And he, Yaakov, arrived at the place and lodged there because the sun had set, and he took some of the stones of the place and placed [them] at his head, and he lay down in that place. (28:11) It’s interesting to note that the Posuk mentions the word “place” three times. The word mŸe¹ẅO has two meanings. One is a place, and the second means Hashem. When we we console an Avel we say m¥g©p§i mŸeẅO©d m¦i©l̈WExi¦e oŸeI ¦v i¥l¥a£` x ̈` §W KŸez §A m¤k §z¤` May the Omnipresent comfort you among the rest of the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. The word mŸeẅO©d is referring to Hashem who is all over.
The heilige Rebbe of Karlin, Harav Aaron Perlow expands on this Posuk as it guides a person in the right frame of mind on how to serve Hashem even if there are obstacles that may distract his Avodah. The Rebbe explains: Many people want to learn and Daven and serve Hashem, and Hashem sincerely appreciates, and has satisfaction from a Yid who serves Him. Yet many a person listens to the Yetzer Hara who always comes with an alibi. To the bachur he would say, if you learned in a different Yeshiva, you would learn better. To the older person he would say if you were in a different place you would be a lot better. In other words the Yetzer Harah is stressing that the place where you are is causing your lax in serving Hashem.
Says the Rebbe of Karlin, think for a moment and focus. Isn’t it Hashem that put it in your mind to be in this place. Hashem set a plan for you to be there. If Hashem felt that in a different Yeshiva or Shul you would be better off, then Hashem would turn over worlds, and place you there! Be clear to yourself that Hashem put you in this particular situation, because He knows that that is the right place for you. The only obstacle is in you, yourself, either because you being lazy to work on yourself, or it is your imagination. Hashem put you in this place, because this is where you belong, and Hashem expects from you to serve Him in this place. When Hashem would want your Avodah in another place, He would make sure that you end up there.
We see this clearly when a Bachur has to end up in a certain yeshiva, Hashem would send some sort of a messenger, or a circumstance and something would happen, that the Bachur ends up in a different yeshiva. The same is with adults. Something external would occur and through that he would become affiliated in another place. This should not come from the person’s desire to go somewhere else, only from an external procurance.
This idea is what we can interpret in our Posuk: ŗ©B §t¦I©e mŸe¹ẅO©A The word ŗ©B §t¦I©e has two meanings. One is He met, and the second is He prayed, as Chazal in Gemarra Berachos 26b derive from our Posuk that Yaakov instituted the evening prayer of Maariv, as it is stated: “And he encountered [ŗ©B §t¦I©e] the place and he slept there for the sun had set” (Bereishis 28:11). `̈N¤` "d̈ri¦b §R" oi¥`§e d̈N ¦t §Y The word encounter means nothing other than prayer. Based on this we can say ŗ©B §t¦I©e that Yaakov prayed mŸe¹ẅO©A to Hashem. His prayer was for the other meaning of mŸe¹ẅO©A which means “place”. This means that the place where I am in should not be the obstacle for not serving Hashem, rather Æm̈W o¤l³̈I©e he lodged there, and `E «d©d mŸe¬ẅO©A a−©M §W¦I©e took advantage of that place to serve Hashem, knowing that even if there were many obstacles and inconvenience, he served Hashem in the place. The Beis Aron continues on this insight from the Posuk ¬L §a« ̈a§l l̈k §A Li¤wŸl¡` 'd z−¥` ½ ̈Y §a©d ́ ̈`§e and Rashi brings the Midrash mŸeẅO©d l©r wEl̈g L §A¦l d¤i §d¦i `ŸN¤W is that your heart should not be divided with Hashem. The Rebbe explains here too: That his heart may not be divided over the place. The heilige Rabbi Shlomo Karliner, says what is stated in the Midrash means: That wherever a person is, he will serve Hashem. Because people say when they are in a certain place and do not serve Hashem, they say that the place is a cause, but if he were in some other place, he would certainly serve Hashem. The Midrash says, "Your heart may not be divided over the place." Because it is not the place that causes you any obstacle to His work. Because since everything is from Hashem and Hashem's will is that man be in this place now, it is obvious to Him that this place will not cause any obstacle to Hashem's work. Therefore Yaakov prayed that wherever he is, his heart should not be divided over the place. This is a powerful lesson to be at peace wherever you are and serve Hashem there, as that is the place where Hashem wants you to serve Him. This will bring Simcha to the person!
(Yehuda Z. Klitnick)
