וְהָיָה ה' לִי לֵאלֹהִים אֵינֶנּוּ תְּנַאי כְּדִבְרֵי רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על בראשית כ"ח:כ"א), אֲבָל הוּא נֶדֶר, וְעִנְיָנוֹ אִם אָשׁוּב אֶל בֵּית אָבִי אֶעֱבֹד הַשֵּׁם הַמְיֻחָד בָּאָרֶץ הַנִּבְחֶרֶת בִּמְקוֹם הָאֶבֶן הַזֹּאת שֶׁתִּהְיֶה לִי לְבֵית אֱלֹהִים, וְשָׁם אוֹצִיא אֶת הַמַּעֲשֵׂר. וְיֵשׁ בָּעִנְיָן סוֹד מִמָּה שֶׁאָמְרוּ (כתובות קי), כָּל הַדָּר בְּחוּצָה לָאָרֶץ דּוֹמֶה כְּמִי שֶׁאֵין לוֹ אֱלוֹהַּ: THEN THE ETERNAL SHALL BE MY G-D. This is not a condition, as Rashi would have it. It is rather a vow, and its purport is as follows: “If I will return to my father’s house, I will worship the proper Name of the Eternal in the Chosen Land at the location of this stone which will be for me a house of G-d, and there I will set aside the tithe.” There is in this matter a secret relating to that which the Rabbis have said:58Kethuboth 110b. “He who dwells outside the Land of Israel is like one who has no G-d.” [Thus, according to the meaning of the above quotation, the Eternal will be Jacob’s G-d only when he returns to the Land of Israel.]