וַיִּפְגַּ֨ע בַּמָּק֜וֹם וַיָּ֤לֶן שָׁם֙ כִּי־בָ֣א הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח֙ מֵאַבְנֵ֣י הַמָּק֔וֹם וַיָּ֖שֶׂם מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָ֑יו וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב בַּמָּק֥וֹם הַהֽוּא׃
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 (The Contemporary Torah, JPS 2006)
In Genesis 28, Jacob rests his head on a stone and goes to sleep. In a dream, he saw the stairs to heaven and the place where God and the angels dwelled.
It’s in this dream that God begins his covenant relationship with Jacob.
But there’s something about this stone.
וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם יַעֲקֹ֜ב בַּבֹּ֗קֶר וַיִּקַּ֤ח אֶת־הָאֶ֙בֶן֙ אֲשֶׁר־שָׂ֣ם מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָ֔יו וַיָּ֥שֶׂם אֹתָ֖הּ מַצֵּבָ֑ה וַיִּצֹ֥ק שֶׁ֖מֶן עַל־רֹאשָֽׁהּ׃
Early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.
Genesis 28:11 (The Contemporary Torah, JPS 2006)
After the dream, Jacob takes this same stone and sets it up as a pillar, which is like a single-stone altar.
And then he pours oil on it. He anoints it. Why?
The rabbis tell us that the oil was more than symbolic. It’s a physical mark that he sets on the stone so he can find it again later.
From the casual glance, it looked like any other rock, small enough to use like a pillow.
So Jacob marked it. To remember.
וְהָאֶ֣בֶן הַזֹּ֗את אֲשֶׁר־שַׂ֙מְתִּי֙ מַצֵּבָ֔ה יִהְיֶ֖ה בֵּ֣ית אֱלֹהִ֑ים וְכֹל֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תִּתֶּן־לִ֔י עַשֵּׂ֖ר אֲעַשְּׂרֶ֥נּוּ לָֽךְ׃
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 28:11 (The Contemporary Torah, JPS 2006)
One rabbinical teaching is that this stone represents the “naval of the globe,” being the very first stone God created. It’s the same stone that would set the foundation for the Ark of the Covenant as it rested in the Holy of Holies later in scripture.
