Tafsiran Kejadian 28:11: Peri HaAretz, Tze'enah Ure'enah, Rashi & Chizkuni

It is written in the Midrash "Taking one of the stones of that place", in the beginning there were many stones and for Jacob they became one stone. And it is therefore said "[Jacob] took the stone" (see there).

“Stopped there for the night, for the sun had set” [28:11]. Rashi asks a question here. It should first say, “the sun had set,” the sun had set, and afterwards, it should say, “stopped there,” that he spent the night there. The explanation is that it was still early. The Holy One caused the sun to set before the proper time, in the expectation that he should remain there in order to pray.⁶Rashi, Genesis, 28:11. If it had not been night, he would have gone on further in the hope that he would get far away from Esau.⁷Hizkuni, Genesis, 28:11. From here we learn that a person should not travel at night when it is not necessary, as our sages said: “a person should enter a town by day and set out by day.”⁸B. Pesahim, 2a. This means, the person should come to the inn before night and should leave when it is already light.

“He took the stones of that place” [28:11]. He took many stones to place around himself. Rashi asks a question here. It is written here that he took many stones and later in the Torah portion it is written, “he took the stone” [28:18]. He took a stone. The explanation is that Jacob took many stones and lay them as a wall around himself, that the wild animals should not harm him at night when he would sleep. The stones argued with each other. Each stone said: let the righteous one place his head on me. The Holy One made peace among the stones and made one stone from all the stones.⁹Rashi, Genesis, 28:11.

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”.