Vayeitzei 28:14 · unit 1

Parashas Vayeitzei · Passuk 28:14

The Complete Passuk

וְהָיָ֤ה זַרְעֲךָ֙ כַּעֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֔רֶץ וּפָרַצְתָּ֛ יָ֥מָּה וָקֵ֖דְמָה וְצָפֹ֣נָה וָנֶ֑גְבָּה וְנִבְרְכ֥וּ בְךָ֛ כָּל־מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָ֖ה וּבְזַרְעֶֽךָ׃

And your offspring shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and by your offspring.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Shabbos 118a / Beitzah 16a tradition.

TT lemma: ימה וקדמה.

Sefaria — Shabbos 118a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: כָּל הַמְעַנֵּג אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת נוֹתְנִין לוֹ נַחֲלָה בְּלִי מְצָרִים, דִּכְתִיב ״אָז תִּתְעַנַּג עַל ה׳ וְהַאֲכַלְתִּיךָ נַחֲלַת יַעֲקֹב אָבִיךָ״ — כְּיַעֲקֹב דִּכְתִיב בֵּיהּ ״וּפָרַצְתָּ יָמָּה וָקֵדְמָה וְצָפֹנָה וָנֶגְבָּה״.

English: Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: Whoever delights in the Shabbos is given an inheritance without boundaries, as it is written “Then you shall delight in Hashem… and I will feed you the heritage of Yaakov your father” — like Yaakov of whom it is written “and you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south.”

On the daf / in context: The unlimited directional blessing given to Yaakov is the model for the boundless inheritance promised to one who delights in Shabbos.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The four-directional expansion of Yaakov’s seed is applied to the reward of oneg Shabbos.

What Is Learned

One who delights in Shabbos receives an inheritance without borders, matching the unbounded expansion promised to Yaakov.