The land on which you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed (Gen. 28:13)
As Rashi comments, "The Holy One, blessed be He, folded up the entire land of Israel beneath him." Unlike his forefathers, Jacob did not have to travel the length and breadth of Israel in order to refine the sparks of holiness contained in each location. Rather, when G-d "folded up the land beneath him," he was able to refine all of them at once, in one place. (The Baal Shem Tov)
And Jacob answered and said to Laban, "What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued after me?" (Gen. 31:36)
Jacob was disturbed by Laban's insistence on maintaining their relationship, as he interpreted it as a reflection of his own behavior. He worried that he might have committed a sin, for had he been completely innocent of wrongdoing, a person like Laban would be uninterested in being his friend. (Der Torah Kval)
Reprinted from the Parshat Vayeitzei 5761/2000 edition of L’Chaim.
