Tanach · Acharonim on Tanach · Or HaChaim · Torah

Or HaChaim on Genesis 28:22/אור החיים על בראשית כ״ח:כ״ב

אוְהָאֶבֶן הַזֹּאת וְגוֹ׳. יֵרָאֶה כִּי הִיא זוֹ אֶבֶן הַשְּׁתִיָּה (זוהר א:עב) שֶׁהִזְמִינָהּ לַמִּקְדָּשׁ, וּמָצִינוּ לוֹ שֶׁהִזְמִין עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים לַמִּשְׁכָּן בַּמִּדְבָּר (תנחומא תרומה). וְאוּלַי שֶׁיְּכַוֵּן ה׳ בְּאָמְרוֹ ״וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ״ (שמות כה:ח) לְשׁוֹן מְזֻמָּן, פֵּרוּשׁ מַה שֶׁכְּבָר הוּזְמַן, כִּי הַמִּשְׁכָּן וְגַם בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ בִּשְׁנֵיהֶם הִזְמִינָם יַעֲקֹב, ״וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם״ חוֹזֵר אֶל שְׁתֵּי הֲכָנוֹת אֵלּוּ.
1 והאבן הזאת, and concerning this stone, etc. According to Zohar 1,72 the stone in question is the אבן שתיה, the stone G'd used as the foundation of the Holy Temple and which He had buried in the interval in the depths of the abyss at the "navel" of the earth. According to Tanchuma Parshat Terumah, Jacob prepared the shittim wood for the Tabernacle in the desert at this time. Perhaps this is what G'd referred to in Exodus 25,8 when He said: "They shall make for Me a Sanctuary;" G'd referred to this wood from which the Israelites were to construct this Sanctuary. When the Torah there continued: "and I shall dwell amongst them," G'd may have referred to preparations made by Jacob for both the Tabernacle and the Holy Temple.