Noahidesevencommandments.com
Rabbi Dr. Zvi Aviner, 2022
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Copy Right 2022
Rabbi Dr Zvi Aviner
JUSTICE-1/Jacob’s Contribution to JUSTICE
From Abraham to Jacob
We follow the Book of Genesis and move on
from Abraham and Isaac, to Jacob.
The Torah presents Jacob’s history by four selected episodes:
- Jacob’ struggle against Esau for his birthrights
- Jacob’s struggle against his father-in-law, Laban, who cheated him by giving him his wrong daughter as a bride
3) Jacob’s struggle of against Laban as Jacob’s employer. Jacob argued that he had work for him for years without being fairly compensated.
4) Jacob’s struggle against the people of the city of Shechem, whose mayor’s son abducted and raped his daughter Dina.
The common denominator of all the episodes is that they revolve around Jacob’s pursuing justice.
First within his family, against his brother and his father in law,
then against his employer,
then as a peaceful citizen against the mayor of the city.
Hence,
Unlike Abraham and Noah before him,
we don’t see Jacob fighting for his faith, or against IDOLATRY,
but rather for his CIVIL RIGHTS and SOCIAL JUSTICE,
which is Noahide Commandment number Five.
The Flow of Stories
In the Book of Genesis
This fits well the general flow of stories in the Book of Genesis
that takes the reader from one Commandment of Noah to the next,
In specific order:
First to IDOLATRY through the story of CREATION in Chapter One,
Next to ADULTERY through the Garden of Eden,
Next to BLOODHSED and its laws through Cain and Abel up to the Flood and the Rainbow Covenant,
Next to THEFT through the stories of Abraham,
And now to JUSTICE and CIVIL ORDER through the stories about Jacob.
JUSTICE as a religious issue
Let’s note that by teaching us about JUSTICE and CIVIL ORDER
The Torah makes an enormous innovation in religion,
unseen in any other ancient or modern religion on Earth.
Because apart from Judaism, no other religion has seen
social JUSTICE and CIVIL ORDER as an integral part of faith.
The ancient gods were interested in power and their worshipping,
never in civil issues like a dispute between Man and Man.
Even today’s major religions focus on faith and some moral issues
like abortion, Satan or on the End of Time Judgment,
rather than on Civil Order and trade or government.
In contrast, nothing enraged the prophet of Israel
more than INJUSTICE.
In fact, most of the Talmud is dedicated to JUSTICE in the daily life, whether it is in the markets, the courthouse, he government halls
or the private home.
Noahides, who follow Judaism, should adapt that attitude
and see the public arena as a place where
Noahide Commandment number Five of JUSTICE and CIVIL ORDER does play out.
A paradox: Justice and truth by cheating?o
Another common denominator of all the stories about Jacob
is that they all revolve around lying, cheating and distorting the truth.
Jacob cheats his father to get his blessing, then Laban cheats Jacob
by giving him the wrong daughter, and by denying Jacob’s compensation. Jacob then cheats back to get JUSTICE.
Then in the city of Shechem, Jacob’s sons cheat the citizen in order to redeem their sister and get JUSTICE.
Now, if JUSTICE means aspiring to get the truth out and restore damages, how could Jacob use cheating to get his truth out? Isn’t it a paradox?
We’ll have to address this issue.
Another question is: Does Jacob’s struggle have any implication to our times?
The answer is that certainly his struggle for JUSTICE is very relevant to JUSTICE in our times.
We have all seen the destructive impact of false news on our society.
It can even affect a presidential election, our markets and our economy. We are bombarded today
by lies spread intentionally and by cider attacks. They have become the foremost burning issue of our time,
when we can’t tell anymore what is true and what is false.
And in history, there is no other nation in the world that has suffered so badly from false accusation than the nation of Jacob – Israel.
Today, half of humanity falsely accuses Israel for having killed G-d,
the other half falsely accusing Israel for stealing the Torah from the Muslims.
Both camps have perpetrated terrible, false blood liable and other false accusations
that has prompted the holocaust.
So, how did Jacob’s trials and tribulations add to his understanding of
the damages that cheating can cause?o
What is Jacob unique contribution to JUSTICE in the eyes of the Torah?
What does he add above what his predecessors, Adam, Noah and Abraham had already known about it?
So, first let’s lay out what the original concept of JUSTICE was before Jacob,
and then see his contribution and his message to us
Where was the Commandment
first given to Mankind?o
The Commandment of JUSTICE and CIVIL ORDER was first
given to Adam in the Garden of Eden.
When YHVH ELKM warned the Adam about eating the Forbidden Fruit,
it says:
“And YHVH ELKM commanded on the Adam saying,
from all the trees of the Garden you shall eat
but from the Tree of Knowledge Good and Evil you shall not eat.”
Here the word “Commanded” is clearly superfluous,
Indicating that in addition to the warning about the fruit,
G-d gave Adam the “Primordial Six Commandments,” namely
IDOLATERY, ADULTERY, BLOODSHED, THEFT JUSTICE and
BLASPHAMY.
Clearly, the Commandment of JUSTICE and Civil Order had no meaning
In Eden, since it requires the existence of a human society.
According to the RaMBaM (Maimonides) and the RaMBan (Nachmonides)
the Commandment obliges every human society to
- Set up righteous laws between Man and Man,
- Set up courts in at every district in the country.
- Elect qualified judges
- Establish police force to enforce.
Clearly, those specific demands had no meaning in Eden.
In fact, out of those Six,
only the first two – IDOLATERY and ADULTERY- were relevant to Eden since they could be violated there.
IDOLATRY, by disobeying G-d’s Order and eating the Fruit,
ADULTERY, if Eve, as a MARRIED woman, has cohabitted with the Serpent.
As it turned out, they violated the only two Commandments available to them, and subsequently they lost Eden.
Then, on Earth, they could violate the entire six.
From there on, humanity would stumble over the entire Six, one by one,
as shown in the flow of stories throughout the entire Book of Genesis.
So, why then were the entire six given to Adam in Eden?
Why not waiting till they live on Earth?0
The answer is that on Earth it would be too late.
They came to live on Earth already equipped with everything needed to withstand the challenge of the entire Six.
They were built with all the necessary psychologic makeup and the mindset
that would allow them to feel the drive for sinning and the power to overcome those drives.
Eden, after all, is the cradle of Mankind.
Thus, to be able to withstand the challenge of JUSTICE and CIVIL ORDSER on Earth, G-d implanted in them in Eden the basic understanding
of right and wrong, of what is fair and unfair, what is just and unjust.
This explains the observation that has puzzled the philosophers of JUSTICE, who ask how is it that all people across the Globe, all civilizations, seem to share a basic notion of JUSTICE, of what is right and what is wrong?
Yes, there are nuances between different civilizations, yet basically all humans share the same motion of what is JUSTICE and getting even.
The philosopher, like Spinoza, Kant and Hegel, call it
a natural code of morality inherent in every human mind,
as a part of our brain’s structure.
But in the eyes of the Torah, that basic perception of JUSTICE
come to us from Eden, the cradle of Mankind.
It was planted in us there, as a preparation to live on Earth.
How was it implanted in Eden?0
When the Serpent attempted to seduce the Woman, it said to her:
“Had ELKM told you not to touch the Fruit?
For ELKM knows that on the day you eat of it
you’d become like ELKM Knowing good and evil. “
The Serpent knew that eating the Fruit
would render the human the ability to emulate ELKM,
meaning to judge like ELKM, to find the truth like ELKM
and distinguish right from wrong like ELKM.
Judging like ELKM means implementing JUSTICE
according to the rule of “measure for measure,”
getting even in precise way.
For as we recall, during the Six Days of CREATION,
when ELKM ruled the Earth awesomely alone,
He ruled it by the iron fist, with no MERCY, COMPASSION or FORGIVENESS.
Under ELKM’s rule, creatures are allowed to eat other creatures,
since they too would be eaten in turn.
Creatures are allowed to cause pains to others,
since they too would suffer pain in turn,
in an cycle of ABSOLUTE JUSTICE.
In the eyes of the Serpent,
this sort of JUSTICE, ELKM’S JUSTICE, is the highest form of JUSTICE that Mankind could ever achieve.
But the Serpent was wrong, it saw only half of the truth.
In its speech it fails to mention YHVH. And that makes sense,
since as a Beast of the Field, it could never perceive
MERCY, COMPASSION, FORGIVENESS and HOLINESS
that are qualities associated with YHVH.
It could not see the presence of the Merciful Attribute YHVH in the Heavenly Court.
But the humans were different. They were created with a room in their hearts capable of perceiving YHVH.
So, once they ate the Forbidden Fruit,
their eyes opened and they saw both ELKM and YHVH.
This is why they immediately felt ashamed of their nakedness
and covered it with leaves.
Only an awareness of YHVH and Her holiness would make anyone
ashamed of nakedness, which otherwise seems a natural fact
with no shame attached to it
Two Wings of JUSTICE
From thereon, in Eden then on Earth,
all people share a basic notion of JUSTICE that comprises of two wings –
the Wing of ELKM seeking the truth and operating by the principle of measure by measure, of getting even,
the Wing of YHVH, giving us the sense of MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS which we call “consciousness.”
All people, in all civilizations, are capable of feeling and operating by those two Wings.
People and civilizations differ only in how much they would follow those Attributes to enter their judgment.
And here is a difference –
While the Laws of ELKM seem simple and logic, easy to grasp and follow,
the input of MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS
seem nebulous, vague, undefined, easy to be pushed away
when facing harsh reality and bad circumstances.
JUSTIC codes in history
This is why in all human history,
from the ancient world of Gilgamesh and Hammurabi
to the Greek and Romans through the Middle Ages,
up to the Napoleonic code of JUSUCE and our own time,
all systems of JUSTICE have followed the basic Wing of
ELKM’s JUSTICE, implementing it according to the rule of
“measure for measure” and getting even, restoring damages,
leaving MERCY COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS
as an act of consciousness above the code of Laws,
to be exercised on rare occasion by few elites.
The English Law recognizes special courts set up above
the regular courts where people may apply to overturn a verdict
that seems dishonest or un human.
Those “Courts of Equity,” as they were called,
existed even in the USA up to the late 19th century
and then faded away, remaining today only in the state of Delaware.
But even those Courts were seen as above the regular law,
operating with no clear and defined guidelines.
Let’s return now to Jacob and his struggle for JUSTICE.
What did he contribute to JUSTICE, that his predecessors,
Adam, Noah and Abraham did not know?
Jacob
Jacob was born into a world that believed in the basic, ‘natural’ JUSTICE,
as seen by the Serpent in Eden, namely “measure for measure.”
If people cheat you, cheat them back. If they harmed you, harm them back
with vengeance. Get even.
It was a world bereft of human rights with a weak central government,
with corrupt judges and no loyal police.
Jacob’s world said, take the law into your hand
and do as much as you can to restore your JUSTICE as you see it.
Rebecca, Jacob’s mother, grew up in such a society, in Haran.
Her idolatrous father and brothers were known as master crooks,
who cheated and even seduced young girls, as their names in Hebrew implies.
Hence, Rebecca was familiar with their crooked ways, yet she was different,
a “rose among the thorns” as the Rabbis describe her.
Yet her bad background affected her decisions for the rest of her life.
For instance, when she was pregnant with non – identical twins
who were struggling fiercely in her womb, causing her much agony,
she entertained the thought of abortion. Surely, as Isaac’s wife,
she must have known that this is forbidden, yet in her despair
she did consider it.
After consulting with Noah’s son Shem, who lived nearby in Jerusalem,
she allowed her pregnancy to come to term, yet she was punished by Heavens
for her thoughts and was never pregnant again.
The rabbis said that originally, she was destined to be the mother of the twelve tribes of Israel,
but that privilege was removed from her.
Her background also affected her attitude towards her sons.
When the twin finally came out, she and Isaac faced an unusual
legal puzzle, unparalleled in any story in the world.
It is as if the Torah challenges us, the reader, with the question who was the first born?
For when the struggling twin came out, they exited as one piece,
Esau’s head first and Jacob following, yet holding Esau’s heels as if in a protest.
So, who among the twin is really the firstborn? I
t is a tough legal question, that no one knew the answer.
The verse says that his father, and the midwives, ignored the heels
and called Esau the firstborn.
Yet the mother, Rebecca, wasn’t sure about it.
That explains how Jacob could later ask Esau to sell him the firstborn right, for a lentil soup.
Usually, such a birth right can’t be sold. Being a firstborn is a given fact.
But here, in this case, Jacob had a potential legitimate claim for the title,
in case Esau resents his status.
Since the Torah attests that Esau accepted Jacob’s offer wholeheartedly,
and he ate, arose, and went away without protesting, the sell was final and legitimate.
Jacob could become and did become the firstborn of the family by right.
Cheating his father
Now the Torah continues to challenge our perception of JUSTICE.
All though the twin grew up in the same home,
receiving the same parental love and same training,
they turned into completely opposite personalities,
as often seen in non-identical twins.
Esau became a man of the outdoors, involved in the general society
and secretly violating all the Seven Commandments.
Jacob in contrast, grew up to become a shy boy, secluded in the “Tents of Torah,”
studying it with Shem.
Thus,
Should Esau be blamed for his behavior, having been born with his wicked personality?
Should Jacob be credited for his righteousness, having been born inclined to it?
How much are we responsible for our behavior? – A puzzle.
It is as if the Torah wants to show us how difficult it is
To emulate ELKM!
Anyhow,
Jacob learned from Shem the Seven Commandments of Noah,
including the Fifth – JUSTICE and CIVIL ORDER.
He learned about the Serpent and its view of JUSTICE,
implementing it by “measure for measure,” in ELKM’s way
He also learned about his grandfather Abraham
who built taverns, kitchen and hotels on crossroad
to care for the needed free of charge.
Abraham did all that out of his love to YHVH, voluntarily,
without being obligated by any law pf either ELKM or Man.
Esau was exposed to the same teaching,
yet rejected it and transgressed all the LAWS,
whether of Man or ELKM’s Laws. That made him very successful
and he had numerous followers.
He concealed his behavior from his father by cheating him,
yet he could not cheat the piercing eyes of Rebecca,
who saw him through and through.
Therefore, , she loved Jacob and hated Esau,
while Isaac adored Esau.
In Rebecca’s eyes, there was no question
who among her twin was more qualified to receive
Abraham’s Blessing.
So, hearing that her husband was about to give it
to his beloved Esau, she decided to implement JUSTICE
by her own hands.
She held that if you are cheated, then cheat back
and take whatever you deserve.
If people lie, then lie back. Especially when this is the only way
to implement JUSTICE.
She therefor called Jacob and instructed him
to disguise himself as Esau, cheat his father and receive his blessing.
Did she do the right thing?0
Cheating forbidden in the court,
overlooked outside the court.
After all, even Abraham cheated Pharaoh about Sarah,
saying that she was his sister, when her life was in peril.
From Abraham she could derive that although
cheating is the art of the Serpent, and should be forbidden,
but only within the court’s theater.
Out there in the real world, however,
it is sometimes a necessary tool of survival ,
even the only way to achieve JUSTICE,
The Torah gives the truth as seen by both sides.
We, the readers, may empathize with Jacob
and his struggle for his rights,
yet we are also deeply moved reading about
Esau’s crying when he found out what happened.
The Rabbis said that even the Angles in Heavens cried along with him.
It turns out that Esau never consented to the selling of his birthrights,
and never retracted from the truth as he saw it.
Henceforth he would never forgive Jacob for
stealing his birthright and stealing Abraham’s blessing.
Hence, Jacob received his JUSTICE by cheating back,
yet it came with enormous price: he had to run away
for his life , from Esau’s anger.
The Rabbis therefore concluded:
where there is JUSTICE, there is no peace.
If each side seeks his justice, there would never be peace.
Jacob would have to learn this truth time and again.
JACOB’S LADDER
Let’s move now to the second episode in Jacob’s life, the Ladder dream, that also evolves around seeking JUSTICE.
We see him now at nightfall, running away for his life,
desolated, poor and hungry.
Tradition says that he had been robbed earlier on the way
by Esau’s son Elipaz and his gangue.
He had no more resources left and no one to turn to turn for help.
At dark, when the sun sets down, he lies on the bare ground,
using hard stones as a cushion.
He remembers his grandfather Abraham’s taverns, kitchens and hotels
that he built on crossroads for the poor.
How he wished he had such a tavern nearby!
Lying on the ground warped with his thoughts,
he could identify with all the poor, hungry and desolated people
in the world; with all the unfortunate souls
whose turbulent life has thrown them to the ditches,
with those who were robbed and treaded badly by society.
The Ladder Dream
Then, in his despair, he falls asleep and has a dream
that would become the most famous dream in history.
In it, he saw a ladder, its foot on the ground and its head reaching the sky. The Angles of ELKM – mentioned 5 times – ascend and descend on it, while YHVH is standing on it, on the Ladder.
Here is the text:
“And he encountered the PLACE and spent the night there
Because the sun had set, and he took from the stones of the PLACE
And arranged them under his head and lay down in that PLACE.
“And he dreamt an behold, a ladder was set on the ground
and its top reaching the sky. And behold, the Angels of ELKM
were ascending and descending on it.
“And behold, YHVH was standing on it, and He said:
I Am YYVH, the G-D of Abraham your father and the G-d of Isaac,
The land upon which you are lying, to you will I give it and to your seed.
Your offspring shall be like the dust of the Earth,
and you shall spread out westward, eastwards, northwards and southwards
and all the families of the Earth shall
bless themselves by you
and by your offspring. Behold, I shall be with you and guard you
Wherever you go, and I shall return you to this land for I shall not forsake you
until I have done what I have spoken about you.
“Jacob awoke from his dream and said:
surely there is YHVH in that PLACE and I did not know!
And he became frightened and said: How awesome is this PLACE
This is none other but the House of ELKM, and this is the Gate of heavens.
“Jacob arose early in the morning and he took the stone
that he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar,
and he put oil on its head and he called the name of that PLACE Beth-El,
however, Loz was the original name of the city….”
The word “The Place” is repeated symmetrically,
3 times before the dream and 3 times after the Dream.
As if it serves a base for the Ladder.
In fact, the term “The PLACE” would become in the Talmud
a nickname for the Holy Temple, and for YHVH Herself
Here is the structure of the Ladder Dream according to the text;
YHVH
(V) ELKM’s Angels
(IV) ELKM’s Angels
(III) ELKM’s Angels
(II) ELKM’s Angels
(I) ELKM’s Angels
The PLACE, PLACE, PLACE The PLACE, PLACE, PLACE
Who are the Angels of ELKM?
There are many interpretations. According to the Book of Zohar
they present the Families of Noah’s Nations
and the Ladder steps represent Noah’s Commandments.
Each stair presents a Commandment.
The Angles ascend and descend on it
according to how many Commandments their nation observe.
The Angle of Egypt, for instance, stood at the bottom, keeping no Commandment. Other nations stood higher.
Since the Ladder had five stairs,
the top one stood for Noah’s Commandment number Five,
JUSTICE and CIVIL ORDER.
In the dream, YHVH stood “on it,” meaning over and above the Ladder, over the Fifth Commandment.
It presents MERCY, COMPASSION and FORGIVENESS
above the laws of ELKM.
Still in the dream, YHVH speaks to Jacob and promises
to take care of him, guard him and bring him home.
Jacob arises and he understands that his beautiful vision
was just a dream, perhaps a reflection of what was
on his own mind. How could he trust a dream?
So, he made a vow, so important that its structure
would become the prototype of all vows after him.
The structure of vows
In his vow he first presents his plea, his petition,
the condition he wishes to be fulfilled before the vow would take place.
In that part, he asks Hashem to provide him give him bread to eat
cloth to wear, to shelter him and return him back home in peace.
In the second part of the vow, Jacob expresses his pledge,
what he would do when his condition is fulfilled.
Let’s read the part of the pledge:
The pledge
(Then)
YHVH will be my ELKM,
And that stone that I have set up as a pillar
shall be the House of ELKM,
and whatever you will give me
I shall repeatedly tithe for you.”
In the pledge part,
Jacob vows to build a House for G-d
where he would bring offering and donations.
He would offer tangible things, against tangible things
given to him by G-d.
But what about the first line of his pledge where he is saying:
THEN YHVH WILL BE MY ELKM?0
What kind of a pledge is this? Certainly, it does not refer
to tangible, material things.
If you translate that line to English saying:
“And the Lord will be my God,”
you might wonder: Wasn’t the Lord his G-d right then and there?
Was he idolater? (Abrabanel’s question.)
But if you stick to the Hebrew Names and read it as follows:
“Then, the Merciful Attribute YHVH,
shall be my JUDGE, ELKM.”
It receives a profound meaning, saying
“Then, I will turn your MERCY, YHVH, into ELKM’s Law.”
Hence, Jacob was saying:a
If my dream comes true, And you’ve given me food to eat, water
to drink, room to sleep, as you’ve promised,
and as Abraham did for other people in your name, voluntarily, out of love to you,
then, when I return home in peace,
I shall turn your ways, Abraham’s way, into the Law of my Land.
I shall teach my children to follow your way
and be sensitive to the cry of the poor, the desolate and the hungry
and the oppressed.
I shall tell my children to treat them all with
YOUR COMPASSION, MERCY and FORGIVENESS
AS THE LAW OF MY LAN
You can see that on the Diagram.
Jacob pledges as if to draw YHVH down from above the Ladder
into the Fifth stair, adding Her values to the Fifth Law,
introducing Her values into society, into the courts and into the private homes.
Making Her input to JUSTICE and CIVIL ORDER, the Law of the Land of Israel.
JUSTICE, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND GRACE
Because of Jacob, the Torah contains Laws that are unparalleled in any other system of laws around the world:
laws about treating the poor with justice and mercy that are part of the regular laws of the land.
For instance:
The Torah Law obliges every owner of a field in the land of Israel,
to leave a corner of the field with its uncut wheat for the poor.
This obligation does not depend on the owner’s good heart.
It is the law of the land, enforced by the court.
The Torah Law obliges every owner of a field to donate,
once every three years, one tenth of the entire crop to the poor.
It does not depend on the owner’s good heart.
It is the law of the land, enforced by the court.
The Torah law obliges every owner of a field in the land of Israel
to abandon the entire crop for the poor, once every seven years.
The Torah Law obliges every owner of a slave to treat him fairly and dignity,
then set him or her free after six years. It is the law of the Land.
Similarly,
The Torah Law obliges a person to return a coat,
that has been taken as a collateral to the poor owner,
if that is the only way he could cover himself at night.
No such law exists in anywhere.
And as Jacob implies in his vow,
those Laws of charity, are so unusual,
that they are effective only in the Land of Israel,
and only as long as the Temple stands,
and as long as the Shechinah of YHVH Dwells in that Temple.
Once the Temple is destroyed and the Shechinah has departed,
those Laws of the Land become ineffective from the Torah perspectives
yet they remain effective on rabbinical level, as a memorial token for the Holy Temple.
Because of Jacob, MERCY and COMPASSION of YHVH
has entered not only the way Israel treat the poor
but also invading the Court, seeing it as an integral part of JUSTICE.
The judges of Israel should see MERCY not as a rare act of their consciousness, in special court of equity,
but inside the regular court, as part of the law of the land.
The RMBM describes three types of Torah’s law:
JUSTICE- (MISHPAT) – where people treat others according to what is due in fairness. Like measure for measure.
RIGHTEOUSNESS – (ZEDAKA) – where people treat each other with compassion and forgiveness, because it is the law of the Torah
GRACE – (CHESSED) – where people treat others in grace and compassion beyond and above what is written in the Torah.
What about cheating?0
To Jacob, drawing YHVH into the Ladder of ELKM,
into the society and courts of justice,
has made cheating a worst crime then ever before,
even worse than to Noah and Abraham.
YHVH hates the Serpent and its lies, whether they are made
n the courts or outside the courts, in the markets or in the government or in the private homes.
To Jacob, the fulfillment of his dream would end forever
his fighting back measure for measure, cheating those who have cheated him.
Henceforth he, now named Israel, would stand up face to face against his adversaries
and seeks JUSTICE and TRUTH with no circumventing, under the guidance of the MERCIFUL YHVH.
The sun rises and Jacob begins his journey to Haran,
where he would find his wives, children, and his fortune. But his chain of struggles for JUSTICE is not yet over.
Let’s read the section carefully:
“And he encountered the PLACE and spent the night there
Because the sun had set, and he took from the stones of the PLACE
And arranged them under his head and lay down in that PLACE.
And he dreamt and behold, a ladder was set on the ground
and its top reaching the sky. And behold, the Angels of ELKM
were ascending and descending on it.
And behold, YHVH was standing on it, and He said:
I Am YYVH, the G-D of Abraham your father and the G-d of Isaac,
The land upon which you are lying, to you will I give it and to your seed.
Your offspring shall be like the dust of the Earth,
and you shall spread out westward, eastwards, northwards
and southwards and all the families of the Earth
shall bless themselves by you and by your offspring.
Behold, I shall be with you and guard you
Wherever you go, and I shall return you
to this land for I shall not forsake you
until I have done what I have spoken about you.
Jacob awoke from his dream and said:
surely there is YHVH in that PLACE and I did not know!
And he became frightened and said:
How awesome is this PLACE
This is none other but the House of ELKM, and this is the Gate of heavens.
Jacob arose early in the morning
and he took the stone that he had placed under his head
and set it up as a pillar, and he put oil on its head
and he called the name of that PLACE Beth-El,
however, Loz was the original name of the city.
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