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Rashi writes that a tzaddik’s departure makes an impact on the city’s
residents. When he leaves, their glory, splendor, and beauty departs as
well. How was Yaakov’s absence felt if Yitzchak Avinu was still living
there?
Learning Torah is greater than praying. It is the Torah which distinguishes
us from the nations of the world. This is why Harav Shach zt”l advised
one Jew to help extend a yeshiva building rather than build a Beit
Hakeneset.
Yitzchak Avinu personified the attribute of tefillah, while Yaakov
embodied that of Torah. This is why Yaakov’s absence was felt by all.
“Yaakov departed from Be’er Sheva and went
towards Charan. He encountered the place and
spent the night there because the sun had set;
he took from the stones of the place which he
arranged around his head, and lay down in that
place. And he dreamt, and behold! A ladder was
set earthward and its top reached heavenward;
and behold! angels of Hashem were ascending
and descending on it”
(Bereishit 28:10-12)
