be revealed in the dark. The world of darkness, of sleep and dream, of loss of consciousness, vulnerability, passivity - all this is associated with the Akedah and his father's helplessness from which he has long recoiled.

Rabbi Rachel Barenblat on Veyeitzei

How often do we have the experience of being startled out of our complacency into a sudden visceral realization that this moment, right-here-right-now, is holy? Maybe when you see a spectacular sunrise -- or witness a mighty waterfall -- or stand beneath a chuppah with your beloved to exchange vows -- or give birth to a child. And those are indeed moments when we may find ourselves especially open to connection with the Holy One of Blessing.

But it's also possible to experience God's presence in mundane moments. When you wake from a dream, eyes still gritty with sleep. When you're standing in line at the grocery checkout counter. When your child is throwing a tantrum because you didn't let them go outside in the cold without a coat on. Truly, God is in this place, and I... I tend to forget. I know that I tend to forget.

But we can always choose to remember. How would your day be different if you printed this reminder and stuck it to your computer, if you affixed it to your fridge with a magnet, if you found some way to keep reminding yourself: God is in this place. And this place. And this place. Even in our sorrows and anxiety, God is there, if we can only remind ourselves to take notice.