Bibbia Ebraica
Bibbia Ebraica

Chasidut su Genesi 28:19

וַיִּקְרָ֛א אֶת־שֵֽׁם־הַמָּק֥וֹם הַה֖וּא בֵּֽית־אֵ֑ל וְאוּלָ֛ם ל֥וּז שֵׁם־הָעִ֖יר לָרִאשֹׁנָֽה׃

Impose a quel luogo il nome di Bet-El, però la città chiamavasi per lo innanzi Luz.

Kedushat Levi

Genesis 28,19. “he now added to the name of this place ‎the name Bet El”. We need to remember that all ‎creatures G’d has created have been identified by means of one or ‎more of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Some of these ‎‎“letters” are incomplete without certain further “sub-titles” ‎written in the form of dots, lines, etc. Some of these appear above ‎the actual letter, others below it. These nuances reflect the fact ‎that some creatures, though all mobile, move in certain ways, ‎whereas others move in different ways. Yet other letters have a ‎dot in the middle, neither above nor below. These “dots or lines” ‎alert us to the how, i.e. by which motive the creature’s ‎movements were prompted. When a creature’s motion is ‎prompted by considerations resident in the celestial spheres, the ‎‎“dot” accompanying the letters is found above the letter. When it ‎originates from earthly considerations, the dot is found under the ‎letter. When it is found in the middle of the letter, it reflects the ‎fact that both lofty and less lofty considerations prompted the ‎motion of the individual described by the respective letter. Seeing ‎that Yaakov’s movements were prompted by lofty considerations, ‎the word ‎ויחלום‎ has the dot on top of the letter ‎ו‎. These lofty ‎thoughts enabled him to sire a son combining so many fine ‎attributes as did Joseph. The combinations of letters, i.e. ‎attributes, are also reflected in the spelling of the word ‎ביתאל‎ as a ‎single word, instead of, as we find it elsewhere ‎בית אל‎.
Yaakov wished to express the thought that in the house of ‎G’d to be built on that site in the future, the combination of the ‎basic attributes required for successful service of the Lord by His ‎creatures on earth be present at all times.‎ ‎
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Kedushat Levi

An alternate approach to the paragraph commencing with: ‎וירא והנה באר בשדה‎, “he looked, and here there was a well ‎in the field, etc.;” The Talmud Pessachim 88 draws ‎attention to Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov each using a ‎different simile when trying to condense their concept of G’d. ‎Avraham saw G’d in terms of a ‎הר‎, “mountain,” i.e. something far ‎above our level towering above man. Yitzchok perceived him as ‎שדה‎, a field, covering huge expanses of earth, but sharing earth ‎with man. Yaakov perceived Him as ‎בית‎, i.e. an intimate term, ‎viewing G’d as if He were at home with human beings. A major ‎difference between Yaakov’s concept of G’d and that of his ‎forefathers, is that the former did not view G’d as being “at ‎home” permanently on earth, whereas Yaakov did perceive Him ‎as constantly accompanying man, much as a house is the symbol ‎of a permanent presence. [The scriptural verses this is based on ‎are: Genesis 22,14 ‎בהר ה' יראה‎, “on the Mountain of Hashem, ‎He may be seen.” Genesis 24,63 ‎ויצא יצחק לשוח בשדה‎, “Yitzchok ‎went out into the field to meditate.” In Genesis 28,19 the Torah ‎quotes Yaakov as naming the site ‎ביתאל‎, “house of the Lord”. ‎Yaakov felt that the time had come when G’d could have a ‎permanent home on earth. However, this had been a vision ‎brought about by his dream/prophetic insight. After awakening ‎he realized that down on earth, where greed, envy and jealousy ‎were still prevalent, to wit the huge rock making the water of the ‎well inaccessible accept when all the interested parties were ‎assembled simultaneously, that the time was not yet ripe for G’d ‎to feel at home in such an environment. By removing the rock, ‎Yaakov wanted to demonstrate to the shepherds that a better ‎future could be in store for mankind. I have reworded the ‎thought expressed by the author somewhat, and have omitted ‎the comparison to the portion of ‎קן צפור‎ in Deut. 22,6. ‎Ed.]
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