Parshat Vayetze 5770

Rabbi Ari Kahn

The Place – HaMakom

Yaakov takes leave of his parents and begins his journey.
As the sun sets he settles for the night, in a place not
immediately identified by name:

‫בראשית פרק כח‬

‫בא‬
ָ ‫כי‬ִ ‫שם‬
ָ ‫לן‬ֶ ָ ‫מקום ו ַי‬ ָ ַ‫גע ב‬ ַ ְ‫ ו ַי ִפ‬:‫נה‬
ָ ָ ‫חר‬ ָ ְ ‫בע ו ַי ֵלֶך‬ַ ‫ש‬
ָ ‫אר‬ ֵ ְ‫מב‬
ִ ‫קב‬ ֹ ‫ע‬ ֲ ַ ‫צא י‬ ֵ ֵ ‫ו ַי‬
:‫ההוא‬ַ ‫מקום‬ ָ ַ‫כב ב‬ ַ ‫ש‬
ְ ִ ‫תיו ו ַי‬
ָ ‫ש‬
ֹ ֲ‫מר ַא‬ ְ ‫שם‬ ֶ ָ ‫מקום ו ַי‬ ָ ‫ה‬
ַ ‫ני‬ֵ ְ‫מאב‬ֵ ‫קח‬ַ ִ ‫מש ו ַי‬ ֶ ‫ש‬
ֶ ׁ ַ‫ה‬
And Yaakov went out from Beersheva, and went
toward Haran. And he arrived at the place, and
remained there all night, because the sun had set;
and he took of the stones of the place, and put them
beneath his head, and lay down in that place.
Bereishit 28, 10-11

It is here that Yaakov has an epiphany. He sees a ladder

reaching to heaven upon which angels are ascending and
descending. When he awakes, Yaakov speaks about this
place:

‫י"ז‬-‫ ט"ז‬,‫בראשית פרק כח‬

:‫תי‬
ִ ‫ע‬
ְ ‫ד‬
ָ ָ ‫לא י‬ֹ ‫כי‬ִ ‫מקום הֶַזה ְואֹנ‬ָ ַ‫כן ֵיש ה’ ב‬ֵ ‫מר א‬ֶ ‫נתו ו ַֹיא‬
ָ ‫ש‬
ְׁ ‫מ‬ִ ‫קב‬ֹ ‫ע‬
ֲ ַ ‫קץ י‬ַ ‫ו ִַיי‬
‫ער‬
ַ ‫ש‬
ַ ‫זה‬ ֶ ְ ‫הים ו‬
ִ ‫ל‬
ֹ ֱ‫בית א‬ ֵ ‫אם‬ ִ ‫כי‬
ִ ‫זה‬ֶ ‫אין‬
ֵ ‫מקום הֶַזה‬ ָ ‫ה‬ַ ‫רא‬ ָ ‫מה נו‬ ַ ‫מר‬ַ ‫רא ו ַֹיא‬ ָ ‫ו ִַיי‬
:‫מים‬ ָ ‫ש‬ָ ׁ ַ‫ה‬
And Yaakov awoke from his sleep, and he said,
'Surely God is in this place; and I did not know.' And
he was afraid, and said, 'How awesome is this place!
This is no other than the house of the Almighty, and
this is the gate of heaven. Bereishit 28:16,17

Yaakov's vision is completely different than anything his

father or grandfather saw. He senses God's presence in
this place, as did Yitzchak and Avraham before him (see
below), but he also senses the grandeur and majesty of
the House of God. His vision is specific, detailed, and not
the general awareness and understanding of God that his
father and grandfather had. He comprehends that the
point at which he stands is a gateway to heaven which
spans the void between the physical terrain beneath his
feet and the heavenly world, the spiritual and
transcendent spheres beyond this world. Yaakov’s vision is
almost unfathomable, for he describes spiritual structures
which transcend the physical yet have a physical
manifestation.

Only after considering the unique juxtaposition of physical

and spiritual that this place embodies, we finally learn that
the place does have a name – a name that is abandoned.
Yaakov gives this place a new name that reflects his vision
and the awesome presence that he sensed there:

‫בראשית פרק כח‬

‫עיר‬
ִ ָ‫שם ה‬
ֵ ‫לם לוז‬
ָ ‫אל ְואו‬
ֵ ‫בית‬
ֵ ‫ההוא‬
ַ ‫מקום‬
ָ ‫ה‬
ַ ‫שם‬
ֵ ‫את‬
ֶ ‫רא‬
ָ ‫ק‬
ְ ִ ‫)יט( ו ַי‬
:‫נה‬ָ ‫ש‬ ֹ ‫רא‬ִ ָ‫ל‬
And he called the name of that place Beit-El; but the
name of the city was Luz at first. Bereishit 28:19

Yaakov's sojourn there on his way to Haran seems more

than coincidental; the language of the verse may imply
that he had set his sights on this spot, and managed to
navigate accurately to reach it. Indeed, years later, when
he returns from Haran to the land of his fathers, he visits
this very particular place once again:

‫ט"ו‬-‫ י"ג‬,‫בראשית פרק לה‬

‫מקום‬ ָ ַ‫בה ב‬ ָ ֵ ‫מצ‬
ַ ‫קב‬ ֹ ‫ע‬ֲ ַ ‫צב י‬ ֵ ַ ‫ ו ַי‬:‫אתו‬ ִ ‫בר‬ ֶ ‫ד‬ִ ‫שר‬ ֶ ֲ‫מקום א‬ ָ ַ‫הים ב‬ ִ ‫ל‬ֹ ֱ‫ליו א‬
ָ ‫ע‬ָ ‫מ‬ ֵ ‫על‬ַ ַ ‫ו ַי‬
‫רא‬
ָ ‫ק‬
ְ ִ ‫ ו ַי‬:‫מן‬
ֶ ‫ש‬ָ ָ‫ליה‬ ֶ ‫ע‬ָ ‫צק‬ ֹ ִ ‫סך ְ ו ַי‬ ֶ ֶ ‫ליהָ נ‬
ֶ ‫ע‬ָ ְ ‫סך‬
ֵ ַ ‫בן ו ַי‬
ֶ ‫בת א‬ ֶ ֶ ‫מצ‬
ַ ‫אתו‬ ִ ‫בר‬ ֶ ‫ד‬ ִ ‫שר‬ֶ ֲ‫א‬
:‫אל‬
ֵ ‫בית‬ ֵ ‫הים‬ ִ ‫ל‬ ֹ ֱ‫שם א‬ ָ ‫אתו‬ ִ ‫בר‬ ֶ ‫ד‬ ִ ‫שר‬ ֶ ֲ‫מקום א‬ ָ ‫ה‬ַ ‫שם‬ ֵ ‫את‬ ֶ ‫קב‬ֹ ‫ע‬ ֲ ַ‫י‬
And God went up from him in the place where He
talked with him. And Yaakov set up a pillar in the
place where he talked with Him, a pillar of stone;
and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured
oil on it. And Yaakov called the name of the place
where God spoke with him, Beit-El. Bereishit 35:13-
15

While it should come as no surprise that tradition

identifies this place with Jerusalem,1 this is not a pat, easy
1
According to tradition this is where Yitzchak prays as well. See Akaidat Yitzchak chapter 24 where
the idea is expressed succinctly.
‫ שער כד‬- ‫ספר עקידת יצחק‬
answer to a geographical word game. The unique identity
of this place, and its central role in our theology, deserve
closer examination.

Before turning our attention to the significance of Yaakov's

vision, it is important to note that Yaakov is not the first of
our forefathers to be granted extraordinary spiritual
experiences at this place, nor is he the first to bring
offerings there. Although Avraham had built altars to God
in various locations in the Land of Canaan, and despite the
fact that Avraham had prayed to God, had even held
conversations with God, in other locations, it was here that
Avraham actually brought his very first offering:

‫ יד‬,‫ ט‬,‫ד‬-‫ ג‬,‫בראשית פרק כב‬

‫את‬ ֵ ְ ‫אתו ו‬ ִ ‫ריו‬ ָ ‫ע‬ ָ ְ ‫ני נ‬ ֵ ‫ש‬ ְ ‫את‬ ֶ ‫קח‬ ַ ִ ‫מרו ו ַי‬ ֹ ‫ח‬ֲ ‫את‬ ֶ ‫בש‬ ֹ ‫ח‬ֲ ַ ‫קר ו ַי‬ ֶ ‫ב‬ ֹ ַ‫הם ב‬ ָ ָ ‫כם אבְר‬ ֵ ‫ש‬ ְ ַ ‫ו ַי‬
‫מר לו‬ ַ ‫שר א‬ ֶ ֲ‫מקום א‬ ָ ‫ה‬ ַ ‫אל‬ ֶ ְ ‫קם ו ַי ֵלֶך‬ ָ ָ ‫לה ו ַי‬ ָ ‫ע‬ֹ ‫צי‬ ֵ ‫ע‬ ֲ ‫קע‬ ַ ַ‫בנו ו ַי ְב‬ ְ ‫חק‬ ָ ְ ‫יצ‬
‫מקום‬ ָ ‫ה‬ ַ ‫את‬ ֶ ‫רא‬ ְ ַ ‫ניו ו ַי‬ ָ ‫עי‬ ֵ ‫את‬ ֶ ‫הם‬ ָ ָ ‫שא אבְר‬ ָ ׁ ִ ‫שי ו ַי‬ ִ ‫לי‬ ִ ‫ש‬ ְ ׁ ַ‫ביום ה‬ ַ :‫הים‬ ִ ‫ל‬ ֹ ֱ‫הָא‬
:‫חק‬ ֹ ָ ‫מר‬ ֵ
‫ח‬
ַ ֵ‫מז ְב‬ ִ ַ‫את ה‬ ֶ ‫הם‬ ָ ָ ‫שם אבְר‬ ָ ‫בן‬ ֶ ִ ‫הים ו ַי‬ ִ ‫ל‬ ֹ ֱ‫מר לו הָא‬ ַ ‫שר א‬ ֶ ֲ‫מקום א‬ ָ ‫ה‬ ַ ‫אל‬ ֶ ‫באו‬ ֹ ָ ‫ו ַי‬
‫על‬ַ ‫מ‬ ַ ‫מ‬ ִ ‫ח‬ ַ ֵ‫על הַמִז ְב‬ ַ ‫אתו‬ ֹ ‫שם‬ ֶ ָ ‫בנו ו ַי‬ ְ ‫חק‬ ָ ְ ‫את יצ‬ ֶ ‫קד‬ ֹ ‫ע‬ֲ ַ ‫צים ו ַי‬ ִ ‫ע‬ ֵ ָ‫את ה‬ ֶ ְ ‫רך‬ ֹ ‫ע‬ ֲ ַ ‫ו ַי‬
‫היום‬ ַ ‫מר‬ ֵ ‫שר ֵיא‬ ֶ ֲ‫אה א‬ ֶ ְ ‫ההוא ה’ יר‬ ַ ‫מקום‬ ָ ‫ה‬ ַ ‫שם‬ ֵ ‫הם‬ ָ ָ ‫רא אבְר‬ ָ ‫ק‬ ְ ִ ‫ ו ַי‬...:‫צים‬ ִ ‫ע‬ ֵ ָ‫ל‬
:‫אה‬ ֶ ָ ‫הר ה’ י ֵר‬ ַ ְ‫ב‬
And Avraham rose up early in the morning, and
saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men
with him, and Yitzchak his son, and broke the wood
for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went to the
place of which God had told him. Then on the third
day Avraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place
from afar...
And they came to the place which God had told him;
and Avraham built an altar there, and laid the wood
in order, and bound Yitzchak his son, and laid him on
the altar upon the wood...
And Avraham called the name of that place Adonai-
Yireh; as it is said to this day, 'In the Mount of God He
shall be seen'. Bereishit 22:3,4,9,14

Avraham and Yitzchak are brought, by Divine command,

to this specific place, and it is here that Yitzchak is bound
up for an offering, and eventually replaced by the ram that
,‫ אף כי באמת מקום העקידה‬,"‫ וביצחק נאמר "לשוח בשדה" וביעקב "אין זה כי אם בית אלקים‬,"‫וזש"א אברהם "בהר ד' יראה‬
:‫ ומשכב יעקב שלשתם היו לדחז"ל במקום אחד בהר המוריה אשר שם נבנה בהמ"ק‬,‫ותפלת יצחק‬
is sacrificed in his stead. Here, as in the two later visits by
Yaakov, this place is called “the place”, above all others,
different than all others. This is the place that will house
the Beit HaMikdash, the physical manifestation of God's
presence, the bridge between the physical and spiritual
worlds - perhaps the very House of God that Yaakov saw
in prophetic vision.

The word makom which recurs over and over both in the
Akeida scene and in our present parsha, appears earlier in
the Torah. And while it is often no more than a general
description of place, this same word is often used in an
even more specific sense than in our present case,
referring to God Himself:

‫ילקוט שמעוני תורה פרשת ויצא רמז קיז‬

‫'ויפגע במקום' למה מכנין שמו של הקב"ה וקורין אותו מקום מפני‬
‫שהוא מקומו של עולם ואין העולם מקומו‬
“And he arrived at the place:” Why is God called
Makom? Because He is the place of the world and the
world is not His place. Yalqut Shimoni Vayetze remez
117

Let us look back to the very beginning in order to fully

understand this far-reaching philosophical usage: The first
time the word makom is used in the Torah, God gathers all
the primordial waters to one place and thus reveals the
earth below. This gathering of water is called mikve:2

‫ ט‬,‫בראשית פרק א‬
‫שה‬
ָ ָ‫אה הַי ַב‬
ֶ ָ ‫חד ו ְתֵר‬
ָ ֶ‫מקום א‬
ָ ‫אל‬
ֶ ‫מים‬
ַ ‫ש‬
ָ ׁ ַ‫חת ה‬
ַ ַ ‫מת‬
ִ ‫מים‬
ַ ַ‫קוו ה‬
ָ ‫הים י‬
ִ ‫ל‬
ֹ ֱ‫מר א‬ ֶ ‫ו ַֹיא‬
:‫כן‬
ֵ ‫הי‬ִ ְ ‫ו ַי‬
And God said, 'Let the waters under the heaven be
gathered together to one place, and let the dry land
appear;' and it was so. Bereishit 1, 9

The act of gathering the waters which results in dry land

being revealed is called mikve, while the place into which

2
Interestingly, Targum Unkulus translates mikve as beit kinishta – which would mean beit kenneset ( or
in Latin, synagogue) – a place where people gather for a holy purpose.
‫אונקלוס בראשית פרק א פסוק י‬
:‫)י( וקרא יי ליבשתא ארעא ולבית כנישת מיא קרא יממי וחזא יי ארי טב‬
the waters are gathered is called makom. We know in our
own experience that this gathering of water, the mikve, is
a place of purity, where people can return to themselves –
in the pure, pristine sense of regeneration; it is a place
where a person can return to God. In a very real sense,
the mikve reconnects us with the very essence of our
being, to the foundations of human identity: The Torah
describes the creation of man as a hybrid of the spiritual
and the physical – a coming together of two worlds:

‫ ז‬,‫בראשית פרק ב‬
:‫ש ַחָּיה‬
ׁ ‫שַמת ַחִּיים ַוְיִהי ָהָאָדם ְלֶנֶפ‬
ְׁ ‫ַוִּייֶצר ה’ ֱאֹלִהים ֶאת ָהָאָדם ָעָפר ִמן ָהֲאָדָמה ַוִּיַּפח ְּבַאָּפיו ִנ‬
And the Almighty God formed man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life; and man became a living soul. Bereishit 2, 7

Man is formed out of the dust of the earth, and this very
physical stuff is infused with spirituality. And yet, Rashi
explains, even the physical matter of which man is formed
is not devoid of spirituality. Rashi offers two possibilities
for the provenance of this "dust of the earth". According to
the first, God gathered dust from all over the Earth,
forming man from the entirety of the Earth. According to
the second interpretation, very specific earth is used to
form man – earth gathered from "THE PLACE" – from this
very specific makom to which Avraham, Yitzchak and
Yaakov were drawn.3 The Targum (pseudo)- Yonatan
states clearly that the dust was gathered from the place
where the Beit Hamikdash would stand.4 In other words,
the hybrid creature called man is made of physical stuff -
dust of the earth- and a breath of God – the spiritual
"image of God" with which we are uniquely gifted, but
even the physical part of man originates from the holiest
place.

3
Rashi, Bereishit 2:7
‫רש"י בראשית פרק ב פסוק ז‬
‫ דבר אחר נטל עפרו‬.‫ שכל מקום שימות שם תהא קולטתו לקבורה‬,‫ צבר עפרו מכל האדמה מארבע רוחות‬- ‫עפר מן האדמה‬
:‫ אמר הלואי תהיה לו כפרה ויוכל לעמוד‬,‫ממקום שנאמר בו )שמות כ כא( מזבח אדמה תעשה לי‬
4
Targum Yonatan, Bereishit 2:7
‫כתר יונתן בראשית פרק ב פסוק ז‬
‫)ז( ויברא יי אלהים את אדם בשני יצרים ויקח עפר ממקום בית המקדש ומארבעת רוחות העולם ויבלול מכל מימי העולם‬
:‫ובראו אדום שחור ולבן ויפח בנחיריו נשמת חיים והיתה נשמה בגוף האדם לרוח מדברת למאור עינים ולשמע אוזנים‬
What does this mean for each of us? When we return to
Jerusalem, we return home in a very basic, elemental
sense. The very stones of the Temple Mount are of one
piece with our bodies. We are part and parcel of the Holy
Altar, and that holiest of places is intertwined with our
very essence. Holiness and purity are not extraneous,
external, foreign concepts; they are who we are. We are,
in the most basic sense, hardwired for holiness, and it is to
this state of purity that we strive to return – to our purest
selves. It is to this inner, innate purity that the elemental
waters of the mikve return us.

Conversely, the ultimate punishment for transgressing

against our innate purity, for turning our backs on the
image of God within us, is exile. From the very start, sin
distanced us from our life-source, from the wellspring of
our spirituality and vitality. When Adam and Eve sinned,
they were exiled. So, too, Cain. In light of what we have
learned, exile can now be understood on several levels:
Exile is more than replacing the familiar with the unknown,
more than a disconnection from the physical environment
of one's home. Exile is, above all, a disconnection from the
source of our spiritual identity. Exile is distancing of the
body as well as the soul from the makom of purity; in a
certain sense, exile is a sort of quasi-death. Man’s physical
place is intertwined with his spiritual existence in ways
that are often too subtle to discern. The Maharal5
expressed this idea by pointing out that the word makom
is related etymologically to mekayem, something that
sustains and provides existence: When a person is exiled
they lose more than their physical frame of reference.
They are denied a part of their very existence. This
explains why a person found guilty of negligent or
unintentional homicide is forced into exile: In a world of
absolute justice, a murderer forfeits his own life. In a case
where absolute justice is impossible, a sort of quasi-death
is imposed, and the murderer is disconnected from his
natural place, from the source of his identity. A person

5
See comments of the Maharal Chidushei Aggadot Sanhedrin page 147,
‫ מסכת סנהדרין‬- ‫ספר חדושי אגדות חלק שלישי עמוד קמז‬
‫הדברים יש להם קיום במקום כמו )שאומרים( ]שאמרו[ )אבות פ"ד( אין לך דבר שאין לו מקום והמקום נותן קיום לדבר‬
‫ וכאשר גולה ממקומו וכאלו בטל‬.‫ ולכך נקרא מקום שהוא מקיים הדבר שעומד בו‬.‫ ודבר זה יתבאר בסמוך‬,‫שהוא במקום‬
‫ וכמו שהמיתה מכפרת על האדם כך הגלות שהוא בטול דבר שהוא קיומו מכפר‬,‫קיומו‬
who has taken the life of another is cleansed by the quasi-
death experience of exile. Interestingly, this exile comes
to an end with the death of the Kohen Gadol:6 The
connection between the Kohen Gadol, custodian of the
Beit Hamikdash, and the end of this person's wandering,
presents additional confirmation of the relationship
between the Makom HaMikdash and the spiritual source of
life.

The destruction of the Beit HaMikdash was not only the

destruction of the symbol of national sovereignty, it was
also the dismantling of the bridge that had connected our
physical plane with the spiritual realm beyond. The exile
that followed in the wake of the destruction of the Beit
HaMikdash was, above and beyond the physical dispersion
of the Jewish People, a spiritual disconnection from our
place of identity and our purest selves.

Careful consideration should be given to the theological

ramifications of Yaakov's vision and to the question of
"sacred ground". In this very basic yet profound teaching,
we may discern the point of divergence between Judaism
and pantheism: While Judaism sees Godliness in every
element of Creation, pantheism turned every force of
nature into a god. In other words, we may say that
Judaism is not completely summarized by the concept
'monotheism'; Judaism describes God as not only unique
and singular, but also transcendent. Thus, according to
Jewish theology, God does not exist within the physical
world, and no place can confine God.7 On the other hand,
Judaism teaches that while the physical world cannot
contain God, and is not itself god, the physical world can
be imbued with holiness which emanates from God.
Although God is not limited to space, in certain spaces
mankind can be more attuned to Godliness. This is the
6
Bamidbar 35:25
7
See the comments of the Maharsha Brachot 40a
‫מהרש"א חידושי אגדות מסכת ברכות דף מ עמוד א‬
‫…משמוע דלעולם הוא מחזיק לשמוע בריקן דוקא כי הדברים בטלים הם דברים גשמיים יש להם גדר במקום שמקום הריק‬
‫מגשמי מחזיק והמלא מדבר גשמי א"א להחזיק עוד יותר וזו היא מדת ב"ו אבל מדת הקב"ה שאין לו גדר במקום כי מלא כל‬
‫הארץ כבודו כי הוא מקומו של עולם ואין העולם מקומו וע"כ מקום מלא מרוחני אין לו למקומו גדר ויוכל להחזיק עוד יותר‬
‫להוסיף דבר רוחני אבל הריק מהרוחני אינו מחזיק דבר רוחני ולזה בשמיעת המושכלות שהם דברים רוחנים המלא מהם אין לו‬
‫גדר במקום ומחזיק עוד יותר דהיינו אם שמוע תשמע ואם לאו הרי רוצה בריקן מהרוחני‬
:‫ואינו מחזיק עוד רוחני ודו"ק‬
nature of the holiness of the Beit Hamikdash: it is not
intrinsic, it emanates from God. Before the Temple was
built, Yaakov felt God's holiness emanating from the
Makom HaMikdash, described by the ladder in his vision.
He called the place Beit El, for he envisioned the House of
God that would one day give all of his descendants access
to God's holiness. Although Yaakov was just beginning his
journey and would return to that place only after many
painful years in exile, the vision of that place, the
knowledge of that connection to the transcendent, the
assurance that the Beit HaMikdash would one day be built
there, sustained Yaakov throughout his exile, as it
sustained his descendants generations later.

God's identity is absolute, yet holiness is often subject to

human perception: The method by which God makes
Himself manifest in the physical world can be perceived by
different people in many different ways. The Talmud
relates that one of the most vivid descriptions of the
Divine, which was recorded by the prophet Yehezkel, was
a subjective vision, limited by the prophet's relatively low
prophetic abilities. The far more subdued vision recorded
by the prophet Yeshayahu was, in fact, the identical
vision, seen through a different human prism:

‫תלמוד בבלי מסכת חגיגה דף יג עמוד ב‬

‫ לבן‬- ‫ למה יחזקאל דומה‬.‫ כל שראה יחזקאל ראה ישעיה‬:‫אמר רבא‬
.‫ לבן כרך שראה את המלך‬- ‫ ולמה ישעיה דומה‬,‫כפר שראה את המלך‬
Rava said: All that Yehezkel saw, Yeshayahu saw.
What does Yehezkel resemble? A villager who saw
the king. And what does Yeshayahu resemble? A
townsman who saw the king. Talmud Bavli Chagiga
13b

Yeshayahu describes God’s holiness which fills the world:

‫ג‬0 ‫ א‬,‫ישעיהו פרק ו‬

:‫שּוָליו ְמֵלִאים ֶאת ַהֵהיָכל‬ ׁ ‫שא ְו‬
ָּׂ ‫שב ַעל ִּכֵּסא ָרם ְוִנ‬ ֵׁ ‫שַנת מֹות ַהֶּמֶלְך ֻעִּזָּיהּו ָוֶאְרֶאה ֶאת ֲאֹדָני ֹי‬ ְׁ ‫ִּב‬
‫שַּתִים ְיַכֶּסה‬
ְׁ ‫שַּתִים ְיַכֶּסה ָפָניו ּוִב‬ְׁ ‫ש ְּכָנַפִים ְלֶאָחד ִּב‬ ׁ‫ש‬ ֵׁ ‫ש ְּכָנַפִים‬ׁ‫ש‬
ֵׁ ‫שָרִפים ֹעְמִדים ִמַּמַעל לֹו‬ ְׂ
’‫קדוש ה‬ ָ ‫קדוש‬ ָ ‫קדוש‬ ָ ‫מר‬ ַ ‫זה ְוא‬ ֶ ‫אל‬ ֶ ‫זה‬ ֶ ‫רא‬ ָ ‫ק‬ָ ְ ‫ ו‬:‫שַּתִים ְיעֹוֵפף‬ ְׁ ‫ַרְגָליו ּוִב‬
:‫כבודו‬ ְ ‫רץ‬ ֶ ‫הא‬ ָ ‫כל‬ ָ ‫לא‬ ֹ ‫מ‬ ְ ‫באות‬ ָ ‫צ‬ ְ
 In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw God sitting
upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled
the Sanctuary. Above it stood the Seraphim; each
one had six wings; with two they covered their faces,
and with two they covered their feet, and with two
they did fly. And one cried to another, and said,
'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth
is full of His Glory.' Yeshayahu 6, 1-3

Yechezkel's vision seems quite different:

‫יב‬-‫ י‬,‫יחזקאל פרק ג‬

ָ ‫ניך‬
ֶ ְ ‫באז‬ ְ ‫קח בִלְבָבְך ָ ו‬ ַ ָ ‫ליך‬ֶ ֵ‫בר א‬ ֵ ‫ד‬
ַ ֲ‫שר א‬ ֶ ֲ‫רי א‬ ַ ָ‫דב‬ ְ ‫כל‬ ָ ‫את‬ ֶ ‫דם‬ ָ ‫בן א‬
ֶ ‫לי‬ ָ ֵ‫מר א‬ֶ ‫ו ַֹיא‬
‫כה‬ ֹ ‫הם‬ ֶ ‫לי‬ ֵ ֲ‫מר ְתָ א‬
ַ ‫הם ְוא‬ ֶ ‫לי‬
ֵ ֲ‫דבַר ְתָ א‬ ִ ְ ‫מך ָ ו‬
ֶ ‫ע‬ ַ ‫ני‬ ֵ ְ‫אל ב‬ ֶ ‫לה‬ ָ ‫הגו‬
ַ ‫אל‬ ֶ ‫בא‬ ֹ ְ ‫ ו ְלֵך‬:‫מע‬ָ ‫ש‬ ְ
‫רי קול‬ ַ ‫ח‬ֲ ‫מע א‬ ַ ‫ש‬ְ ֶ‫ח ו ָא‬ַ ‫ני רו‬ ִ ֵ ‫שא‬
ָ ׁ ִ‫ ו ַת‬:‫דלו‬ ָ ‫ח‬
ְ ֶ ‫אם י‬ ִ ְ ‫מעו ו‬ְ ‫ש‬ְ ‫אם י‬ ִ ’‫ני ה‬ ָ ‫ד‬ֹ ֲ‫מר א‬ ַ ‫א‬
:‫מקומו‬ ְ ‫מ‬ִ ’‫כבוד ה‬ ְ ְ ‫ברוך‬ ָ ‫גדול‬ ָ ‫עש‬ ַ ַ‫ר‬
And he said to me, 'Son of man, all my words that I
shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear
with your ears. And go, get you to the exile, to your
people, and speak to them, and tell them, "Thus said
the Almighty God"; whether they will hear, or
whether they will refuse to hear. 12. Then the spirit
took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great
sound, saying, 'Blessed be the Glory of God from His
place. Yechezkel 3:10-12

While Yeshayahu perceives holiness emanating from God

and filling all of Creation, Yechezkel perceives holiness
radiating from a specific point, "the place", the makom.
Yeshayahu prophesized in Jerusalem, while the Beit
HaMikdash yet stood, and he had a very clear vision of
how the Glory of God fills all of Creation. Yechezkel
prophesized from the exile, as the Temple lay in ruins, and
he sensed that the source of blessing, the point from
which God's Glory emanates, is that specific place, the
makom HaMikdash. It seems elementary to our Talmudic
sages that the perception of God's manifestation in the
physical world will be affected by the different vantage
points of each prophet: The vision from exile, seen by a
wandering Jew who has been disconnected from his
makom, will necessarily differ from a vision seen at the
epicenter of holiness.
Like Yechezkel, Yaakov calls this place makom, yet he
renames it Beit El – the “House of God”. He sees the
angels going up and going down; he understands that this
is the gate to heaven, that holiness emanates from this
place to the rest of the world. He stands with his feet on
the ground of the holiest place on Earth, as did
Yeshayahu, yet Yaakov is on his way into exile – like
Yechezkel.8

Years later, before Yaakov leaves the Land of Israel for a

second time, he seems more reluctant. He is less able to
focus on the vision of the future, less willing to exile
himself from the place where God's Presence is manifest.
And God Himself gives Yaakov assurances:

‫ד‬-‫ א‬,‫בראשית פרק מו‬

‫ביו‬
ִ ‫הי א‬ ֵ ‫ל‬ֹ ‫לא‬ ֵ ‫חים‬ ִ ָ‫בח ז ְב‬ ַ ְ ‫בע ו ַי ִז‬ ַ ‫ש‬ ָ ׁ ‫רה‬ ָ ֵ‫בא בְא‬ ֹ ָ ‫שר לו ו ַי‬ ֶ ֲ‫כל א‬ ָ ְ ‫אל ו‬ֵ ָ ‫שר‬ְ ‫סע י‬ ַ ִ ‫ו ַי‬
‫מר‬ ֶ ‫קב ו ַֹיא‬ ֹ ‫ע‬ֲ ַ ‫קב י‬ ֹ ‫ע‬ֲ ַ ‫מר י‬ ֶ ‫לה ו ַֹיא‬ ָ ְ ‫את הַלַי‬ ֹ ְ ‫מר‬ַ ְ‫אל ב‬ ֵ ָ ‫שר‬
ְ ‫לי‬ְ ‫הים‬ ִ ‫ל‬ֹ ֱ‫מר א‬ ֶ ‫ ו ַֹיא‬:‫חק‬ ָ ְ ‫יצ‬
‫לגוי‬ ְ ‫כי‬ ִ ‫מה‬ ָ ְ ‫מצ ְר ַי‬ִ ‫דה‬ ָ ְ ‫מר‬ ֵ ‫רא‬ ָ ‫תי‬ ִ ‫ביך ָ אל‬ ִ ‫הי א‬ ֵ ‫ל‬ ֹ ֱ‫אל א‬ ֵ ָ‫כי ה‬ ִ ‫מר אֹנ‬ ֶ ‫ ו ַֹיא‬:‫ני‬
ִ ֵ ‫הִנ‬
‫סף‬ ֵ ‫לה ְויו‬ ֹ ‫ע‬ָ ‫גם‬ ַ ָ ‫עלְך‬ ַ ‫כי א‬ ִ ‫מה ְואֹנ‬ ָ ְ ‫מצ ְר ַי‬ִ ָ ‫מך‬ ְ ‫ע‬
ִ ‫רד‬ ֵ ֵ‫כי א‬
ִ ‫ אֹנ‬:‫שם‬ ָ ָ ‫מך‬ ְ ‫שי‬ִ ֲ‫גדול א‬ ָ
:ָ ‫ניך‬ ֶ ‫עי‬ ֵ ‫על‬ ַ ‫שית ָידו‬ ִ ָ‫י‬
And Yisrael traveled with all that he had, and came to
Beersheva, and offered sacrifices to the God of his
father Yitzchak. And God spoke to Yisrael in the
visions of the night, and said, 'Yaakov, Yaakov'. And
he said, 'Here am I.' And he said, 'I am the Almighty,
the God of your father; fear not to go down to Egypt;
for I will there make of you a great nation; I will go
down with you to Egypt; and I will also surely bring
you up again; and Yosef shall put his hand upon your
eyes. Bereishit 46:1-4

Once again, Yaakov is forced to leave the Land; once

again, he is granted a vision which will comfort and
8
This idea is described by Rav Yitzchak Isaac Chaver in his Drasha for Bereishit section 103.
(‫ דרוש לשבת פרשת בראשית )המשך‬- ‫ספר שיח יצחק חלק א‬
‫ שהוא קו התפשטות גילוי כבוד‬,‫ רמז כל מ"ש‬,"‫קג( והוא מה שראה יעקב אבינו במראה הסולם "והנה סולם מוצב ארצה‬
,‫ מראשית המשכתו‬,‫ זה תחת זה‬,‫ שנבראו בסדר השתלשלות המדרגות‬,‫מלכותו יתברך וממשלתו והמציאו והשגחתו על נבראיו‬
‫ כמ"ש "ויפגע‬,‫ אשר שם שכב יעקב אבינו‬,‫ מקום השראת שכינתו יתברך‬,‫ עד מקום המקדש‬,‫שהוא מכסא כבודו יתברך‬
‫ וז"ש "מוצב‬,‫ סוף התפשטות הקו הזה‬,‫ ששם רגלי הסולם‬,‫ וגם מקום הנבחר בהר המוריה‬,‫ והוא מקומו של עולם‬,"‫במקום‬
‫ שהוא כלל האומה הנבחרת‬,‫ ר"ל ע"י יעקב‬,‫ ועלייתם וירידתם בו‬,‫ אבל מלאכי אלוהים הם האמצעים‬,"'‫ארצה וראשו מגיע וכו‬
‫ כי צורת נשמתו מגיע עד ראש‬,‫ והכל ענין אחד‬,‫ וכן ר"ל על יעקב‬,‫ ר"ל על הסולם‬,"‫ וכתיב "והנה ה' נצב עליו‬,‫לעבודתו יתברך‬
:‫ ששמו הגדול יתברך הוא עליו וסמוך לו‬,‫ שהוא התחלת המשכת הקו‬,‫הסולם‬
sustain him, but now an important element is added. God
says, “I will go down with you.” The Shechina, the Glory of
God, will be discernable beyond the borders of Israel,
beyond the confines of the Beit HaMikdash, beyond the
boundaries of that very specific makom.9 God informs
Yaakov that He will always be with Yaakov and his
descendents – even in Egypt, in the epicenter of darkness
and evil. God Himself becomes HaMakom; the Shechina
which accompanies Yisrael into exile is the manifestation
of that same connection, previously confined to the one
awesome space revealed to the forefathers.

In a certain sense, we may think that God's promise to

Yaakov was superfluous: God transcends time and space.
There is no place devoid of His holiness, and God is not
confined to any one place. As Yeshayahu taught, "the
entire world is filled with His Glory." And yet, we are not
able to be fully attuned to God's Presence at all times, in
all of the places we find ourselves. At times we feel alone,
ungrounded, restless; we don’t feel the Shechina upon us,
and we don’t see the ladder. It is not always easy to
access the spirituality which transcends the confines of
our physical space. For this reason, Yaakov hesitated, and
God assured him: “I am with you. I will be with you in
exile, and I will return to with you from exile."

The words of comfort and reassurance God offers

Yaakov/Yisrael remind us of the words we ourselves use to
comfort mourners:

.'‫לים‬
ַ ‫ש‬
ָ ‫ציון ִוירו‬
ִ ‫לי‬
ֵ ֵ‫בתוך ְ שאר אֲב‬
ְ ‫כם‬
ֶ ְ‫חם אֶת‬
ֵ ַ ‫מקום י ְנ‬
ָ ַ ‫'ה‬
May the “Place” (HaMakom) give you solace along
with all those who mourn for Zion and Jerusalem.

Here, God Himself is the Makom; when we feel distant,

bereft, disconnected from our life-source, in need of
comfort, it is specifically the aspect of God as related to
9
See Mechilta B'shalach, Shira parsha gimmel, Talmud Bavli Megila 29a
‫ מס' דשירה פרשה ג ד"ה זה אלי‬- ‫מכילתא דרבי ישמעאל בשלח‬
‫ עלו עלת שכינה עמהם שנ' ואנכי‬,(‫כך ישראל כשירדו למצרים ירדה שכינה עמהם שנ' אנכי ארד עמך מצרימה )ברא' מו ד‬
,(/‫בראשית מו ד‬/ ‫אעלך גם עלה וגו' )שם‬
‫תלמוד בבלי מסכת מגילה דף כט עמוד א‬
.‫ שכינה עמהן‬- ‫ שבכל מקום שגלו‬.‫ בוא וראה כמה חביבין ישראל לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא‬:‫ רבי שמעון בן יוחאי אומר‬,‫תניא‬
makom that comforts us. Moreover, we are consoled by
connecting our own personal loss to the comfort that
comes from Jerusalem, from that very specific makom that
is the source of our true identity. Our lives are bound up
with the Altar in Jerusalem, with the dust of the earth of
the Temple Mount. Every death, then, is a destruction of
the Altar and the Temple. When we feel distant, when we
feel alienated and exiled, when death strikes and we feel
alone, God, The Place, the Makom and the Mekayam - the
source and sustainer of all existence, lifts us up by
revealing to us, once again, that unique bridge that spans
the void and acts as a conduit between our physical and
spiritual selves. Like Yeshayahu, Yechezkel, and Yaakov
before them, He allows us to see that truly His Glory fills
all existence.