Commentaire sur La Genèse 35:9

עוד AGAIN — the second time at this spot: once when he set out on his journey, once when he returned.

וירא אלוקים אל יעקב עוד, after he had moved on from Luz, called now Bet El, he named a second place Bet El, as will be explained forthwith.

וירא אלוקים, after the mourning had concluded.

וירא אלוקים, G’d appeared to Yaakov again; after the mourning. אל יעקב עוד, the reason why the Torah writes עוד, again, is so that we know that this was not an angel, but G’d Himself, Who had already previously appeared to Yaakov as such in 28,13. Just as He had appeared to him on his way to Padan Aram, He now appeared to him when Yaakov was returning from Padan Aram. [I wonder if the fact that on the two occasions when our author emphasises the appearance of G’d without intermediary, were chosen because both took place on the holy soil of the land of Israel, whereas in the Diaspora G’d at best reveals Himself through an intermediary. Ed.]

ויברך אתו AND HE BLESSED HIM. — He gave him the blessing of consolation addressed to mourners (Genesis Rabbah 81:5; cp. Rashi on Genesis 25:11).

The Torah, in retrospect, by using this formulation, tells us that the dream Yaakov had had when in flight, on the way to Charan, had in fact not been merely a dream but a vision.

וברך אותו, the blessing consisted of the verses 10-13. ויאמר...כי אם ישראל, the new name is to be used additionally, as we explained already.

בבאו מפדן ארם. G’d only appeared to him after leaving Lavan. While he was in Lavan’s city he did not rate such visions. The fact that G’d had spoken to him by means of an intermediary, an angel even while still in Padan Aram, is not to be confused with the level of a vision described as “G’d appeared to him.”