In our Torah portion this week, it is written that Jacob "came
to a certain place and stayed there that night" (Gen. 28:11).
The Hebrew text, however, indicates that Jacob did not just
happen upon a random place, but rather that "he came to the
place" -- vayifga bamakom (וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם). The sages
therefore wondered why the Torah states bamakom, "the place,"
rather than b'makom, "a place"? Moreover, the verb translated
"he came" is yifga (from paga': פָּגַע), which means to
encounter or to meet, suggesting that Jacob's stop was a divine
appointment. The Hebrew word makom ("place") comes from the verb
kum (קוּם), meaning "to arise," and in Jewish tradition, ha-
makom became a Name for God. The early sages therefore
interpreted the verse to mean that Jacob actually had his dream
while in Jerusalem rather than in Bethel... Indeed, the Talmud
identifies "the place" Jacob encountered as Mount Moriah - the
location of the Akedah - based on the language used in Genesis
22:4: "On the third day, Abraham raised