And
Jacob swore an oath, saying "if God will be with me and guard me in the
way I am going and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear. And I shall
return in peace to my father’s home, and God will be my Lord. Then this stone
which I have made a pillar will be the house of the Lord, and all you give me I
will tithe for You.” Genesis 28:20-22
Thus Jacob prepared for his departure from the Holy Land
for his personal exile.
It is interesting to note the change from third to second
person.
Our Sages teach us, (and Maimonides includes the comment
as a halacha) that a Jew who dwells outside Israel “is as if he has no
God”.
When Jacob prepared to leave the Holy Land, he felt a
distance from God, and therefore addressed Him in the third person. However,
when Jacob spoke of his return to the Holy Land, it was with a renewed feeling
of closeness to God, and therefore he uses the second person.
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