Rishon - Bereishis/Genesis - Parshas Vayeitzei 28:10-22

א׳ (28:10, on the pasuk)

Likkutei Sichos vol. 1, Vayeitzei: Question: "Be'er Sheva" is named for the oath and for the seventh well dug after the peace with Avimelech, and so stands for calm and peace; "Charan" is "the burning wrath of the world". G-d gave us Torah and mitzvos with a full and open hand; why does He not free us from worries (of exile and of livelihood), and even from the world altogether, to sit in the tent of Torah? Answer: The Torah tells the order of Yaakov, whose "children were all whole" and from whom the House of Israel was built. Before building his home he was told to leave Be'er Sheva and the yeshivah of Shem and Ever, a place of revealed G-dliness where mitzvos come easily and sins with difficulty, and go to Charan, where the reverse is true; and it was precisely by standing up to the trials there that he built the House of Israel. Lesson: It is precisely by facing trials and overcoming them that a Jew builds a Jewish home, a home full of light and warmth.

Likkutei Sichos vol. 3, Vayeitzei: Question: What is the directive in the details of Yaakov's descent to Charan? Answer: Yaakov, "the choicest of the Avos", whose "children were all whole", included all later souls in his own, so every detail of his life is a directive and a source of strength for every Jewish soul. Going to "Charan", "the burning wrath of the Omnipresent in the world", means dealing with "Lavan the Aramean" and drawing out the sparks of holiness in his hands, and being whole precisely there; done this way, it is no real descent but "the man burst forth exceedingly". The Zohar notes that on the way out it says "he encountered (vayifga) the place": he had to seek the revelation, and even then saw it only in a dream; on his return, after fulfilling his mission, "angels of G-d met him": the revelation came toward him, while awake. Lesson: As long as a Jew is closed up in his own holy matters he cannot reach the level he reaches by "going to Charan", acting in the world and bringing Jews close; when he sets out to do so, he is given strength from Above, "vayifga bamakom".

Likkutei Sichos vol. 10, Vayeitzei 1: Question: The Midrash: "from Be'er Sheva: from the well of the oath": Yaakov left so that Avimelech would not ask him to swear as his grandfather had, delaying his children's entry into the Land by another generation. But Avraham and Yitzchak did swear to Avimelech and were not concerned about the delay; why was Yaakov alone afraid? And how could Avraham and Yitzchak swear without worrying about the delay? Answer: "From Avraham came out Yishmael, from Yitzchak came out Esav", while Yaakov's "children were all whole". Avraham and Yitzchak dealt with evil by pushing it away, so that it would not oppose or disturb holiness, but its existence remained; so they could make a covenant with Avimelech. Yaakov's work is to refine evil and turn it to good (like a baal teshuvah, whose wilful sins become merits), so he could not stay at a "well of the oath" that leaves the evil where it is; rather "he went out... toward Charan", to "the burning wrath of the Omnipresent", to act there positively: to refine and transform it into holiness.

Maamarim Melukatim vol. 2, "Veshavti BeShalom" (Motzaei Shabbos Vayeitzei, 10 Kislev 5738): (Section 9) "Yaakov left Be'er Sheva and went toward Charan" is the descent of the soul into the body. The descent is not for the soul's own sake, but to refine and purify the body, the animal soul and its portion in the world, for only through this is G-d's desire for "a dwelling in the lower realms" revealed. So the work that follows "he left... toward Charan" is "he took from the stones of the place" (see the note on verse 11).

Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei, "Veshavti BeShalom": Question: What is "Yaakov left Be'er Sheva and went toward Charan", which the maamar explains before "he took from the stones of the place"? Answer: "Yaakov" is yud-eikev: drawing supernal Chochmah (the yud) down to the very "heels". "Be'er Sheva" is the highest level, where "He, His life and His vessels are one"; "Charan" is the lowest, the world of separateness (from "my throat is parched", nichar), where the G-dly life-force is wholly hidden and created things seem to exist on their own. Yaakov, who draws the light from Be'er Sheva down to Charan, wanted to raise the world of separateness so that below too there would be unity and self-nullification as above; and for this "he took from the stones of the place".

Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres, "BaYom HaShemini Shalach Es HaAm": "Yaakov left Be'er Sheva": Binah, the well and source of the seven traits, like "az" (the alef above the seven). From there comes "he went toward Charan", to refine, like "he sent the people away" on Shemini Atzeres; and "Charan" is to become "rinah", joy. So too the eight days of Chanukah: the alef is drawn into the seven.

Torah Ohr, Shemos, "Kol Dodi": (In passing) "Yaakov left Be'er Sheva and went toward Charan": the "throat" (garon) and "Charan" are one. When the life of the traits descends into the narrow passage of the throat ("Mitzrayim") they become bitter; had they remained at "Be'er Sheva" they would be sweet. The remedy is to cry out to G-d in prayer, for the voice arouses intent and reveals love.

ב׳ (28:10, on Rashi "Vayeitzei")

Likkutei Sichos vol. 35, Vayeitzei 1: Question: The Midrash asks: "There only that righteous woman was in the place; but here, were not Yitzchak and Rivkah there?", and answers, "The merit of one tzaddik is not like the merit of two." Why did Rashi leave out this question and answer, which belong to the plain meaning? And why did he add "it is its majesty" and put it before "radiance" and "splendor", while on Rus he writes briefly "its radiance, its splendor, the praise of the city departed"? Answer: Rashi explains the words from the language of Scripture: "splendor" (hadar) is honor, the city is honored by the tzaddik living there; "radiance" (ziv) is like the radiance of the sun, light that spreads: by his conduct and good deeds he shines on the townspeople and they learn from him; "majesty" (hod) is a light that brings awe, like the rays of Moshe's face. For Rashi the point is the tzaddik's effect on how the townspeople live, so the Midrash's answer is not needed: Yitzchak was "confined to the house, as though dead" (Rashi on verse 13) and did not deal with the townspeople to change their conduct. On Rus the point is protection and praise, so "majesty" is not put first there. The inner dimension: "Yaakov left Be'er Sheva and went toward Charan" alludes to the soul's descent into the body; the very departure from cleaving to G-d ("Be'er Sheva") is mesirus nefesh and "makes an impression", and in its merit every Jew deserves "I will return in peace to my father's house".

ג׳ (28:11, on the pasuk)

Maamarim Melukatim vol. 2, "Veshavti BeShalom" (Motzaei Shabbos Vayeitzei, 10 Kislev 5738): (Sections 9 to 11, 21) The soul's main work below is "he took from the stones of the place": refining the matters of the world, the physical things of one's portion in it ("all your deeds for the sake of Heaven"), which has an advantage even over the work of Torah and mitzvos. The "stones of the place", in the plural, become through his work "one stone", and "I set it up as a pillar (matzeivah)" is from "a king stood (nitzav)": he becomes master of his affairs and draws G-d's kingship into them. This exists in man himself too: stones are letters, the "inanimate" among a person's faculties, and precisely because of this they draw down a very high light.

Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei, "Veshavti BeShalom": Question: What are the stones, and why were there first many stones, which Yaakov made into one? Answer: Stones are letters ("two stones build two houses"): as a house is built from many stones, so words, in which intellect is clothed, are built from letters; and as a stone is inanimate, so are letters compared to intellect. "The stones of the place" are the letters of G-d's word clothed in the world, which in the chain of descent became separate; Yaakov made them all into one stone, the letter yud, raising them to supernal Chochmah: "he put it at his head". Then "he set it up as a pillar": the letter vav, drawing Chochmah down into Torah and mitzvos ("the Torah comes from supernal Chochmah"); and "he poured oil on its top": a drawing down from Above.

Likkutei Torah, Vezos HaBerachah, "Mizmor Shir Chanukas": (In passing) The 248 words of the Shema are called 248 stones, the "inanimate" level. This is "he took from the stones of the place": the 248 words of the Shema, the level of Malchus, the lowest of all; "he put them at his head" (not "under his head"): their root is higher still, above the level of the intellect.

ד׳ (28:11, on Rashi "Vayifga")

Likkutei Sichos vol. 1, Vayeitzei: (Section 3) Question: Going to Charan to find his match, Yaakov should seemingly first have learned the language and customs of the land and put on its clothes; what did he do? "Vayifga bamakom": he stood to pray. Answer and lesson: One who goes out to build a Jewish home may think: until now I sat and learned and prayed; now that I go out into the world I must set all that aside and take on the ways of the land. He is told: no. "Vayifga": now especially he must give himself to prayer even more than before, for his earlier service is not enough for his new situation, in which he faces trials far greater than before, and he must ask G-d to help him withstand them.

Likkutei Sichos vol. 3, Vayeitzei: (Section 3) On his way to Charan, though he had learned much Torah in the house of Ever, it says "vayifga bamakom": he had to seek the "place", the revelation of G-dliness, and saw it only in a dream; on his return, after fulfilling his mission in Charan, "angels of G-d met him", while awake. So too every Jew: when he goes out to act in the world and bring Jews close, he is given strength from Above, "vayifga bamakom", to carry out his mission.

Likkutei Sichos vol. 25, Vayeitzei 2: (In passing) Maariv is optional because it is bound up with a level so high that man's service cannot reach it: an arousal from Above that no arousal from below reaches, drawn down as if by itself. So it is learned from "vayifga", like an unintended encounter (unlike "where he had stood" for Avraham or "to meditate in the field" for Yitzchak); and this fits the explanation "the land contracted for him": an act from Above, not through man's service.

ה׳ (28:11, on Rashi "Vayasem meraashosav")

Likkutei Sichos vol. 1, Vayeitzei: (Sections 4 and 5) Question: Rashi: "he made them like a gutter around his head, for he feared wild animals". If he trusted in G-d, he did not need to surround even his head; and if he did not want to rely on a miracle, he should have protected his body and feet too? Answer: "When you eat the labor of your hands": one can earn a living with "the labor of your hands", the head free and immersed in Torah and service while the hands do the work, or with "the labor of your head". Yaakov knew he would work for Lavan and that wild animals were already on the road, so he surrounded his head with stones: the head would stay guarded, and the troubles of the road and of working for Lavan would be only "the labor of your hands". And with stones, the inanimate, not with intellect or feeling: as a stone does not move until it is carried, a person must feel like a simple servant whom G-d carries from place to place to fulfill his mission. Lesson: Make sure the head is guarded; when the head is as it should be, the hands and feet will be too, and business will be conducted according to the Shulchan Aruch.

ו׳ (28:11, on Rashi "Vayishkav bamakom hahu")

Likkutei Sichos vol. 20, Vayeitzei 1: Question: On "he lay down in that place" the Midrash (Rashi's source) says: "Here he lay down, but all fourteen years he was hidden in the house of Ever he did not lie down"; and another view: "all twenty years he stood in Lavan's house he did not lie down... What did he say? The fifteen Songs of Ascents in Tehillim" (another view: the whole book of Tehillim). The question "what did he say" means: with what did Yaakov withstand the hardship of exile in Lavan's house, and what is the special connection of the fifteen Songs of Ascents to this? Answer: The fifteen Songs of Ascents correspond to the fifteen years the three Avos lived together (Chida); by saying them Yaakov roused the merit of Avraham and Yitzchak too, so that their strength would be drawn to him, as he said: "Were it not for the G-d of my father, the G-d of Avraham and the Fear of Yitzchak..." (like the battle order, cited from the Alter Rebbe's time, of dividing the army into three). And "a song of ascents": the trials did not only fail to stop his service, they roused more strength and courage in him, until he was in a state of "song". Lesson: In the doubled darkness of the generation before Moshiach one must not fall into despair: since the descent into exile (like "Yaakov left... toward Charan") is for the sake of an ascent, one must "lift my eyes" to the purpose of the exile, the coming redemption, and then one stands in open joy, "a song of ascents".

ז׳ (28:12, on the pasuk)

Maamarim Melukatim vol. 1, "VeAvraham Zaken" (Motzaei Shabbos Chayei Sarah, 5738): (In passing) Prayer is "a ladder set on the ground (artzah) and its top reaching heaven (hashamaymah)": it joins the two extremes. "Artzah", with the added hei, is the very lowest level of this physical earth; "hashamaymah", with an added hei, is higher even than "heaven". Through prayer, even one who is "on the ground", at the lowest levels, can rise to the most exalted ones; and through this his Torah and mitzvos too are refined and rise upward.

Maamarim Melukatim vol. 2, "Shalom Rav LeOhavei Sorasecha" (Motzaei Shabbos Vayeishev, 5738): (In passing) The Midrash's two readings of "a ladder set on the ground and its top reaching heaven", "the ladder is the ramp (of the altar)", prayer, and "the ladder is Sinai", Torah, are connected: the self-nullification of prayer, coming first, raises the Torah study that follows, so that the infinite light is drawn into it.

Maamarim Melukatim vol. 2, "Basi LeGani" (Motzaei Shabbos Bo, 10 Shevat 5730): (In passing) Prayer unites the transcendent and the immanent light, for prayer is "a ladder set on the ground and its top reaching heaven": it joins the soul in the body ("on the ground"), like the immanent light, with the soul above ("heaven"), which encompasses the soul in the body, like the transcendent light; and the union of the two within man brings about their union Above.

Maamarim Melukatim vol. 3, "Al Sheloshah Devarim" (Shabbos Kedoshim, 5714): (In passing) "A ladder set on the ground and its top reaching heaven", and in the Zohar, "the ladder is prayer": even when a person is at the lowest level ("on the ground"), through the ladder of prayer he reaches up "to heaven", with a yearning to rise ever higher, without end.

Torah Ohr, Bereishis, "Ki KaAsher HaShamayim HaChadashim": (In passing) Prayer is called "a ladder set on the ground and its top reaching heaven": the ladder is the ascent of ratzo (yearning upward); "its top reaching heaven": in the Shemoneh Esrei the "shov" begins, the drawing down below, whose main part comes afterwards through Torah and mitzvos.

Torah Ohr, Vayakhel, "VaYakhel Moshe": (In passing) Weekday prayer stands between Shabbos and the weekdays, and so is likened to a ladder: as on a ladder the one below climbs from the ground to the roof and the one above comes down, so in prayer the soul rises to the Supernal Will and draws the light of the Will revealed on Shabbos into the six weekdays. This is "angels of G-d ascending and descending on it": the ladder has both an ascent from below and a descent from above.

Likkutei Torah, additions (Beshalach), "Re'u Ki Hashem Nasan Lachem Es HaShabbos": (In passing) Prayer joins the hidden supernal delight with the lower beings, and it is called a ladder, as the Zohar says on "a ladder set on the ground and its top reaching heaven": a ladder has many levels, its rungs, which in general are the four worlds, one above the other, and one climbs from level to level.

Likkutei Torah, Naso, "Ko Sevarchu": (In passing) Since a person is tied to the lower world, through the animal soul and physicality, prayer must begin from below upward: "a ladder set on the ground and its top reaching heaven", from the morning blessings "who opens the eyes of the blind, who straightens the bent" until one reaches "One". Through this "angels of G-d ascend and descend on it (bo)": on man, for man includes the four beasts of the Chariot, and they all rise as his soul rises.

Likkutei Torah, Yom Kippur, "LeVaer Inyan Yom HaKippurim": (In passing) In the Tikkunim, prayer is "a ladder set on the ground and its top reaching heaven, and angels of G-d ascending and descending on it". The "angels of G-d" are the mitzvos, the King's messengers ("they honored the mitzvos, which are My messengers"), and they rise through prayer; in this way Shabbos is kept in the soul even on weekdays.

Likkutei Torah, Haazinu, "KeNesher Yair Kino": (In passing) "Ascending and descending" are the two ways the angels move: "ascending", two, the faces of the lion and the ox; "descending", the eagle (nesher, from noshar, falling), drawing down below. And "ascending" means that the angels are raised through Israel, as in "I have eaten my forest with my honey", through mesirus nefesh in the Shema.

Likkutei Torah, Vayikra, "Vayikra El Moshe": (In passing) "A ladder set on the ground... angels of G-d ascending": the "angels of G-d" are the mitzvos, which at first are called "G-d's messengers" and rise up by the ladder, prayer, until they become "the limbs of the King".

Igros Kodesh vol. 14, letter 5095: (In passing) To one who asked for a blessing "to climb the ladder that rises to Beis-El", the Rebbe writes: Torah and mitzvos are the ladder of which it says "a ladder set on the ground and its top reaching heaven", as our Sages say, "the ladder is Sinai (they have the same numerical value)" and "the ladder is prayer". Lesson: Add as much as one can in Torah study, both nigleh and Chassidus, and in keeping the mitzvos with care, for there is always room to rise higher.

Igros Kodesh vol. 19, letter 7255: (In passing) The Torah joins the two extremes: G-d's boundless delight, and at the same time guidance for daily life in the physical world. This is the task of the Jewish people in every generation, as hinted in Yaakov's dream, "a ladder set on the ground and its top reaching heaven": to unite the very lowest with the very highest, so that "G-d stood over it".

ח׳ (28:12, on Rashi "Olim veyordim")

Likkutei Sichos vol. 25, Vayeitzei 2: Question: Here Rashi says: "Angels that escorted him in the Land do not go outside the Land; they went up to heaven, and angels of outside the Land came down to escort him." At the end of the parsha ("angels of G-d met him") he explains: "angels of Eretz Yisrael came toward him to escort him to the Land", outside the Land. How did angels of Eretz Yisrael leave it? (The Gur Aryeh says they came to guard him from any hindrance to entering the Land; but the angels of outside the Land guarding him on the road would guard him from that too, so it seems they came only "to escort him", in his honor.) Answer: At the start of the parsha Yaakov is leaving the Land, so its angels cannot go on with him; at the end he is returning, and "to escort him to the Land" they can, and perhaps must, come out toward him; this is bound up with the completion of his work outside the Land. Inwardly: "vayifgeu bo" is like "vayifga bamakom", Maariv, an arousal from Above. At the start, as Yaakov sets out to his work, comes the arousal from Above that prepares and strengthens him for it; at the end, the arousal from Above that comes after the work is complete. Lesson: While a Jew is still outside the Land, in exile, G-d sends angels of Eretz Yisrael toward him to escort him to the Land, revealing the greatness of his service; this gives him strength, encouragement and resolve.

Igros Kodesh vol. 14, letter 4902: Question: He was asked why the verse puts "ascending" before "descending"; and on the Midrash that the "ascending" angels had been expelled from their station, how could angels, who have no free choice, act against the Creator's will? Answer: Rashi already answers the first question (from the Midrash there; see also Rashbam): the angels of the Land went up first, and then the angels of outside the Land came down. As for the second: they surely did not want to go against His will, but did not know it was against His will; no created being, even an angel, can be perfect in every respect (as Rashi explains "which G-d created to make": to perfect), so it can err, like Adam, formed by G-d's own hands, who stumbled even before the sin through an erroneous ruling.

ט׳ (28:13, on Rashi "VEilokei Yitzchak")

Likkutei Sichos vol. 5, Vayeitzei 1: Question: Rashi (from Tanchuma): although G-d does not attach His Name to tzaddikim in their lifetime, here He attached it to Yitzchak, "since his eyes had dimmed... he was as though dead... and the evil inclination had left him". True, a blind man is considered as dead (Nedarim 64b), and one view holds him exempt from mitzvos like the dead; but that does not explain why "the evil inclination left him": we see that a blind person has desires and can sin. Answer: First the Gemara's story (Moed Katan 28a) of Rav Yosef, who was blind: on reaching sixty he made a celebration for the Sages, "I have passed the age of kareis". The Alter Rebbe explains in Iggeres HaTeshuvah why those liable to kareis die at fifty and those liable to death at the hand of Heaven at sixty: these sins "cut the cord that draws life from the Name Havayah", and in a Jew the life of the body comes from the G-dly soul. With Rav Yosef there was clear proof that his life came from the chambers of holiness: his humility in declining to head the yeshivah, in whose merit his household needed no bloodletter all the years Rabbah led, conduct above nature. (For the application to Yitzchak, see the sicha there.)

Likkutei Sichos vol. 15, Toldos 3 (in a note): (In a note) Here too Rashi's wording is precise. His source, Tanchuma, says "since he was blinded in his eyes" (and Tanna d'Vei Eliyahu: "from here, a blind man is considered as dead"), but Rashi writes "his eyes dimmed... he is as though dead": the verse says only "his eyes dimmed", and in the plain meaning Yitzchak cannot have been blind, for he was "a perfect offering", and blindness is a blemish; "dimmed" means his sight weakened, not that he could not see at all.

י׳ (28:13, on Rashi "Shochev aleha")

Likkutei Sichos vol. 20, Vayeitzei 2: Question: Rashi seems copied from the Gemara (Chullin 91b): "What is the novelty?... G-d folded up all of Eretz Yisrael and placed it under Yaakov, so that it would be easy for his children to conquer"; but Rashi changes it to "He hinted to him that it would be easy to conquer", and does not add "like his four cubits", as in his commentary on the Gemara. And for Avraham ("Arise, walk through the land... so that it would be easy to conquer") Rashi does not bring this at all. Answer: In the plain meaning there is no room for the Gemara's question, for "on which you lie" defines which land: the land you are lying on. The question Rashi answers is why this sign was needed at all, rather than "this land I will give you". He answers: "G-d folded all of Eretz Yisrael under him", and that is the novelty compared with the promise to Avraham: Avraham was told "arise, walk through the land", while Yaakov received ownership merely by lying down, doing nothing: "He hinted to him" that his children's conquest would come easily, from Above. Inwardly: In a person's four cubits the yechidah of the soul shines (the Mitteler Rebbe's maamar "Atah Echad"); "folded... under him", in Yaakov's four cubits, tied the ownership of Eretz Yisrael to Yaakov's yechidah, and so to that of every Jew; at the level of yechidah there is no opposition, so from there the refinement comes about by itself, without war, in peace.

י״א (28:14, on the pasuk)

Likkutei Sichos vol. 15, Vayeitzei 1: Question: "Whoever delights in Shabbos is given an inheritance without boundaries... like Yaakov, of whom it is written, you shall burst forth westward, eastward, northward and southward." Reward is measure for measure; in what way is Shabbos itself "without boundaries"? And of Yaakov himself: "Yaakov, of whom keeping Shabbos is written... inherited the world without measure." Answer: The Mitteler Rebbe explains ("Atah Echad") that in other mitzvos there is a difference between how tzaddikim and simple people keep them, but in Shabbos all are equal, "their rest is You", for the heart of Shabbos is the rest of the soul in its essence, the yechidah, above revelation in mind and heart, where all Jews are equal. "You shall burst forth", an inheritance without boundaries, is truly the expanse of G-d's very Essence, drawn down by keeping Shabbos. And it was specifically in Yaakov (the middle line; "your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth", dust showing utter self-nullification) that the yechidah shone, so it is he of whom "you shall burst forth" is said; and so the techumin are stressed with him, for a person's techum is his "place", like his four cubits, where the yechidah shines.

Maamarim Melukatim vol. 2, "Padah BeShalom" (Shabbos Vayeitzei, 10 Kislev 5722): (In passing) Both ways of refinement (from above and from below) are joined through the revelation of the yechidah, which is beyond limits. That is why it is said of Yaakov, "you shall burst forth westward, eastward, northward and southward", an inheritance without boundaries: the yechidah was revealed in him; and so "your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth", dust showing utter self-nullification. The full truth of "you shall burst forth" will come through Moshiach, the general yechidah: "the one who breaks through will go up before them."

Igros Kodesh vol. 17, letter 6415: (In passing) As explained in the maamar said at the farbrengen of 12 and 13 Tammuz: "He raises the poor from the dust": when one goes down to the dust, "your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth", then the time has come for the promise "you shall burst forth", and the one who breaks through, Moshiach, will go up before us.

י״ב (28:17, on the pasuk)

Maamarim Melukatim vol. 4, "Gadol Yihyeh Kevod HaBayis" (Shabbos Matos-Masei, 5722): (In passing) The site of the Mikdash, even before it was built, is above the space of the whole world, as it says, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of G-d", which Onkelos renders "this is no ordinary place": the world is "ordinary" because it was created by the ten utterances, "ordinary words" ("and Elokim said"), while at the site of the Mikdash the Name Havayah was revealed: "Indeed, Havayah is in this place". The world is bound by space and time because it comes from the Name Elokim; in the Mikdash space itself was above space: "the place of the Ark was not part of the measurement".

Torah Ohr, Mikeitz, explanation of "Ner Chanukah": (In passing) Yaakov said "how awesome", so in "the great, the mighty and the awesome", "awesome" is Yaakov's trait. Seemingly awe belongs to Yitzchak's fear, not to Yaakov; but Yaakov is the one who stands between the Avos, and two opposites cannot be joined until a spirit from above both is poured upon them.

Likkutei Torah, Masei, "LeVaer Inyan HaMasaos": (In passing) "He was afraid and said, how awesome": "he was afraid" means that he brought fear upon himself; though he does not yet grasp G-d's greatness enough for awe to fall on him, he overcomes himself to accept the yoke of Heaven: netzach within gevurah, as in "you shall set a king over you", for once one has made him king, awe of him follows.

Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah, "Yom Tov shel Rosh Hashanah SheChal Lihyos BeShabbos": (In passing) When Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos the shofar was blown in the Mikdash, for it says "this is the gate of heaven", said of the Beis HaMikdash: as a gate is open for coming in and going out, so in it Binah of Atzilus could be revealed; in the Second Temple this could be drawn only to the Mikdash itself, "the gate of heaven", and not to the rest of the land.

Likkutei Torah, Masei, "Eileh Masei": (In passing) Jerusalem is the source of holiness for the whole world, for "this is the gate of heaven": there the flow from Above is drawn down ("for there G-d commanded the blessing"), and from it all lands received; opposite it stands the "wilderness of the nations", the source from which the kelipos draw.

י״ג (28:19, on the pasuk)

Likkutei Sichos vol. 15, Vayeitzei 2: Question: On "he called the name of that place Beis-El" the Gemara says (Pesachim 88a, cited by Rashi on verse 17): "Not like Avraham, of whom 'mountain' is written, nor like Yitzchak, of whom 'field' is written, but like Yaakov, who called it a 'house'", and so "the house of the G-d of Yaakov". The commentators explain that "house" is the Third Beis HaMikdash, a permanent and eternal building, tied to Yaakov because his inheritance is "without boundaries" ("you shall burst forth"). Yet Yaakov's life shows the opposite of permanence: all his days he wandered, more than Avraham and Yitzchak. And what has this to do with "many peoples shall go and say... to the house of the G-d of Yaakov... for from Zion shall go forth Torah and the word of G-d from Jerusalem"? Answer: "Torah" includes questions, first suppositions and opinions not followed in practice, while "the word of Havayah is halachah"; "Zion" and "Jerusalem" are two levels also in the service of Jews. Avraham served in the line of kindness and love, revealing G-dliness from above to below, like the First Temple ("Zion", "Torah"); Yitzchak in the line of severity, awe and self-nullification, like the Second Temple ("the word of G-d from Jerusalem"); and Yaakov, the choicest of the Avos, in the middle line, Tiferes, which includes both, corresponding to the Third Temple, where complete revelation and complete self-nullification will be together. Every trait in holiness has an opposing trait: "from Avraham came Yishmael, from Yitzchak came Esav"; so the First and Second Temples, each mainly in one trait, could be destroyed. Yaakov's trait, which includes kindness and severity, has no opposite; so "his children were all whole", and the Third Temple, which will have "Zion" and "Jerusalem" together, will be a permanent, eternal house. Lesson: For Jews to influence the world one line is not enough: service out of love, understanding and delight must carry a felt self-nullification, and awe and self-nullification must carry understanding and vitality; when both are together, "the trait of Yaakov", truth, then "many peoples shall go... to the house of the G-d of Yaakov, and He will teach us His ways and we will walk in His paths".

י״ד (28:20, on the pasuk)

Likkutei Sichos vol. 15, Vayeitzei 3: Question: How could Yaakov make his good deeds ("this stone", "I will surely tithe") depend on the condition "if G-d will be with me", as if serving for a reward? It must be that his aim was the vow itself, and the condition was the way to fulfill it. Also, for Rashi "and Hashem will be my G-d" ends the condition, and for Ramban it begins the vow; why then are the verses not divided that way? Answer: Yaakov's descent from Be'er Sheva to Charan was a descent for the sake of an ascent, which has three parts: (a) he was not affected by Lavan and left "whole, free of sin", like a baal teshuvah's advantage over a tzaddik; (b) there he fulfilled "be fruitful and multiply" and raised the tribes; (c) making the world a dwelling for G-d. So too every soul's descent (Ohr HaChaim): above, the soul is like a tzaddik; descending into a body and animal soul and serving in Torah and mitzvos, and especially in "all your deeds for the sake of Heaven" and "know Him in all your ways" in permitted things, it gains the quality of a baal teshuvah; higher still, when it makes the world's matters into vessels for G-dliness. Even this is not the purpose: the purpose is not the soul's ascent but fulfilling the Creator's intent, "a dwelling in the lower realms" for His Essence, through the self-nullification of a simple servant. So the two parts of the condition ("if G-d... bread to eat and clothing to wear"; "and I return in peace") and the two parts of the vow ("Hashem will be my G-d"; "this stone... a house of G-d") match the service, the ascents and the purpose. For Rashi "Hashem will be my G-d" ("that no unfit one be found among my offspring") belongs to the condition, since the soul's ascent is only a preparation for the purpose, "this stone... a house of G-d"; for Ramban, whose commentary includes "pleasant words for those who know grace" (Kabbalah), from the side of revelation the soul's ascent is also a purpose. Rashi, the plain meaning, is the service of a simple servant who asks nothing for himself.

ט״ו (28:21, on the pasuk)

Likkutei Sichos vol. 25, Yud Kislev: Question: Yud Kislev, the redemption of the Mitteler Rebbe, falls in the week of Vayeitzei, and "all the festivals... are connected with the parshiyos in which they fall" (Shelah). What is the connection? Answer: The parsha as a whole is exile and redemption, from "Yaakov left... toward Charan" to "Yaakov went on his way". One of Yaakov's requests was "and I return in peace to my father's house": not only that he return whole, but that the return be "in peace", calmly; and so it was: though Lavan pursued him ("it is in my power to do you harm"), everything passed in peace. This is the connection with the Mitteler Rebbe's redemption, bound up with "He redeemed my soul in peace": not only redemption from the enemy, but by way of peace. More deeply: the Alter Rebbe explains in Torah Ohr that "beshalom" means two kinds of peace, from above to below and from below to above. So with Yaakov: not only "G-d came to Lavan... beware" (from above), but Lavan himself said "come, let us make a covenant" (from below). So too in the revealing of Chassidus: with the Alter Rebbe, in the mode of Chochmah, the peace is from above to below; the Mitteler Rebbe, who revealed Chassidus at length in understanding and comprehension (Binah), brought "peace from below to above": the many details of the intellect themselves become united, "He redeemed in peace".

Maamarim Melukatim vol. 2, "Veshavti BeShalom" (Motzaei Shabbos Vayeitzei, 10 Kislev 5738): Question: What is "I return in peace", specifically "in peace", especially after he already asked for "bread to eat and clothing to wear", which are also spiritual bread and clothing? What is new in "Havayah will be my G-d", since "Havayah is G-d" is always true? And how can a stone, inanimate, be "a house of G-d"? Answer: "Bread to eat and clothing to wear" are Torah (the soul's food) and mitzvos (its garments); "I return in peace" is the work of refining permitted matters. "Peace" is not mentioned with Torah and mitzvos, for while doing them a person stands in the open will of his G-dly soul, the tzaddik within him, and "peace" belongs only where there is opposition: in permitted matters, done also for the body and the animal soul. "To my father's house": Yitzchak, the supernal laughter and delight that comes from subduing and transforming; "house": steadily, in all his affairs, his portion in the world too. Through this "Havayah will be my G-d": so high a light will be drawn down that compared with it today's Havayah will be like Elokim; and "this stone... will be a house of G-d": the physical things themselves, once "stones of the place", now "one stone" and a "pillar" ("a king stood"), will be a house and dwelling for His very Essence. This shows the greatness of the service at the end of exile, which is mainly teshuvah.

Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei, "Veshavti BeShalom": Question: What is the link between the stone and the Name Havayah, that only when Havayah becomes "Elokim" will the stone be a house of G-d? And why is "this stone" feminine and "will be" (yihyeh) masculine? Answer: "I return... to my father's house" is Yaakov's return from "Charan" to "rinah": "my father" is Yitzchak ("for You are our father", which in the future will be said to Yitzchak), from laughter and delight, which will be revealed in the future out of the refinements below, by subduing and transforming darkness into light, like the parable of a talking bird, whose novelty brings laughter; through teshuvah the ches of "Charan" becomes a hei, "rinah". "In peace": peace joins two opposites, and there are two: "peace, peace, to the far and to the near": peace from below to above (the far brought near) and from above to below (drawing G-dliness into Torah and mitzvos, "he poured oil"). Through this "Havayah will be my G-d": Havayah will be only as Elokim compared with the future revelation, as "G-d will take the sun out of its sheath". So "this stone" (feminine), Malchus that receives from the Name Havayah, "will be a house of G-d".

Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei, explanation of "Veshavti BeShalom" ("VeHayah Havayah Li LElokim"): Question: What is this prayer and request, that Havayah be as Elokim and the stone a house of G-d? How can a stone be a seat for the highest holiness, so that the name of Heaven rests on it? Answer: Through "Yaakov" (yud-eikev; "command the salvations (yeshuos) of Yaakov", the 370 lights) the infinite light above the chain of worlds is revealed in the G-dly soul. This is "he took from the stones of the place and put them at his head": the stones are letters, "at his head" is the yud, "he set it up as a pillar" is the vav; but the goal is not the raising from below, but "he poured oil on its top": drawing supernal Chochmah, the Torah, below. "He went toward Charan": Charan (with the kollel) equals garon, throat, in gematria ("my throat is parched"), and Charan becomes rinah; "I return in peace to my father's house": from Charan to Yitzchak, "G-d has made laughter for me"; "in peace": from below upward and from above downward. Then, when the supernal laughter is revealed and nothing is felt as a separate thing, "Havayah will be my G-d"; and the stone, the raised yud, will be a dwelling for this: "a house of G-d".

Maamarim Melukatim vol. 2, "Padah BeShalom" (Shabbos Vayeitzei, 10 Kislev 5722): (Sections 4 to 6, 10) "I return in peace to my father's house": Yaakov went to Charan to refine the sparks there, and their refinement and return to their root ("to my father's house") would be in peace. "Beshalom" means two kinds of peace, from above to below and from below to above, so even refinement from below upward, by entering into the world, is to be in peace, and each has its own advantage. "Havayah will be my G-d": through the work of refinement (returning the sparks to their source) Havayah (the transcendent) and Elokim (the immanent) will be united, "to unite the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah".

Likkutei Torah, Shelach, "Ani Hashem Elokeichem": (In passing) Yaakov said "I return in peace... and Havayah will be my G-d": the Name Havayah denotes the light that brings into being and gives life, and this revelation will be to him only like the Name Elokim, which conceals, through the revealing of the infinite light far above the Name Havayah, "His great Name"; this is "to be your G-d", in the future.

Likkutei Torah, Re'eh, "VeChol Banayich": (In passing) "I return in peace to my father's house, and Havayah will be my G-d": "in peace", through two kinds of peace, he will reach "my father's house", Yitzchak, laughter and joy, the revealed inner supernal delight; then "Havayah will be my G-d": what is now Havayah will be as Elokim compared with the revelation above Havayah ("then you shall delight upon Havayah"). This comes specifically through "vehayah", and the Midrash says: "G-d took the words of the Avos and made them a key to the redemption of the children: you said 'vehayah Hashem li lElokim'; by your life, all the good I give your children will come only in this word."

Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah, "Shuvah Yisrael": (In passing) Yaakov prayed in the order of the levels from below upward, the level of tzaddikim: "if G-d will be with me and guard me... and I return in peace to my father's house": after G-d is with him in subduing and transforming, and after all the levels up to "I return in peace", then "Havayah will be my G-d": he will reach the wondrous level of self-nullification and inclusion in the infinite light, compared to which even the Name Havayah is a contraction. So too "a ladder set on the ground... this is Sinai", "its top reaching heaven".

Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah, "VeHayah BaYom HaHu Yitaka BeShofar Gadol": (In passing) Of the future it says "Havayah will be my G-d": the Name Havayah, which now transcends all worlds, will then fill all worlds, like the Name Elokim, and G-dliness will be revealed: "the glory of Havayah will be revealed". The Midrash: "You said 'vehayah Hashem li lElokim'; by your life, all good... 'vehayah on that day a great shofar will be sounded'."

ט״ז (28:22, on the pasuk)

Likkutei Sichos vol. 1, Vayeitzei: (Section 6) The reward of this service is "this stone which I have set up as a pillar shall be a house of G-d": not silver or gold, nor stones of a house in town, but stones he found on the road became a house of G-d. Through what? Through surrounding himself with stones (accepting the yoke), and binding himself to G-d with a vow, which obliges him even where his will, mind and feelings would not; through this he reached the height of ascent, so that even his most ordinary things became a house of G-d. Lesson: For everyone, and especially for a bride and groom building a Jewish home: not only the siddur and Chumash in the home are holy, but also the fork and spoon; this comes when the beginning is "vayifga bamakom", until even in sleep "this is the gate of heaven"; then the home and everything in it become a house of G-d.