כלי יקר — אם יהיה אלהים עמדי / ושבתי בשלום

Q — Did Yaakov doubt Hashem's promise of protection? His vow opens 'אם יהיה אלקים עמדי' — 'IF God will be with me' — even though Hashem had just promised 'והנה אנכי עמך ושמרתיך בכל אשר תלך.'

A — Yaakov was not doubting at all. Hashem's promise was about שמירת הגוף — bodily protection. Yaakov's vow concerns a *different* request: שמירת הנפש מן החטא, guarding his soul from sin in Charan. Three textual shifts prove the distinction: Hashem said 'בכל אשר תלך' (universal); Yaakov said 'בדרך הזה אשר אנכי הולך' (this specific path he chooses to walk). Hashem said 'והשיבותיך אל האדמה' (passive); Yaakov said 'ושבתי בשלום' (active — *I* will return). Hashem said 'אל האדמה'; Yaakov said 'אל בית אבי.' Each shift signals that Yaakov is asking for help with something dependent on בחירה — moral integrity, which only divine aid plus human will can secure.