בראשית, פרק ל״ה, פסוק ד׳

On their journey to a holy destination, Jacob’s household undergoes a deep spiritual purification, handing over every trace of idolatry in their possession. They surrender the idols themselves, which included the figures Rachel had taken and the spoils gathered from the city of Shechem [קונטרס חיבה יתירה]. Alongside these statues, they also hand over their rings. The presence of these rings raises interesting questions. Some explain that these were not ordinary jewelry, but rings engraved with idolatrous images or specifically used in pagan worship [ביאור יש"ר, הכתב והקבלה, שטיינזלץ]. Others suggest a surprising alternative: the rings were not worn by people at all, but were actually jewelry adorning the idols themselves [בכור שור, חזקוני, חומת אנך, ברכת אשר]. A more conceptual approach views the removal of the rings as a deliberate act of repentance and submission. By stripping away their jewelry, the family displayed signs of mourning, actively shedding their past sins and negative desires as they prepared to ascend to the holy site of Bethel [חתם סופר, קונטרס חיבה יתירה].

Once Jacob collects these items, he buries them in the earth. This action prompts significant discussion, as religious law typically demands the complete destruction of idols—such as burning them, grinding them to dust, and scattering the remains to the wind or sea—rather than simply hiding them in the ground. The primary approach among commentators is that these specific idols had already been legally canceled out by their previous non-Jewish owners in Shechem, even if done against their will. Therefore, they did not strictly require destruction. Jacob chose to bury them merely as an extra measure of spiritual purity, ensuring no trace of idolatry remained in his camp before offering sacrifices to God [רמב״ן, ספורנו, העמק דבר].

Others explain the burial as a practical necessity. Jacob was actively traveling and far from a body of water like the Dead Sea. He could not risk pausing to burn the idols, as the rising smoke might draw the attention of surrounding nations and put his family in danger. Burial offered a quick and secure solution [רבנו בחיי, שפתי חכמים, צאינה וראינה]. An entirely different perspective suggests Jacob buried the idols to preserve them as evidence. If the neighboring Canaanite tribes ever challenged him over the destruction of Shechem, he could unearth these statues to prove that the city's inhabitants had violated their agreement to abandon paganism [יריעות שלמה, הטור הארוך]. Regardless of his primary motive, burying the objects ensured no one would easily find or reuse them [רד״ק].

Jacob specifically chooses to hide the items under a barren tree located just outside the city of Shechem [רש״י, רד״ק, מזרחי]. The selection of a fruitless tree was intentional; the ground beneath it would never be plowed or planted, guaranteeing that future farmers would not accidentally dig up the idols while working the land [רמב״ן, שפתי חכמים]. A Midrashic tradition links these hidden statues to the later history of the region, identifying them as idols shaped like a dove. According to this tradition, the Samaritans eventually discovered this dove-shaped figure on the nearby Mount Gerizim and established it as an object of their own worship [הדר זקנים, דעת זקנים, תורה תמימה].