Page:A Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Morgenstern, 1919, jewishinterpreta00morg).pdf/265

Rh Cod writes

it

and

in his book,

IS

With Us

247

seals the record for all time.

But

whenever he does an evil deed, the angel on the left grows sad while he writes

it

and bows

repents,

seal his

If during the rest of the day, the

record until midnight.

man

But he does not

book.

in his

his

head and prays, ''O God, I have But if he does not is erased.

sinned; forgive", the record repent and acknowledge his

sin,

the evil record, too,

is

sealed

And

both the angel on the right and the angel on the left weep sadly for the sin which had to be recorded. have heard much thus far of repentance, but now for forever.

We

we have learned of one who repented. We how he was purified, and how God pardoned him, and was with him upon all his journey. So God is with us and never forsakes us even if we sin. Ever He calls unto the

first

time

shall see

Ever He is with us and and we need not fear. Ever He is our shepEver His great, eternal, wonherd, and we do not want. drous love watches over us, both when we sleep and when we stir. And ever when we forget and turn from Him, and go astray from His path, still He is with us, and we can return to Him, as Father Jacob did, and be assured of His forgiveness and His help and His blessing.

us to repent and return to Him. leads us on,

NOTES V.

11.

known

Notice that Jacob came to this place by chance, and had The use of the definite it previously.

absolutely nothing of

article in the

Hebrew, reproduced in the English, "the place", instead we would expect, is difficult and mystifying.

of "a place", as

In the Orient

it

is

not

uncommon

veniently shaped stone as a pillow;

cf.

for shepherds to use a conNational Geographic Magazine,

March, 1914, 270. Vv. 13-15 renew

to Jacob God's promise to Abraham; cf. XII, XIII, 14-17: XXII, 18; XXIV, 7. V. 17. According to the ancient Semitic conception, there was a gate to heaven, through which the gods passed when they visited the

3,

7:

earth



cf.

the note to XI.

having two gates, one

in

9.

the

Occasionally heaven was conceived as east, through which the sun

extreme \n