Jacob's Dream: The Mysterious Gathering of Stones

Our forefather Jacob sets out from Be'er Sheva towards Haran. As the sun sets, he seeks a place to sleep. He arranges stones around his head, and in the darkness, he doesn't notice anything special. However, in his dream, he sees angels of Hashem ascending and descending. Upon waking, he declares, "This is none other than the House of Hashem, and this is the gate to heaven," promising Hashem, "And this stone, which I have set as a pillar, will be the House of Hashem."

The sages highlighted the difference between his taking stones, as noted by "he took from the stones of the place," and his awakening, observed as "this stone." They commented: It indicates that the stones joined into one, as each stone said, 'Upon me shall this righteous man lay his head.'

We must understand this miracle's significance. Do stones indeed have desires, and was the miracle performed for them so Jacob would rest his head upon them? There seems to be no essential purpose in performing a miracle to seemingly please the stones.

However, based on Jacob's conclusion, after realizing it was the gate of heaven, we can discern the miracle's meaning. Jacob gathered stones around him to arrange a comfortable, protective sleeping place. In the dark, he didn't see or plan anything unusually.

Jacob served Hashem wherever he was, whether fleeing Esau, sitting in a tent, or walking in a field. He felt no difference between places. The Hashem of Isaac and Abraham was with him everywhere. On the way to Haran, he laid down in what he thought was a temporary rest stop, nothing more. However, in his dream, a profound idea was revealed to him that he hadn't yet served Hashem by: certain places are holier than others, deserving to be established for divine service. Here, in this place Jacob deemed an ordinary field, was the gate to heaven. It was a special place, worthy of being a spiritual center, enabling Jacob's descendants to serve Hashem where their great father once did. The patriarchs were in such a high spiritual state that they felt Hashem everywhere, but their descendants needed to seek the gate of heaven, through which to serve Hashem.

After Jacob understood this great matter, he rose in the morning, and noticed the stones he had arranged seemingly by chance, in utter darkness, for merely technical reasons, now combined to form a large monument, like a house. This heavenly sign indicated that with his own hands, unintentionally, he began building the Temple. Thus, he proclaimed excitedly, "This stone which I have placed as a pillar shall become the House of Hashem!"

In this way, Jacob began to lay the foundation for the Israelites' service to Hashem, and it's no wonder that years later, when Hashem appeared to him again, He identified Himself: "I am the Hashem of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar" (Genesis 31). Therefore, the condition of "If Hashem will be with me" is not an expression of doubt but a commitment to the promise: if I return to my place, I can erect the House of Hashem here, and the phrase "If Hashem will be with me" merely expresses humility, not attributing success to himself. "With Hashem's help — here the Temple will be established."