On the pasuk, “and he (Yaakov) lied down in that place (Har HaBayis) because the sun set,” the midrash (Pirkei D’Rebbi Eliezer, perek 35) comments that Hashem said to Yaakov, “there is bread in your satchel and there is water in the well, therefore, rest in this place (Har HaBayis).”
Yaakov argued that the sun went down only five measures and had not set completely, so the time for him to sleep had not yet come. Hashem, therefore, made the sun go down. When Yaakov saw the sun in the west, he went to sleep.
In other words, after Yaakov reached the Bais Hamikdash, there was a dialogue between Hashem and Yaakov. Hashem wanted Yaakov to sleep in the place of the Bais Hamikdash, since he had food and drink with him. Yaakov refused, since it was not yet night — so Hashem made the sun set. When Yaakov saw the sun in the west, he went to sleep.
The Zera Shimshon asks a number of questions on this midrash:
Firstly, why did Hashem preface the request that Yaakov should sleep with the fact that he had bread to eat and water to drink? What does eating and drinking have to do with his sleeping?
Secondly, why did Hashem want Yaakov to sleep there, specifically, when it was still day?
Thirdly, why didn’t Yaakov comply immediately with Hashem’s wishes to sleep there? What did he see wrong in sleeping while it was still day?
Fourthly, if Yaakov didn’t want to sleep in the day, why then did he sleep before sunset — when the sun was still in the west?
Zera Shimshon answers these questions based on the following texts.
The Kli Yakar explains that Yaakov was afraid that Eisav would harm him, so Hashem showed Yaakov the Beis Hamikdash in his dream to alleviate this fear. There are three reasons how this was able to calm Yaakov’s fear:
Firstly, the Bais Hamikdash is a place where Hashem answers one’s prayers, so Yaakov could daven there to be saved from Eisav.
Secondly, the fact that no metal was used in the building of the Bais Hamikdash counters Eisav’s strength which is connected to weapons.
And, thirdly, the fact that not only does the sun have no effect on the Bais Hamikdash, but the Bais Hamikdash actually dimmed the sunlight! Therefore, in this place, Eisav loses his strength — since he lives under the influence of the sun (for instance, he counts his calendar according to the sun) and his strength comes from the sun.
The second text is a midrash in the beginning of Bereishis that asks why in the beginning of creation is the moon referred to as one of the “big shining objects” (the other one being the sun), but it is later referred to as the “small shining object?” The midrash answers that the moon was punished, because it “entered into the domain of the sun,” since the moon is, sometimes, seen in the day, and as a punishment for this, it was made small. Even though it had permission to shine in the day, it was still punished.
According to this, the Zera Shimshon explains the dialogue between Hashem and Yaakov.
Hashem didn’t only tell Yaakov to sleep in the place of the Bais Hamikdash, but rather, Hashem wanted Yaakov to daven there to be saved from Eisav — and in the merit of the Bais Hamikdash, which overpowers and dims the sunlight — Eisav’s strength would be weakened. Yaakov, however, was scared to trespass on Eisav’s domain for fear of being hurt, like what happened to the moon at the time of creation when it entered the domain of the sun.
To alleviate this fear, Hashem prefaced His request to sleep in the place of the Bais Hamikdash by saying that you already have food and drink. Meaning, since this world is under the rule of Eisav, all worldly pleasures — like eating and drinking — really belong to him and if anyone eats or drinks, he is, in essence, trespassing Eisav’s territory. Therefore, Hashem told Yaakov, since you eat and drink you are already trespassing, and there is no need to worry that if you daven to weaken Eisav’s rule and make it dark earlier so you will be able to sleep, he will be punished.
Yaakov didn’t accept this argument. He held that you can cannot bring a proof that just like he isn’t considered entering Eisav’s domain when he eats and drinks, so too, if he makes the night come quicker, he also is not entering Eisav’s domain, because no one can live without eating and drinking — but he could have waited a few hours until it was dark and, therefore, “one cannot bring a proof from something that is impossible to something that is possible.”
Hashem accepted Yaakov’s argument and, therefore, made the sun begin to set. After it was mostly all the way down — even though it was still day — Yaakov understood that it was alluding to the end of Eisav’s rule, and was no longer afraid of trespassing and, therefore, he laid down to rest!
