Jacob's Vow

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Jacob's Vow

TANAKH

Jacob formalizes his debt to God for all the divine protection that he will need on his way out from his father's home. This is one of the many important details of Jacob's life found in Genesis, the Torah's first book.

Jacob then made a vow, saying, “If God remains with me, protecting me on this journey that I am making, and giving me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and I return safe to my father’s house— יהוה shall be my God. And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be God’s abode; and of all that You give me, I will set aside a tithe for You.”

Genesis 28:20-22

The Perils of Delayed Vows

CHASIDUT

Delaying the fulfillment of a vow can lead to severe consequences, including idolatry, immorality, bloodshed, and slander. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, in his early 19th-century work Likutei Moharan, explores the esoteric implications of Jacob's delayed vow fulfillment.

The esoteric reason for this is as follows: A person who makes a vow must see to fulfill it immediately. Someone who delays in fulfilling his pledge brings about these four measures. This is brought in the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 37:1), whichlearns this from Yaakov. Because he delayed fulfilling his vow, he came to the aforementioned four things: [i] idolatry: as it is stated, “Get rid of the alien gods” (Genesis 35:2); [ii] immorality: “And Dinah went out…” (ibid. 34:1) ; [iii] bloodshed: in Shekhem (see ibid. 34:25-26) ; [iv] slander: “And he heard the words of Lavan’s sons” (ibid. 31:1).

Likutei Moharan, Part II 27:1:2

The Conditional Vow of Jacob

MUSAR

Jacob's conditional vow raises intriguing questions about the nature of faith and the validity of conditional vows in Jewish law. Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, in his 17th-century work Shenei Luchot HaBerit, delves into the legal and theological implications of Jacob's use of the word 'if' in his vow to God.

Jacob prefaced his vow with the words: אם יהיה אלוקים עמדי, If the Lord will be with me, etc." He concluded it by saying that if his request would be granted: והיה ה' לי לאלוקים, "then the Lord will be my G–d." How could Jacob have dared to use the word אם, "if," which suggests that he made his loyalty to G–d dependent on G–d fulfilling his requests? We have a halachic ruling in Baba Metzia 66 that if someone purchases something by prefacing his remarks with the conditional word אם, such a purchase is invalid, seeing he had not truly committed himself…

Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Torah Shebikhtav, Vayetzei, Torah Ohr 82

The Consequences of Delay

COMMENTARY

Jacob's delay in fulfilling his vow to build a house for G-d at Bet El led to his punishment, which may well have included the incident involving Dinah. Radak, a medieval Jewish commentator, explains the significance of Jacob's journey and the divine command to fulfill his vow at Bet El.

ויאמר אלוקים, an angel appeared to him while he was at Shechem and told him to proceed to Bet El, and to redeem his vow there. Regarding the words of the angel: ושב שם, “and settle down there!,” this did not mean that Yaakov was to settle there permanently, but that he was to remain there long enough to build the house of G’d which he had undertaken to do as part of his original vow. The angel on this occasion hinted that Yaakov’s “dream” with the ladder had in fact been more than a dream, it had been the first vision of the Divine he had experienced…

Radak on Genesis 35:1:1

Jacob's Tithing Commitment

COMMENTARY

Jacob's commitment to tithing, even without owning arable land, demonstrates his dedication to fulfilling his vow to God. The medieval commentary Daat Zekenim explores how Jacob fulfilled his vow by tithing livestock, referencing Midrashic and Talmudic sources.

'וכל אשר תתן לי וגו, “and all that You will give to me, etc.;” Yaakov promised to tithe all the money (material goods) that he would acquire with the help of G–d. (B’reshit Rabbah, 70,7) A heretic once asked Rabbi Yoshua son of Levi, where the Torah reported that Yaakov kept this promise. He was answered that Yaakov declared this tithe “sacred,” i.e. he gave it to the treasury of religious institutions. Thereupon the heretic wanted to know what this tithe consisted as precisely seeing that Yaakov was not a wealthy man…

Da'at Zekenim on Genesis 28:22:1

Did God Promise Bread?

MIDRASH

While God fulfilled most of Jacob's requests in his vow, there is a debate among the sages about whether God explicitly promised to provide bread. The Midrash Tanchuma, an early medieval collection of midrash, explores Jacob's vow and God's responses, offering insights into divine providence and faith.

And Jacob made a vow, saying: If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God (Gen. 28:20–21). R. Berechiah maintained that the Holy One, blessed be He, fulfilled all but one of Jacob’s requests. Jacob said: If God will be with me, and He replied: Behold, I am with thee (ibid., v. 15). Jacob said: And will keep me, and He responded: I will keep thee whithersoever thou goest (ibid.)…

Midrash Tanchuma, Vayetzei 3:4

Jacob's Oath and the Measure of Charity

TALMUD

Jacob's oath in Genesis is interpreted as an allusion to the maximum amount of charity one should give, specifically two-tenths of one's possessions. The Gemara discusses the interpretation of Jacob's promise to give a tenth of his wealth to God, focusing on the double verb form in Genesis 28:22.

Rav Naḥman said, and some say it was Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov who said: What is the verse that alludes to this maximum amount of charity? “And of all that You shall give me, I will surely give a tenth of it [aser a’asrenu] to You” (Genesis 28:22). The double use of the verb that means to donate one-tenth indicates that Jacob, who issued this statement, was actually referring to two-tenths, i.e., one-fifth. The Gemara asks: But the latter tenth is not similar to the first tenth, as it would be one-tenth of what remained after the first tenth had been removed…

Ketubot 50a:3-4

Vows in Times of Distress

COMMENTARY

While the Torah generally discourages making vows, it is permissible to do so in times of distress, as exemplified by Yaakov. Rabbeinu Bachya, a medieval Jewish commentator, explains the context and appropriateness of making vows based on Yaakov's example.

וידר יעקב נדר לאמור, “Yaakov vowed a vow, saying, etc.” Bereshit Rabbah 70,1 concentrating on the apparently extraneous word לאמור, wants to know the need for this word. The answer given is that Yaakov wanted to teach his future offspring that the time to make vows is when one finds oneself in difficulties one does not know how to extricate himself from. Although, as a general rule, the Torah frowns on the making of vows, when a person vows due to finding himself in distress this is perfectly permissible. This why David said (Psalms 119, 106) “I have sworn an oath and I mean to keep it.”

Rabbeinu Bahya, Bereshit 28:20:1

Jacob's Vow at Bethel

SECOND TEMPLE

Jacob's joy and gratitude for God's promises prefaced his making significant vows and naming the place Bethel, 'The House of God.' Josephus, in his first-century historical work, recounts Jacob's profound spiritual experience and his subsequent commitments to God.

3. Such were the predictions which God made to Jacob; whereupon he became very joyful at what he had seen and heard; and he poured oil on the stones, because on them the prediction of such great benefits was made. He also vowed a vow, that he would offer sacrifices upon them, if he lived and returned safe; and if he came again in such a condition, he would give the tithe of what he had gotten to God. He also judged the place to be honorable and gave it the name of Bethel, which, in the Greek, is interpreted, The House of God.

The Antiquities of the Jews 1:19:3

Jacob's Vow, Harold Copping (1863-1932)

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