As Genesis 28:11 tells us, "He took from the stones of the place..." but what did he do with those stones? That's where the Rabbis pick up the story and run with it in Bereshit Rabbah 68.
The Rabbis, in their inimitable way, find layers of meaning in those simple words. We get three different interpretations. Rabbi Yehuda suggests that Jacob took twelve stones. Why twelve? Because, Rabbi Yehuda explains, Jacob hoped to father the twelve tribes of Israel. He essentially tested the stones: If these twelve stones join together, then I will father twelve tribes. And when they did, he knew.
Rabbi Nehemya offers a different take: maybe it was only three stones. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—if these three stones join together, Jacob reasoned, then God will designate His name upon me, just as He did on my forefathers. And when the three stones joined, Jacob knew he was part of that sacred lineage.
And the Rabbis, well, they suggest maybe the minimum number of "stones" is two. Jacob, ever aware of his lineage and the potential for things to go awry, thought: Abraham had Ishmael, Isaac had Esau... If these two stones join together, I will know that waste will not emerge from me. I will know my children will continue the covenant.
So, which is it? Twelve stones, three stones, or two? Perhaps the number isn't the point. Maybe it's about Jacob's deep desire to connect with his destiny, to create a lasting legacy.
But wait, there's more! Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Elazar, citing Rabbi Yosei bar Zimra, offer a much more practical explanation: He made them in the shape of a roof gutter and placed it beneath his head because he feared the beasts! A simple pillow, born of necessity.
Then, Rabbi Berekhya and Rabbi Levi, in the name of Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina, paint a vivid picture. Remember Micah 1:3-4? "For, behold, the Lord emerges from His place... the mountains will melt under Him..." Even where God only passes through, valleys burst like wax! So, imagine a place where God actually reveals Himself! The stones melt and are joined together, not through some magical force, but through the sheer power of the Divine presence.
Rabbi Berekhya adds that those stones became like a bed and a feather pillow under him. A sign of comfort, of divine blessing. And what blossomed from that place? As Song of Songs 1:17 says, "The beams of our houses are cedars... the righteous men and women that emerged from him."
The text also contrasts Jacob's weariness at that moment with his dedication to Torah study. Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nehemya point out that while he rested here, he didn't rest during the fourteen years he spent hidden in the house of Ever, or the twenty years he toiled in Laban's house.
So, what did he do during those sleepless nights? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi suggests he recited the fifteen Songs of Ascent in Psalms (Psalms 120-134). "A song of ascents, by David. If the Lord had not been with us, let Israel now say" (Psalms 124:1) – Israel the elder, meaning Jacob himself. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman goes even further: Jacob recited the entire Book of Psalms! "Yet You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel" (Psalms 22:4) – again, referring to Jacob.
Jacob, alone in the desert, using stones as a pillow, yet connected to his past, his future, and to God. It’s a powerful image. What "stones" are you using as a pillow? What dreams are you nurturing in your own moments of rest and reflection? And how are you connecting to the Divine in the midst of your journey? Maybe, just maybe, the answers are closer than you think.