Yaakov Avinu is described as a “tent dweller”(Bereishis 25:27), which Rashi tells us refers to the tent of Shem and the tent of Eiver. But he didn’t only study with Shem and Eiver growing up, he spent another 14 years studying in the house of Eiver (see Rashi on 28:9) before going to Charan to find a wife (Shem had passed away by then). Where was the tent, house and/or yeshiva of Shem and Eiver located?
Some Tosafists (e.g. Paanayach Raza) assume that “the land of the people of the East” (29:1), where Yaakov went after his ladder vision, is not Charan. Instead, it refers to “בית שם ועבר” which was in the east, since Shem’s descendants lived at “the Eastern Mountain” (10:30). Although “the land of the Eastern People” refers to ארם (see Bamidbar 23:7 and Yeshaya 9:11), of which Charan is a part of (so it could be describing Charan), because it is referred to it as something other than Charan, these Tosafists understand it to mean a different place. (Radak explains why Charan is referred to as “the land of the Eastern People” here; I’m still trying to figure out why sometimes it’s referred to as פדן ארם, sometimes as ארם נהרים, and sometimes as חרן, although see Sifsay Cohen on Bereishis 27:10.) In any case, according to these Tosafists the Yeshiva of Shem and Eiver (notice how “Shem” is included, even though he was no longer alive) was outside ארץ ישראל, to its east.
Turei Even (Megillah 16b) also says that Yaakov must have gone outside ארץ ישראל to learn; otherwise the Gemara couldn’t have proven that learning Torah is greater than taking care of parents, from Yaakov not being punished for the 14 years he spent away from them. It would prove that it’s at least as important, but not that it’s more important. However, if he learned outside ארץ ישראל and still wasn’t punished, learning Torah must be at least as important as taking care of parents and living in ארץ ישראל combined, making it more important than either of them individually. And since Eiver came from “the other side of the river” (the Euphrates), that was likely where his house of study was. Others (e.g. Maharaha on Megillah 16b and Chasam Sofer on Kesubos 17a) suggest different approachesto answer Turei Even’s question. That Shem and Eiver were originally from “the east” is indisputable; whether they stayed there is not.
Rokayach and Rabbeinu Yoel point out hints to the names שם and עבר in the words “מבאר שבע,” implying that this was where they were based. Maharsha (Megilla 17a) says explicitly that בית עבר was in באר שבע. Sifsei Cohen (Bereishis 27:10) says Yaakov spent seven years in מדרשו של שם and seven years in מדרשו של עבר, both of which were in באר שבע. [That they had separate yeshivos is implicit in the fact that Yaakov dwelt in “tents” (plural), i.e. the tent of Shem and the tent of Eiver. Since Shem had already died, his yeshiva must have continued, independent of Eiver’s, through his children and students; see Rashi on Makos 23b regarding Shem’s court.]
Maharsha says בית עבר had to be in באר שבע because Yaakov went from there to Charan, and if it were elsewhere, that’s where he would have left from, not from באר שבע. However, Netziv argues just the opposite, saying that Yaakov left באר שבע and that he went to Charan (as opposed to leaving “to go to Charan”) implies that he went somewhere else in between. Rather, he left באר שבע, went to בית שם ועבר, and then went to Charan. Alshich says he left באר שבע and went elsewhere in ארץ ישראל to מדרש עבר, without indicating where in ארץ ישראל it was. (Any connection between Shem and Eiver and the cave in צפת bearing their names is fairly recent.) Kesef Mishna (A”Z 1:3) also says Shem and Eiver were in ארץ כנען. Anaf Yosef (Bereishis Raba 68:5) says בית מדרשו של שם was in באר לחי ראי, where Yitzchok lived after Avraham died (Bereishis 25:11), since Rivka went there to consult with Shem (see Rashi on 25:22). Chasam Sofer (Kesubos 17a) assumes that the בתי מדרש of Shem and Eiver were next to each other (see Rashi on 25:22), and says they must have been in ירושלים, since that’s where Malkitzedek (Shem) was king (see Rashi on Bereishis 14:18).
There are other indications that Shem and Eiver were in ארץ ישראל. They were at the party Avraham made when Yitzchok was weaned (Rashi, 21:8), which seems to have been in גרר. (It should be noted that גרר and באר לחי ראי are both near באר שבע.) They helped bury Avraham and Sarah (Bereishis Raba 62:3) in חברון. Aruch Hashulchan (C”M 222:3) says Sarah was punished for asking God to judge Avraham rather than bringing him to the court of Shem and Eiver; they were living in באר שבע at the time, so Shem and Eiver must have been in the vicinity. Eisav wanted to wait until Shem and Eiver died before killing Yaakov so that they couldn’t prosecute him (Midrash Seichel Tov 27:41), so he must have been within jurisdiction of their court. On the other hand, if Yaakov was trying to escape from Eisav, how could he stay nearby?
Although everyone seems to put both בתי מדרש in the same place, that might have only been true while Shem was still alive. I would suggest that after Shem passed away, and his (other) students kept his yeshiva (and court) going, Eiver decided to move back to his hometown, “to the east,” to try to bring people there closer to the Creator. Yitzchok had a yeshiva in ארץ ישראל (Yoma 28b). Shem’s yeshiva was still going strong (his court was still active when תמר was accused of not waiting for her brother-in-law). So Eiver moved back east. It’s also possible that Yaakov having to leave was the impetus for Eiver deciding to move his בית מדרש to a different location.
Shem and Eiver were in ארץ ישראל, near Avraham and Yitzchok, for all those events. But when Yaakov spent 14 years in Eiver’s בית מדרש before going to Lavan in Charan, it might have been in (or closer to) ארם than it was to באר שבע.
Rabbi Dov Kramer learned in Yeshiva Shaar Hatorah – Grodno (in Queens) after returning from Eretz Yisroel. He now learns at the Tif (in Passaic) after returning from the WFAN studios (in Manhattan).
