Vayeitzei 28:11 · unit 3

Parashas Vayeitzei · Passuk 28:11

The Complete Passuk

וַיִּפְגַּ֨ע בַּמָּק֜וֹם וַיָּ֤לֶן שָׁם֙ כִּי־בָ֣א הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח֙ מֵאַבְנֵ֣י הַמָּק֔וֹם וַיָּ֖שֶׂם מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָ֑יו וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב בַּמָּק֥וֹם הַהֽוּא׃

And he came upon the place and lodged there because the sun had set, and he took from the stones of the place and placed them at his head, and he lay down in that place.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Sanhedrin 95b.

TT lemma: כי בא השמש.

Sefaria — Sanhedrin 95b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
בָּתַר דְּצַלֵּי בָּעֵי לְמֶהְדַּר. אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא: צַדִּיק זֶה בָּא לְבֵית מְלוֹנִי וְיִפָּטֵר בְּלֹא לִינָה? מִיָּד בָּא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ.

English: After he prayed he intended to return. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Shall this righteous man come to My lodging-place and depart without lodging? Immediately the sun set.

On the daf / in context: The same sugya explains the premature sunset as a deliberate act so that Yaakov would remain overnight at the site.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The wording “ki va hashemesh” is taken to indicate an unnatural, purposeful setting of the sun.

What Is Learned

Hashem caused the sun to set early so that Yaakov would spend the night at the place destined for the Beis HaMikdash.