Rabbi Michael Laitner
If you have comments please feel free to e-mail Rabbi Laitner at: michael@southhampstead.org

Parshat Vayetze

‘And he encountered the ‘Place’ (a name of G-d), and stayed there, for the sun had set…’ (Bereishit 28,11)

Jacob has this esoteric encounter as he flees from the wrath of his brother Esau, to the sanctuary of his uncle Laban, in the land of Charan (approximately modern day Iraq) . The Talmud (Berachot 26b) identifies the verb, ‘encountered’ as connoting prayer. When Jacob stopped for the night, he encountered G-d, through prayer, and is thus seen as the originator of the Ma’ariv (evening) prayer, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather who originated the Mincha (afternoon) and Shacharit (morning) prayers respectively.

Several of the classic Biblical commentators note that the Talmud (Chulin 91b) explains that Jacob knew that his ancestors had also prayed in the same place as he found himself. The Talmud also observes that this spot was the Temple Mount. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, a leading 20^th century Rabbi, notes that this tradition was particularly significant for Jacob, who was in flight from his home to an openly uncertain future. How was he to survive as a Jew in such an exile?

Rabbi Feinstein explains that Jacob could even encounter G-d, despite such a situation. The power of prayer as an anchor to Jacob’s traditions, and a link to G-d, provided spiritual nourishment to sustain Jacob, even in such a trying situation. Jacob garnered the strength to succeed as a Jew, despite his circumstances, and exile. One of the sources of his strength was his prayer. This power of prayer has undoubtedly played a similar role for Jacob’s descendants throughout Jewish history.