Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Mga Awit 119:37

“If God will be with me, etc.” Heaven forbid to suggest that Jacob doubted God’s promise, as God had already said to him Behold, I am with you and will protect you wherever you go. Rather, the explanation of the matter is that Jacob wasn’t asking at all about physical protection, which had already been promised to him, but was now asking about protection of the soul from sin. The evidence for this is that in God’s promise it states I will protect you wherever you go, while Jacob said protect me on this path that I am going, and he should have said “protect me wherever I will go.” Also, the word anokhi [I] is entirely superfluous. The Holy One, Blessed be He said I will return you to the land, attributing the return to God, while Jacob said and I will return in peace to my father’s house, attributing the return to himself. God said to the land, while Jacob said to my father’s house. From all these differences we can learn that Jacob was only asking for protection of the soul from sin, as this is something dependent on human free will yet also requires divine assistance, as David prayed saying Turn my eyes away from seeing falsehood (Psalms 119:37). Therefore, regarding physical protection it mentions protect you wherever you go, using the word all/wherever because all paths are presumed dangerous and his travels would be many. However, the good path is only one, therefore he said protect me on this path, as if pointing with his finger to a specific path about which one would say “this is it,” and this is the path of God in Torah and commandments. For he had already said Indeed, God is in this place because from there Torah would emerge, therefore he said this as if pointing with his finger to something before him, which is the house of God from which one treads a paved path to walk in God’s ways. And since walking in the path of Torah depends on human free will, therefore he added the word anokhi saying that I am going, because the matter depends on me in conjunction with divine assistance about which he said protect me. Therefore he said I will return in peace — complete/whole from sin, and attributed the return to himself because the matter depends on his choice as mentioned. And regarding physical protection He said I will return you to the land because the Land of Israel is where God’s eyes constantly seek, therefore one needs more protection outside the Land than in it, therefore he only needed the promise that He would settle him in the Land of Israel, and upon coming to the land he would automatically be protected. But regarding protection from sin, that he should not learn from the ways of Laban — and not only Laban, for even the Canaanites dwelling in the land did not do good among their people, and there was concern he might learn from the ways of the Amorites — therefore he said to my father’s house, for then he would be saved from this concern of learning from the ways of the wicked.