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Shaken, he said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven.”
Genesis 28:17
He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place.
Genesis 28:11
but look only to the site that your God יהוה will choose amidst all your tribes as God’s habitation, to establish the divine name there. There you are to go,
Deuteronomy 12:5
Returning to the tractate’s central topic,
Rava said to Rafram bar Pappa: Let the Master say to us some of those outstanding statements that you said in the name of Rav Ḥisda with regard to matters of the synagogue.
Rafram
said to him, Rav Ḥisda said as follows: What is
the meaning of the verse:
“The Lord loves the gates of Zion [
Tziyyon
] more than all the dwellings of Jacob”
(Psalms 87:2)? This means that
the Lord loves the gates distinguished [
metzuyanim
] through
the study of
halakha
as they are the gates of Zion, the outstanding gates…
Berakhot 8a:16-24
Concerning another aspect of the constancy of prayer,
Rabbi Ḥelbo said that Rav Huna said: One who sets a fixed place for his prayer, the God of Abraham assists him.
Since prayer parallels the Temple service, it is a sign of respect to set a fixed place for this sacred rite (Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto). The God of Abraham assists him because this pious custom evokes Abraham’s conduct.
When he dies,
those who eulogize one who set a fixed place for his prayer
say about him: “Where is the humble
one,
where is the pious
one…
Berakhot 6b:6-8
ויפגע במקום AND HE LIGHTED UPON THE PLACE — Scripture does not mention which place, but by writing בַּמָקוֹם the place it refers to the place mentioned already in another passage, viz., Mount Moriah of which it is stated (Genesis 22:4) “And he saw the place (המקום) afar off”.
Rashi on Genesis 28:11:1
“O Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.” (Tehillim 90:1) R’ Yitzchak said ‘from that which the Scripture says “…which are the abode for the God Who precedes all…” (Devarim 33:27) we could not know if the Holy One is the dwelling place of the world, or if the world is His abode, until Moshe came and explained it ‘You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.’ R’ Yosi bar Halifta said ‘we could not know if the Holy One is dependent on His world or His world is dependent on Him, until the Holy One came and explained “…Behold…
Midrash Tehillim 90:6
Jacob rose up early in the morning in great fear, and said: The house of the Holy One, blessed be He, is in this place, as it is said, "And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place ! this is none other but the house of God" (Gen. 28:17). Hence thou canst learn that every one who prays in Jerusalem is (reckoned) as though he had prayed before the Throne of Glory, for the gate of heaven is there, and it is open to hear the prayers of Israel, as it is said, "And this is the gate of heaven" (
ibid.
).
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 35:7
אכן יש ה' במקום הזה, there can be no question that this is a location from where the gift of prophetic insights is dispensed, seeing that I have been granted such an insight without even having expected it or prepared myself for it spiritually. It is a fact that the characteristics of a person undergo changes in the land of Israel just as the climate and very air in this country are different, contribute to one’s mental and spiritual progress. Our sages have phrased this (Baba Batra 158) as “the very air of the Land of Israel makes one wiser.”
Sforno on Genesis 28:16:1
וזה שער השמים AND THIS IS THE GATE OF HEAVEN — a place of prayer where their prayers would ascend to heaven (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 35). The Midrash states (Genesis Rabbah 69:7) that the Heavenly Temple is situated immediately opposite the Earthly Temple (so that the Temple at Jerusalem-Bethel may be styled “the gate” to the Heavenly Temple)
Rashi on Genesis 28:17:3
“He encountered the place and spent the night there because the sun had set; he took from the stones of the place, which he placed beneath his head, and lay down in that place” (Genesis 28:11).
“He encountered [
vayifga
] the place” – Rav Huna said in the name of Rabbi Ami: Why do they change the name of the Holy One blessed be He and call Him the Omnipresent [
hamakom
]? It is because He is the place [
mekomo
] of the world, and His world is not His place. From what is written: “Behold…
Bereshit Rabbah 68:9
14. The Rabbi: Whosoever prophesied did so either in the [Holy] Land, or concerning it, viz. Abraham in order to reach it, Ezekiel and Daniel on account of it. The two latter had lived during the time of the first Temple, had seen the Shekhinah, through the influence of which each one who was duly prepared became of the elect, and able to prophesy. Adam lived and died in the land. Tradition tells us that in the cave [of Machpelāh] were buried the four pairs: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebeccah, Jacob and Leah…
Kuzari 2:14
“These are those who were counted of the children of Israel….” That is what is written: “The number of the children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea…” (Hosea 2:1). “The number of the children of Israel will be,” that is what is written: “Forever, Lord, does Your word stand in the heavens” (Psalms 119:89). Because the Holy One blessed be He promised Abraham, and that promise came about when Israel departed from Egypt. When did the Holy One blessed be He promise him? It was when he said to him to depart from his father’s home…
Bamidbar Rabbah 2:12
THIS IS NONE OTHER THAN THE HOUSE OF GOD. This is a chosen place where a man in time of need will pray and his supplications will be accepted. Many ask, how could Jacob set up a pillar? However, they have forgotten that Moses set up twelve pillars. Scripture does not prohibit a pillar set up to honor the Lord. Scripture merely states,
Neither shalt thou set thee up a pillar, which the Lord thy God hateth
(Deut. 16:22). I will explain the latter verse when I come to it.
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 28:17:1
SURELY THE LORD IS IN THIS PLACE. The meaning of Jacob’s statement is that there are places where miracles are seen. I cannot explain why this is so because it is a deep mystery.
Ibn Ezra on Genesis 28:16:1
He was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of Elohim [
not a regular place but a place where it is the will of Elohim to receive prayers
], and this is the gate of [
opposite
] heaven.
Onkelos Genesis 28:17
Rather,
it must be that in not eradicating the serpent,
his ancestors left
Hezekiah
room through which to achieve prominence [
lehitgader
]. I too
can say that
my ancestors left me room through which to achieve prominence
by permitting untithed produce from Beit She’an.
Chullin 7a:1
Immediately,
And he saw the place from afar off
. How was he able to see the place from afar off? This verse teaches us that the place was a valley at the time. However, when the Holy One, blessed be He, decided to make His Shekhinah hover over it and to make it the site of the Temple, He observed that it is not fitting for a king to dwell in a valley, but rather in a lofty and beautiful place, visible to every eye. Thereupon, the Holy One, blessed be He, called upon the hills in the surrounding area to come together in order to make a fitting abode for the Shekhinah…
Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22:14
הנני עומד לפניך
, "I will be standing there before you, etc."
The word
לפניך
refers to the place Moses was standing on when G'd spoke to him, whereas the word
שם
immediately afterwards refers to the rock. G'd emphasised that the whole earth is filled with His glory on a permanent basis and that He does not have to change location. However, there are sites where His presence is more manifest than in others. Alternatively…
Or HaChaim on Exodus 17:6:1
Everybody agrees that staying overnight does not induce
ṭevel
. What is the difference between staying overnight and staying during the Sabbath? A person happens to stay overnight, nobody happens to stay during the Sabbath. A person will stay anywhere overnight, nobody stays everywhere during the Sabbath.
Jerusalem Talmud Maasrot 2:2:3
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