With My Staff I Crossed This Jordan in the Merit of Jacob

"For with my staff I crossed this Jordan" (Genesis 32:11). In the Torah, in the Prophets, and in the Writings we find that Israel crossed the Jordan only through the merit of Jacob. In the Torah: "For with my staff I crossed this Jordan." In the Prophets: "Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground" (Joshua 4:22) - this is Israel the elder [Jacob]. In the Writings, as it is written: "The Jordan turned back... before the God of Jacob" (Psalms 114:5, 7). Rabbi Levi said: There is a place there where the Jordan rushes out at the hot springs of Tiberias. In his panic Jacob entered there, and Esau locked him in from the front. The Holy One, blessed be He, dug a passage for him from another direction. This is what is written: "When you pass through the waters, I am with you" (Isaiah 43:2).