5782
Chapter 35;v.20
כ. וַיַּצֵּב יַֽעֲקֹב מַצֵּבָה עַל־קְבֻֽרָתָהּ הִוא מַצֶּבֶת קְבֻֽרַת־רָחֵל עַד־הַיּֽוֹם
- And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.
The text does not read: “Which is the pillar of Rachel to this day,” for Rachel herself did not need a monument. Righteous people do not need monuments, for their words are their memorial. They do not need pillars of stone to perpetuate their memory. Thus, the pillar which Jacob set up was intended only as “the pillar of Rachel’s grave,” marking the site of the grave, so that her descendants who might wish to visit the grave and pray there would know where to find it.(Chomat Esh)
5781
Chapter 33;v.11
קַח־נָא אֶת־בִּרְכָתִי אֲשֶׁר הֻבָאת לָךְ כִּֽי־חַנַּנִי אֱלֹהִים וְכִי יֶשׁ־לִי־כֹל וַיִּֽפְצַר־בּוֹ וַיִּקָּֽח
Take, I beg you, my blessing that is brought to you; because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.
Jacob said he had “everything”, whereas Esau said he had “much”, (verse 9) but not “everything”. This is because vulgar and insensitive people, like Esau, never feel satisfied. Righteous and wise people, though, feel that whatever they have is enough. Therefore, Jacob, with his modest traits, asked God only for “bread to eat and clothing to wear” (28:20), and he said here that “I have everything”.