Comentário sobre Gênesis 28:17

כי אם בית אלהים THIS IS NONE OTHER THAN THE HOUSE OF GOD —R. Eleazar said in the name of R. José the son of Zimra: “This ladder stood in Beersheba and [the middle of]) its slope reached opposite the Temple” (Genesis Rabbah 69:7). For Beersheba is situated in the South of Judah, Jerusalem in the North of it on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin and Bethel in the North of Benjamin’s territory, on the border between the land of Benjamin and that of the children of Joseph. It follows, therefore, that a ladder whose foot is in Beersheba and whose top is in Bethel has the middle of its slope reaching opposite Jerusalem. Now as regards what our Rabbis stated (Chullin 91b) that the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “This righteous man has came to the place where I dwell (i.e., the Temple at Jerusalem, whilst from here it is evident that he had come to Luz) and shall he depart without staying here over night?”, and with regard to what they also said, (Pesachim 88a) “Jacob gave the name Bethel to Jerusalem”, whereas this place which he called Bethel was Luz and not Jerusalem, whence did they learn to make this statement (which implies that Luz is identical with Jerusalem)? I say that Mount Moriah was forcibly removed from its locality and came hither (to Luz), and that this is what is meant by the “shrinking” of the ground that is mentioned in the Treatise (Chullin 91b) — that the site of the Temple came towards him (Jacob) as far as Bethel and this too is what is meant by ויפגע במקום, “he lighted upon the place” (i.e., he “met” the place, as two people meet who are moving towards each other; cf. Rashi on Genesis 5:11). Now, since Jacob’s route must have been from Beersheba to Jerusalem and thence to Luz and Haran and consequently when he reached Luz he had passed Jerusalem, if you should ask, “When Jacob passed the Temple why did He not make him stop there?” — If it never entered his mind to pray at the spot where his fathers had prayed should Heaven force him to stop there to do so? Really he had reached as far as Haran as we say in the Chapter גיד הנשה (Chullin 91b), and Scripture itself proves this since it states, “And he went to Haran”. When he arrived at Haran he said, “Is it possible that I have passed the place where my fathers prayed without myself praying there?” He decided to return and got as far as Bethel where the ground "shrank” for him. This Bethel is not the Bethel that is near Ai (cf. Genesis 12:8) but that which is near Jerusalem, and because he said of it, “It shall be the House of God”, he called it Bethel. This, too, is Mount Moriah, where Abraham prayed, and it is also the field in which Isaac offered prayer as it is written, “[Isaac went out] to meditate (i. e., to pray; cf. Genesis 24:63) in the field”. Thus, too, do we read in the Treatise (Pesachim 88a) in a comment on the verse Micah 4:2: “[O come ye and let us go up] to the mountain of the Lord (i.e. the mountain upon which the Temple is built) and to the house of the God of Jacob”. What particular reason is there for mentioning Jacob? But the text calls the Temple not as Abraham did who called it a mount, and not as Isaac did, who called it a field, but as Jacob did who called it Beth[el]—the House of God. (To here from “This Bethel” is to be found in a certain correct Rashi-text)

THIS IS NONE OTHER THAN THE HOUSE OF G-D, AND THIS IS THE GATE OF HEAVEN. This refers to the Sanctuary which is the gate through which the prayers and sacrifices ascend to heaven.
Rashi comments, Rabbi Elazar the son of Rabbi Yosei the son of Zimra said, ‘This ladder stood in Beer-sheba and its slope¹⁵“Its slope.” In our text of Rashi: “the middle of its slope.” Ramban will explain later that the reference is to “the end” of the slope, which is the head of the ladder. reached unto the Sanctuary in Jerusalem. Beer-sheba is situated in the southern part of Judah, and Jerusalem is to its north on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin, and Beth-el was in the northern portion of Benjamin’s territory, on the boundary between Benjamin’s territory and that of the children of Joseph. It follows, therefore, that a ladder whose base is in Beer-sheba and whose top is in Beth-el has its slope¹⁵“Its slope.” In our text of Rashi: “the middle of its slope.” Ramban will explain later that the reference is to “the end” of the slope, which is the head of the ladder. reaching opposite Jerusalem. Now regarding the statement of our Rabbis that the Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘This righteous man has come to the place where I dwell, [namely, the Sanctuary in Jerusalem, and shall he depart without spending the night?’],¹⁶Chullin 91b. and with regard to what they also said, ‘Jacob gave the name Beth-el to Jerusalem’¹⁷Pesachim 88b. this place which he called Beth-el was Luz and not Jerusalem! And whence did they learn to say so, [implying that Luz is identical with Jerusalem]? I therefore say that Mount Moriah [the Temple site in Jerusalem] was forcibly removed from its place and came here to Luz, and this movement of the Temple site is ‘the springing of the earth’ which is mentioned in Tractate Shechitath Chullin.¹⁸“The slaughtering of unconsecrated beasts.” This tractate is now generally called Chullin (Unconsecrated Beasts). 91b. It means that the site on which the Sanctuary was later to stand came towards Jacob to Beth-el. And this too is what is meant by vayiphga bamakom (and he met the place):¹⁹Verse 11 here. [as two people meet, who are moving towards each other]. If you should ask, ‘When our father Jacob passed the site of the Sanctuary [on his way from Beer-sheba to Haran] why did He not detain him there?’ The answer is: If it never entered his mind to pray at the place where his fathers had prayed, should Heaven make him stop there? He had journeyed as far as Haran, as we say in the chapter of Gid Hanasheh,²⁰“The sinew of the hip.” It is the seventh chapter of Tractate Chullin (see Note 18) 91b. and Scripture itself helps us clarify this point by saying, And he went to Haran.²¹Verse 10 here. When he arrived at Haran he said, ‘Is it possible that I have passed the place where my fathers prayed without praying there myself?’ He decided to return and had returned as far as Beth-el, whereupon the ground of the Temple site sprang for him until Beth-el.”
All these are the words of the Rabbi.²²Rashi. See also Note 139, Seder Bereshith. But I do not agree with them at all for ‘the springing of the earth’ which the Rabbis mention in connection with Jacob is like that which they have said happened to Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, namely, that he reached Haran in one day. As they have said in Tractate Sanhedrin,²³95a. “The earth sprang for three persons: Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, our father Jacob, and Abishai the son of Zeruiah.”²⁴II Samuel 21:17. In coming to the rescue of David, a miracle occurred, and he reached him at once though he was far away from him. And the Rabbis explained: “Eliezer, the servant of Abraham — for it is written, And I came this day unto the fountain,²⁵Above, 24:42. which teaches that on that very day he embarked on his journey. Jacob — for it is written, And he met the place.¹⁹Verse 11 here. When he arrived at Haran he said, ‘Is it possible that I have passed the place where my fathers prayed without praying there myself?’ As soon as the thought of returning occurred to him, the earth sprang for him, and immediately he met the place.” Thus the Rabbis explicitly say that as soon as the thought to return occurred to him in Haran, the earth sprang for him and he met the place where his fathers prayed, but not that he returned to Beth-el, nor that Mount Moriah sprang and came there to Beth-el. In Bereshith Rabbah²⁶59:15. the Rabbis further equated them both [Eliezer and Jacob] with respect to “the springing of the earth.” Thus they said: “And he arose, and went to Aram-naharaim²⁷Above, 24:10. — on the very same day. And I came this day unto the fountain²⁵Above, 24:42. — this day I embarked on the journey, and this day I arrived.” With respect to Jacob the Rabbis interpreted in a similar vein: “And he went to Haran²¹Verse 10 here. — the Rabbis say on the very same day.” And furthermore, what reason is there for Mount Moriah to “spring” and come to Beth-el, as Rashi claims, after Jacob had troubled himself to return from Haran to Beth-el, a journey of many days?²⁸If such a miracle was to be performed, why did not Mount Moriah spring all the way to Haran? Moreover, Beth-el does not lie on the border of the Land of Israel which faces towards Haran for Haran is a land which lies to the east [of the Land of Israel while Beth-el lies in its western part].²⁹Above, 12:8. Additionally, the middle part of a ladder is not referred to as its “slope.”³⁰Thus Rabbi Elazar who said that “its slope” reached to the Sanctuary did not refer to its middle, as Rashi has it. And, finally, what reason is there for the middle of the ladder to be opposite Beth-el, [where, according to Rashi, the side of the Sanctuary had been transported], when the middle part of an object does not possess significance beyond that of its whole?
There is, however, another intent to these Midrashim. The Rabbis have said in Bereshith Rabbah,³¹68:6. “Rabbi Hoshayah said, ‘It has already been stated, And Jacob hearkened to his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-aram.³²Above, 28:7. What then does Scripture teach by repeating, And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba?²¹Verse 10 here. Rather, the redundancy teaches us that Jacob said, “When my father desired to leave the Land of Israel, at what location did he seek permission for it? Was it not in Beer-sheba? I, too, shall go to Beer-sheba to seek this permission. If He grants me permission, I shall leave, and if not, I shall not go.” Therefore Scripture found it necessary to state, And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba.’”²¹Verse 10 here.
The intent of this Midrash is that the Rabbis were of the opinion that Jacob was blessed by his father in Hebron, the land of his father’s sojournings, and it was to Hebron that he came when he returned to his father from Paddan-aram, as it is said, And Jacob came unto Isaac his father to Mamre, to Kiriath-arba — the same is Hebron — where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.³³Further, 35:27. Now if so, the verse stating, And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba²¹Verse 10 here. teaches that when his father commanded him to go to Laban³⁴Above, 28:5. he went to Beer-sheba to receive Divine permission, and that is the place wherein he spent the night and saw visions of G-d, and it was there that He gave him permission to exit from the Land of Israel, even as He said, And I will keep thee wherever thou goest and will bring thee back unto this land.⁴Verse 15 here. And the ladder which he saw, in the opinion of Rabbi Yosei the son of Zimra, he saw with its feet in Beer-sheba, in the very place where he lay, and with the end of its slope which is the top of the ladder reaching to a point opposite the Sanctuary. It was supported by heaven at the gate through which the angels enter and exit. The revered G-d stood over him, and therefore he knew that Beer-sheba was the gate of heaven, suitable for prayer, and the Sanctuary was the house of G-d. And in the morning Jacob continued his journey from Beer-sheba and arrived at Haran on the same day, and this was “the springing of the earth” mentioned with respect to Jacob.
This is the opinion of Rabbi Yosei the son of Zimra who said in Bereshith Rabbah,³⁵69:5. “This ladder stood in Beer-sheba and its slope reached to the Sanctuary, as it is said, And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba;¹⁹Verse 11 here. And he was afraid and said, How fearful is this place.”³⁶Verse 17 here. And the stone which he erected as a pillar³⁷Verse 18 here. he did not erect in the place where he slept, for Beer-sheba is not Beth-el and it was in Beth-el that he erected it, and there he went upon his return from Paddan-aram, as it is said, Arise, go up to Beth-el … and make there an altar unto G-d who appeared unto thee, etc.³⁸Further, 35:1. But he erected it [after carrying the stone from Beth-el to Jerusalem]³⁹Thus comments Rabbi David Luria (R’dal) in explanation of Ramban’s words. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 160. opposite the slope, at the place where the head of the ladder stood, which he had called the house of G-d, and this is the city which had previously been called Luz.⁴⁰Verse 19 here.
Thus in the opinion of Rabbi Yosei the son of Zimra, Luz was Jerusalem which Jacob called Beth-el.⁴⁰Verse 19 here. Possibly this may be so, according to the verses in the book of Joshua.⁴¹The source intended is not clear to me. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 160, for further discussion of this matter. It is certainly true that it is not the Beth-el near Ai⁴²Above, 12:8. Whereas the Beth-el referred to here had previously been called Luz. for that Beth-el was originally so named in the days of Abraham⁴²Above, 12:8. Whereas the Beth-el referred to here had previously been called Luz. and prior to that.
But Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Shimon differs there⁴³Bereshith Rabbah 69:8. with Rabbi Yosei the son of Zimra, and he says: “This ladder stood upon the Sanctuary site and its slope reached to Beth-el. What is his reason? And he was afraid, and said,³⁶Verse 17 here. etc. And he called the name of that place Beth-el.”⁴⁰Verse 19 here. Thus in the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Shimon the verse stating, And he lighted upon the place,¹⁹Verse 11 here. means Mount Moriah. And he tarried there all night, because the sun was set for him not at its proper time [so that he should spend the night there], for as our Rabbis have stated:¹⁶Chullin 91b. “[The Holy One, blessed be He, said], ‘This righteous man has come to the place where I dwell. Shall he then depart without staying there over night?’” And so Jacob saw the ladder with its feet standing in that place, and its slope, which is its top, reached to a point which was opposite that particular Beth-el [which was mentioned in connection with Ai during Abraham’s era],⁴²Above, 12:8. Whereas the Beth-el referred to here had previously been called Luz. and that was the city of Luz. And Jacob said that the very place where he spent the night was the house of G-d, and the slope of the ladder was the gate of heaven, thus Mount Moriah is excellent for prayer, and Beth-el also is a suitable place for the worship of G-d. And he erected the pillar in Beth-el, for in the opinion of all Rabbis he erected it opposite the slope of the ladder.
The opinion of Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Shimon, [i.e., that Jacob slept on Mount Moriah, and he erected the pillar in Beth-el], is in agreement with the Midrash in the Gemara of the chapter concerning Gid Hanasheh,²⁰“The sinew of the hip.” It is the seventh chapter of Tractate Chullin (see Note 18) 91b. and that of Chapter Cheleck,⁴⁴“Portion,” i.e., in the World to Come. This is the tenth chapter of Tractate Sanhedrin, 95b. which states that Jacob left Beer-sheba and came to Haran, and when he reconsidered and decided to return and pray at Mount Moriah, the place where his fathers had prayed, then the earth “sprang” for him and he lighted immediately upon Mount Moriah. Perhaps it is the Rabbis’ opinion that the earth “sprang” for him both when going from Haran to Mount Moriah and when returning from Mount Moriah to Haran. This would be in agreement with the opinion of the Rabbi who says:⁴⁵Bereshith Rabbah 68:9. “And he went to Haran²¹Verse 10 here. — on the same day. And he lighted upon the place¹⁹Verse 11 here. — at once, very suddenly.”
I found it more explicitly in Pirkei Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol:⁴⁶Chapter 35. “Jacob was seventy-seven years of age when he left his father’s house,⁴⁷He was sixty-three when he was blessed by his father (Megillah 16 a), and for the following fourteen years he was secluded in the house of Shem and Eber for the purpose of studying Torah. This makes Jacob seventy-seven years old when he left Haran. The Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer refers to it as “when he left his father’s house,” but the intent is as explained. (Rabbi David Luria.) and he followed the well that travelled before him from Beer-sheba to Mount Moriah, a two-day journey, and he arrived there at midday, etc. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, ‘Jacob, you have bread in your travelling-bag, the well is before you, enabling you to eat and drink and lie down in this place.’ Jacob replied, ‘Master of all worlds, the sun has yet to descend fifty stages, and shall I lie down to sleep in this place?’ Prematurely, the sun then set in the west. Jacob looked and saw that the sun had set in the west, so he tarried there all night, because the sun was set.¹⁹Verse 11 here. Jacob took twelve stones from the stones of the altar upon which his father Isaac had lain bound as a sacrifice⁴⁸Above, 22:9. and put them under his head. By the fact that his resting-place contained twelve stones, G-d informed him that twelve tribes were destined to be established from him. But then all twelve stones were transformed into one stone to inform him that all twelve tribes were destined to become one nation in the earth, as it is said, And who is like Thy people, like Israel, a nation one in the earth?⁴⁹II Samuel 7:23. In the morning Jacob awoke with great fright, and said, ‘The house of the Holy One, blessed be He, is in this place,’ as it is said, And he was afraid, and said: How fearful is this place!³⁶Verse 17 here. From here you learn that whosoever prays in Jerusalem is considered as if he prayed before the Throne of Glory, for the gate of heaven is open there to receive the prayer of Israel, as it is said, And this is the gate of heaven.³⁶Verse 17 here. Jacob then wanted to collect the stones [which he had used as a resting-place for his head in order to build an altar], but he found them all to be one stone, and so he set it up as a pillar in that place. Thereupon oil flowed down for him from heaven, and he poured it on top of the stone, as it is said, And he poured oil upon the top of it.³⁷Verse 18 here. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? With His right foot He sank the anointed stone unto the depths of the abyss to serve as the key-stone of the earth, just as one inserts a key-stone in an arch. It is for this reason that it is called Even Hashethiyah (The Foundation Stone),⁵⁰On this stone, the Ark of G-d, which contained the two Tablets of the Law, rested in the Holy of Holies in the Sanctuary in Jerusalem. (Yoma 53b.) for there is the center of the earth, and from there the earth unfolded, and upon it stands the Temple of G-d, as it is said, And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be G-d’s house.⁵¹Verse 22 here. The use of the present tense in the Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer — “and upon it stands the Temple of G-d” — may either be a reference to the remains of the ancient Sanctuary and its environs, which were still visible in the days when the Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer was composed, or it may preferably indicate that although the Temple is now in ruins the place thereof is still deemed sacred as in the days when the House of G-d was firmly established on the sacred mountain. From there he [Jacob] went on his journey, and in the twinkling of an eye he arrived in Haran.” Thus far [extends the quotation from the Pirkei Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol].
Thus, all Midrashim — despite some minor differences among them — acknowledge that “the springing of the earth” occurred to Jacob through which he travelled a journey of many days in the twinkling of an eye. It is possible that all Midrashim concede to one another, and that on all these journeys of his — when going from Beer-sheba to Haran, when he desired to return to Mount Moriah, and when he left there to go to Haran — the earth “sprang” for him. But there is not one of all these Midrashim which says, as Rashi said, [that Mount Moriah was forcibly removed from its location and was transported to meet him in Beth-el].

He was afraid. Because of the disrespect he had inadvertently shown by sleeping there.

"Shaken, he said..." He felt that his heart was moved to fear on its own, and gave a reason for this when he said "this is none other than the abode of God." He was careful to use the Divine name Elohim, because this is the source of fear, as it is written "...and God (Elohim) made it so that they fear Him." (Kohelet 3:14) It is known that the name Elohim strikes fear in the heart of man.

ויירא ויאמר, he was concerned for himself fearing that he might have done something which one is not allowed to do in a holy place. Perhaps while he had been asleep and unable to control his movements, he had behaved in a manner unbefitting such a sacred location.

אין זה כי אם בית אלוקים,וזה שער השמים, “this must be the House of G’d, and at the same time the gateway to heaven.” This is a reference to the eventual Temple, the site from which the prayers of mankind will ascend to heaven without making any detours. The reason why prayers ascend more swiftly towards heaven from here, is the fact that they accompany the fragrance of the smoke of the various sacrifices. Rashi explains that according to the view of Rabbi Yossi ben Zimra, the feet of the ladder were standing in Beer Sheva, whereas its head was above Bet El, whereas the middle point of its slope was directly above the site that would become the site of the Temple. When Yaakov eventually returned to the land of Israel, and he remembered that he had not prayed at that site, he retraced his steps as far as Bet El to make up for that failure. The site of the Temple, Mount Moriah “jumped” to meet him. This is what our sages described as קפיצת הארץ, “a jump by the earth.” (a contraction of the earth’s surface) Nachmanides queries that the Talmud Sanhedrin 95 appears to attribute the earth’s “jump” both to Eliezer and to Yaakov, seeing we are told there that there were three individuals for whose benefit the earth’s surface contracted in such a manner, the three being Eliezer, Yaakov, and Avishai. The meaning is not that the earth repeatedly jumped to yet another location, but that just as it had accommodated Eliezer, whose purpose had been lofty, so it accommodated, facilitated Yaakov’s journey. Yaakov, being angry at himself for passing a holy site without offering a prayer there, set out to retrace his steps to make up for his omission. Before he could do so, the earth moved in his direction to forestall his having to turn back. Nachmanides speculates that although, apparently there is a divergence of opinions as to where precisely the feet of the ladder in Yaakov’s dream were anchored, it is possible that all the sages agree that Yaakov experienced three occasions when the earth contracted to enable him to fulfill a meritorious deed more easily. The three occasions were: when he went from Beer Sheva to Charan and wanted to turn back in order to pray at Chevron where his fathers had prayed. Similarly, on his return from Charan. to Mount Moriah, and his return from there back to Charan after having prayed there. [the speculative nature of how to reconcile conflicting interpretations is due to the apparent contradiction of where precisely Yaakov spent that night, seeing that the text speaks of Luz, i.e. Beyt El, neither of which can be identified with Moriah.

This ladder stood in Beer Sheva... Rashi is answering the question: Yaakov said, “This is... בית אלהים,” implying he was in Beis Eil, as it is written later (v. 19): “He named that place Beis Eil.” This indicates that the ladder stood in Beis Eil. Yet, Scripture implied before that the ladder stood in Beer Sheva. For it is written (v. 12), “He dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth.” And since it does not state the location of the ladder, we interpret it as referring to the place mentioned just before, which is Beer Sheva. If so, the verses appear to be contradictory. Thus Rashi explains that the ladder was standing in Beer Sheva, as Scripture implies, and the middle of its slope reached opposite the Beis Hamikdosh, which is Yerushalayim. And its top was in Beis Eil, as the verse also implies. It cannot be that the top of its slope is opposite the Beis Hamikdosh, for then Yaakov would be outside of the ladder. This is because Beer Sheva is in southern Yehudah, while the Beis Hamikdosh is in its north. If so, by what merit would Luz, [far away in northern Binyamin,] be called the House of God and the gate of Heaven? Neither the foot nor the top of the ladder is there! Thus Rashi explains that the middle of its slope is opposite the Beis Hamikdosh, and the top of the ladder is opposite Beis Eil, which is Luz. Maharshal writes: It seems to me that the verse and Rashi’s commentary on it mean as follows. Rashi says, “Our Sages have stated... ‘This righteous person has come to My Dwelling Place.’” [Rashi is saying that this raises the question:] Hashem’s “Dwelling Place” is Yerushalayim. Yet, Scripture implies here that Yaakov slept in Beis Eil, [not in Yerushalayim! Rashi continues:] “And they stated furthermore: ‘Yaakov called Yerushalayim, Beis Eil.’” [Rashi says that this raises the question:] “Yet, this place that he called Beis Eil was Luz, not Yerushalayim!” [Rashi knows this] because it is written (v. 19), “But Luz was the original name of the city.” And even if we answer it all by saying that Luz is Yerushalayim, [Rashi continues that] a question remains: “From where did they derive that [this was the site of the Beis Hamikdosh, and it is all the same place?” Rashi then rejects the idea that Beis Eil is Yerushalayim, and explains:] “I say that Mount Moriah was uprooted and came here, [to Beis Eil].” Accordingly, Yaakov gave the name of “Beis Eil” to both places at once: to Luz, which was the original name of the city, and to Yerushalayim, which came there. This properly explains the statements of our Sages [quoted by Rashi]. This explanation opposes the approach of Re’m, [who writes that Rashi is answering two questions: 1.Perhaps Luz is Yerushalayim? 2.How did our Sages know Luz that is not Yerushalayim?] In our text of Rashi it is written that Yaakov called Yerushalayim, “Beis Eil,” but according to Re’m, this is not needed. Furthermore, Re’m says that the phrase, “Yet this place was Luz and not Yerushalayim,” is part of the Sages’ statement—but we do not find it written anywhere. Furthermore, even according to Rashi’s answer [that the ground “shrank”] the question would remain: Perhaps Luz really is Yerushalayim, and when Yaakov reached half way there, it came to him. It is without doubt that Rashi was always certain that Yerushalayim is not Luz. This is evident from the verses, as I explained.

ויירא. Nichts wohl, als dieses neue Bewusstsein und die neuen Anforderungen, die es mit sich bringt, dass der schwache Mensch Träger der Gottesherrlichkeit auf Erden werde — konnte dieses überwältigende Gefühl der Furcht in ihm hervorgerufen haben: wie furchtbar ist dieser Ort! Was mir hier gezeigt worden, ist ja nichts anderes als: "Haus Gottes" und dies zugleich: "Pforte des Himmels!" Haus Gottes, Haus, in welches Gott einzieht, dass das irdische Leben ein solches werden könne und solle, dass, wenn die aufsteigenden Engel Gott im Himmel suchen, sie ihn auf Erden bei dem Menschen finden. Und ein jedes solches Haus, in welchem ein solches Leben gelebt wird, ist "Pforte zum Himmel", Pforte, durch welche wir zu Gott kommen, somit die vollständigste Vermählung des Irdischen mit dem Himmlischen. —

אין זה כי אם בית אלהים. “this must surely be the house of G–d.” Seeing that I observe the angels first ascending and then descending and then remaining down on earth this spot on earth and the region in the heavens above must belong to one entity. The angels ascend within this “house” and descend, just as human beings ascend to the upper floors in their houses when the occasion demands it, and then come down again remaining there.

אין זה כי אם בית אלוקים, “this can only be the house of G-d.” Rashi explains this exclamation as follows quoting Rabbi Elazar in B’reshit Rabbah 69,7: “the foot of the ladder was in B’eer Sheva. It stood at an angle so that the halfway mark was precisely above the site where the Temple would be built in the future; its top would have been above Bet El.” [Bet El being the northernmost point and B’eer Sheva the southern most point. Jerusalem would be at the half way mark. Ed.]

מה נורא HOW FEARFUL — In the Targum it is translated by “How דחילו is this place!” דחילו is a noun, like סוכלתנו which is the Targum of תבונה “understanding” (Deuteronomy 32:28), and [וכסו [למלבש which is the Targum of ובגד ללבש “and raiment to put on”) (Genesis 28:20)

This is none other. The place that he saw in his dream was the site designated for the Beis Hamikdosh.

ויאמר מה נורא המקום הזה, since he had seen an awe-inspiring vision here he concluded that the whole place may have been an awesome place, not to be approached except in a state of ritual purity.

Should you ask: When Yaakov passed the Beis Hamikdosh why did He not detain him there? This is a quote from the Gemara, and is posing a question: Why did Hashem not detain him? The Gemara answers: “If it did not enter his mind... should Heaven detain him?” I.e., since Yaakov did not pray of his own accord, why should Hashem detain him? Hashem does not force a person to perform a mitzvah.

When Yaakov said "this is the gate..." he meant that the place aligned with it above is the gate of heaven. This is why he used the word 'this' (zeh) twice.

אין זה כי אם בית אלוקים, “this can only be (the location of) the House of G-d.” Rashi endeavours to find the source for the statement by the sages that G-d had said that it is intolerable that a righteous person of the calibre of Yaakov who needed a place to spend the night, should be unable to find more than a stone to lay his head on. Also why would Yaakov call the place that had been known as Luz “Yerusalem,” i.e. the house of G-d? Furthermore why afterwards does he refer to “Beyt El,” a place much further north? Clearly there appears to be some contradiction here! Our sages themselves seem to have had second thoughts when they said that Yaakov renamed called Luz as Beyt ElBeing aware of these difficulties, Rashi says; “therefore I say that Mount Moriah had been moved and Yaakov had arrived there, i.e. as far as Beyt El, (all on the same day)[If any reader finds all this as strange, I remind him that if G-d enabled Eliezer, Avraham’s servant, to cover a similar distance with his 10 camels when he went to look for a wife for his master in the course of one day, then Yaakov’s experience can certainly not be considered as so unbelievable. Ed.] There is also the problem that Yaakov instead of walking from B’eer Sheva to Charan would be travelling from west to East, as testified to by Isaiah 9,11 ארם מקדם ופלשתים מאחור, “Aram to the East and the land of the Philistines at the back.” (to the west) Moreover, we (our author) had previously explained that Aram and Charan are one and the same. (compare verse 10). According to what we have read here Yaakov was traveling from the south to the north according to what Rashi explained earlier. We have to say that Yaakov travelled the same route that his grandfather Avraham had traveled when coming from Charan, southward after having left both Ur Casdim and Charan on his way to the land of Canaan. He had proceeded southward in stages all the way to B’eer Sheva. Both he and Yitzchok had taken up residence in towns on this route from time to time as we have read in previous portions of the Torah. The route was well known and they were familiar with it. This is the reason why Yaakov also used this route. As to Rashi quoting Yaakov as having said that possibly he had failed to stop at a place where his father and grandfather had offered prayers to G-d, this must have referred not to Mount Moriah, for he had prayed there repeatedly as stated by our sages in B’reshit Rabbah at the end of chapter 78,16, where we are told that no one can properly appreciate how many libations Yaakov had offered at Mount Moriah, but to Beyt El, for Avraham had prayed there and built an altar as recorded in Genesis 12,78. Our sages in Sanhedrin 44 are on record that if Avraham had not prayed between Beyt El and Ai, the Jewish people would long ago have perished completely (Joshua 7,25 when they were defeated there during the first encounter They were saved only due to the merit acquired by the prayers Avraham had offered in that region.) The reason that this location is referred to as Beyt El is on account of the prayers offered there in the future, for in Yaakov’s time it was still known as Luz. Yitzchok had also offered prayers at that altar which his father Avraham had built. Even though we do not possess a written record of it, it is quite plausible to assume that he used this altar on numerous occasions in order to offer prayers. Yaakov, on the other hand, had not had an opportunity to offer prayers at that location up until now. This is also why he said: “is it possible that I simply passed by this place without stopping to offer up a prayer?” He therefore decided to retrace his steps after coming to Charan, and to go back as far as Beyt El to offer a prayer there. In response to Yaakov’s determination to do so, G-d folded the earth beneath him to expedite matters. What this meant in practice was that the town known as Luz was transported to the vicinity of Charan, saving him many days of walking. G-d’s motivation was that the prayer of a righteous person such as Yaakov should preferably be said in a Temple or other sacred site. As a result, the mountain of Moriah was immediately uprooted and removed as far as Charan. After having prayed there Yaakov continued on his way. When G-d saw that, He said: seeing that this righteous person has taken so much trouble to come to My residence, how can I allow him not to have shelter for the night? This is why He arranged for the sun to set prematurely so that Yaakov would spend the night there. During that night he dreamt the dream reported in detail in our chapter where it became clear to him that the place he had slept was destined to become a Temple in the future. Realising that this was the meaning of the dream, he called the site “house of G-d,” renaming the town of Luz to be known as Beyt El. (House of G-d). This is the meaning of the line: “he called that site Beyt El, the site being that which had previously been known as the town of Luz. The stone which had served as Yaakov’s “pillow,” which had come from Mount Moriah, remained at that site. Yaakov anointed it with oil as a symbol of its future significance. As soon as he had done this, he proceeded on his trek to Charan. It would be wrong to understand the verse as meaning that Yaakov arose in the morning in the town of Charan. This is clear from the Torah telling us in 19,1 that Yaakov then set out in the direction of the people residing in the land of the Orientals. When he met the shepherds huddled around the well he asked them where their home was and they told him that their home was Charan. When Yaakov, 20 years later, was on the way from Lavan to the land of Canaan, he passed this location and he named the site Beyt El and erected a monument at the site. (Genesis 35,7, and 15)[This is a unique exegesis, as, normally, Yaakov is understood as having had to return to that site after having already settled in the land of Canaan and having overlooked his promise to erect a Temple at that site so that G-d had to remind him. (compare chapter 33,18 30) Ed.]

וזה שער השמים AND THIS IS THE GATE OF HEAVEN — a place of prayer where their prayers would ascend to heaven (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 35). The Midrash states (Genesis Rabbah 69:7) that the Heavenly Temple is situated immediately opposite the Earthly Temple (so that the Temple at Jerusalem-Bethel may be styled “the gate” to the Heavenly Temple)

The gate. The ladder signified that it was from that place that prayers ascend to heaven.

אין זה כי אם בית אלוקים, this place is suitable only for becoming a House of G’d, a temple of sorts. a place wherein to pray and to offer sacrifices to G’d. Another explanation of Yaakov’s exclamation could be that he concluded that the only reason he had been shown the vision was to stimulate him to erect a House of G’d there.

The Targum translates it: How דחילו is this place... Rashi is proving that the word דחילו, which is Onkelos’ translation of נורא, [is a noun. It means “awesome.” Despite the ו, it] is not a plural [verb]. Rather, it is Onkelos’ way [to add a ו], such as with the noun תבונה (understanding), which Onkelos translates as סוכלתנו. And so he translates the noun בגד (garment) as וכסו. This shows that it is usual for Onkelos to do so.

He also intended to explain the lofty status of the place by saying that this is the House of God, a physical place preceded by the knowledge that God had chosen a place to cause His name to dwell. He said 'this is that place!' He proved further that this was the chosen place when he said 'this is the gate of heaven.' Yaakov said this because he saw angels rising and descending, and he already knew that the sacred place below was aligned with the gate of heaven:

וזה שער השמים, “and this is the gateway to heaven.” According to Rashi, Yaakov referred to the Temple in heaven which is understood to be “opposite” the terrestrial Temple. If, you the reader were to ask how it is possible that the Temple in heaven is opposite that on earth, seeing that the site of that Temple had been moved by G-d, as we have explained?The answer is that it had been moved to be next to Yaakov. When Yaakov had traveled, the site of the terrestrial Temple had always moved with him, as the miracle had been performed for him and not for a piece of earth.

וזה שער השמים, an expression analogous to Chronicles II 30,27 ותבא תפלתם למעון קדשו לשמים, “their prayer reached the residence of His Holiness, to heaven.”

Its Midrashic ... the Heavenly Beis Hamikdosh is situated directly... It seems that the Midrash is not disagreeing. It is explaining why this is the place where prayers ascend: because it is right below the Heavenly Beis Hamikdosh. Nonetheless, “the gate of heaven” is allegorical; heaven has no gate or window. (Nachalas Yaakov)