”...and he [Yaakov] took from the stones...”
29 Kislev 5770
Question:
Two questions:
Genesis, Chapter 28, verse 11 states: ”...and he took from the stones...”.
(וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם וַיָּלֶן שָׁם, כִּי-בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם, וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו; וַיִּשְׁכַּב, בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא)
Hence if Yaakov took from the stones, it means that he could take only one stone.
1. Is it syntactically correct to assume that?
2. Therefore, if he indeed took only one stone, how come Rashi concluded that Yaakov took more than one stone???
Answer:
1. Yes.
2. It is not necessary to understand in the way of Rashi (following the midrash) but the text suggests this possibility of interpretation because it is not written "vayassem otah merashotav", leaving intentionally a place to ambiguity.