VaYetze
Jacob then made a vow, saying, “If God remains with me, if He protects me on this journey that I am making, and gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return safe to my father’s house – the Lord 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 28:20-21).
Do these words express a vow to God? Is Jacob expressing his unconditional faith in God and His promise, or is Jacob’s faith conditional?
Rashi (France, 1040-1105) writes: “If God remains with me – If He will keep these promises that He promised me to be with me, as He said to me: Remember, I am with you.”
Don Isaac Abravanel (Portugal, Spain, Italy, 1437-1508) asks: “How can it be that by this vow he becomes a servant who serves for the purpose of receiving a reward, by saying: If God remains with me, if He protects me, and gives me… such and such, then the Lord shall be my God, then if He would not do all of this, will He not be his God and will he not serve Him? His grandfather Abraham did not behave thus, but was tried several times and endured.”
Nahmanides (Spain, Eretz Israel, 1194-1270) rejects this approach: “If God remains with me – It is not a condition, as Rashi states, but rather a vow stating that if I return to my father’s house, I will serve the one God in the Promised land, at the site of this stone which will be my house of prayer, and where I will set aside the tithe.”
Rabbi J.H. Hertz (the first graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Chief Rabbi of the British Empire (1872-1946)) adopts Nahmanides’ approach: “Then shall the Lord be my God, i.e. in gratitude for His care and protection, I will dedicate my life to Him” (J.H. Hertz ed., The Pentateuch and Haftorahs). Similarly, the p’shat commentary (Rabbi Chaim Potok, ed. (1929-2002)) of the Etz Hayim states: “His vow is best understood not as a bargaining with God, because all that he asks for has already been promised (v. 15). Rather, he pledges himself to a certain course of action as an expression of gratitude to God after the promises will be fulfilled” (D.L. Lieber ed., Etz Hayim; Torah and Commentary).
Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994) raised another troubling aspect, writing: “This vow is puzzling, firstly in the sense that after the great Divine revelation and the tremendous purpose included in the prophetic dream, Jacob seems to speak only of fulfilling his material needs…but these words can be explained in a totally different manner…our patriarch Jacob does not make a condition for accepting the yoke of Heaven. ‘The Lord shall be my God’ is not the reward that he expects, but rather it is part of what he requests.” (Yeshayahu Leibowitz, Notes to the Weekly Tora Readings (Hebrew), 26).
The d’rash commentary (Rabbi Harold Kushner, ed.) to the Etz Hayim proposes an interesting solution:
Do these words express a vow to God? Is Jacob expressing his unconditional faith in God and His promise, or is Jacob’s faith conditional?
Rashi (France, 1040-1105) writes: “If God remains with me – If He will keep these promises that He promised me to be with me, as He said to me: Remember, I am with you.”
Don Isaac Abravanel (Portugal, Spain, Italy, 1437-1508) asks: “How can it be that by this vow he becomes a servant who serves for the purpose of receiving a reward, by saying: If God remains with me, if He protects me, and gives me… such and such, then the Lord shall be my God, then if He would not do all of this, will He not be his God and will he not serve Him? His grandfather Abraham did not behave thus, but was tried several times and endured.”
Nahmanides (Spain, Eretz Israel, 1194-1270) rejects this approach: “If God remains with me – It is not a condition, as Rashi states, but rather a vow stating that if I return to my father’s house, I will serve the one God in the Promised land, at the site of this stone which will be my house of prayer, and where I will set aside the tithe.”
Rabbi J.H. Hertz (the first graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Chief Rabbi of the British Empire (1872-1946)) adopts Nahmanides’ approach: “Then shall the Lord be my God, i.e. in gratitude for His care and protection, I will dedicate my life to Him” (J.H. Hertz ed., The Pentateuch and Haftorahs). Similarly, the p’shat commentary (Rabbi Chaim Potok, ed. (1929-2002)) of the Etz Hayim states: “His vow is best understood not as a bargaining with God, because all that he asks for has already been promised (v. 15). Rather, he pledges himself to a certain course of action as an expression of gratitude to God after the promises will be fulfilled” (D.L. Lieber ed., Etz Hayim; Torah and Commentary).
Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994) raised another troubling aspect, writing: “This vow is puzzling, firstly in the sense that after the great Divine revelation and the tremendous purpose included in the prophetic dream, Jacob seems to speak only of fulfilling his material needs…but these words can be explained in a totally different manner…our patriarch Jacob does not make a condition for accepting the yoke of Heaven. ‘The Lord shall be my God’ is not the reward that he expects, but rather it is part of what he requests.” (Yeshayahu Leibowitz, Notes to the Weekly Tora Readings (Hebrew), 26).
The d’rash commentary (Rabbi Harold Kushner, ed.) to the Etz Hayim proposes an interesting solution:
"Several commentators are troubled by Jacob’s saying, 'if [God] protects me' when God has just promised to do so in his dream. Also, how can Jacob say 'the Lord shall be my God' only if God helps him prosper? The first comment may reflect Jacob’s doubts about the validity of his dream. Was it real or just wishful thinking? Can Jacob, like his grandfather Abraham, trust God to fulfill the divine promise? The Midrash resolves the second question by taking the words 'the Lord shall be my God' as part of Jacob’s prayer, not as a promise. Along with food and safety, Jacob is praying for a sense of God’s presence."
1. Should Jacob’s statement be understood as an attempt to bargain with God? Can one bargain with God? Should Abraham’s dispute with God in the matter of Sodom be construed as a negotiation? Is that negotiation different than Jacob’s?
2. Why do so many commentators wish to understand Jacob’s statement as a prayer or vow? Do they provide a convincing explanation of what appears to be an expression of conditional faith? Considering Jacob’s circumstances, might it not be more reasonable to understand his words as expressing a condition?
3. Is there any fundamental difference between this first biblical vow and other vows?
4. Prof. Eliezer Schweid and others have argued that the essential element of idolatry is the belief that man can control nature and impose his will upon it. Are vows a form of idolatry by which people try to subjugate God to their will, or does making a vow inherently recognize God’s supremacy, and subjugate the maker of the vow to God’s will? Does anything in Jacob’s vow support or challenge either of those possibilities?
