Yaakov's Vow
"וידר יעקב נדר לאמר, אם יהיה אלקים עמדי, ושמרני בדרך הזה אשר אנכי הולך, ונתן לי לחם לאכל ובגד ללבוש. ושבתי בשלום אל בית אבי, והיה ה' לי לאלוקים"
At face value, Yaakov seems to be making his belief in God conditional on God giving him what he requests! Plus God already promised this in his dream!
The approach of Rashi, Ramban, Rashbam, and Seforno to the statement of והיה ה' לי לאלוקים - is he making a condition and if so, what is the condition, he isn't making his belief in God dependant on the fulfillment of his request.
The Ramban connects והיה ה' לי לאלוקים to the statement which immediately precedes it - ושבתי בשלום אל בית אבי: When will my service of Hashem be complete? Only when I return to the Land of Israel (consistent with his approach in the rest of the Torah).
At the end of the episode (the end of Vayetzei) Hashem tells Yaakov to go back, meaning Hashem is telling him to fulfill his neder - at the beginning of the Parsha he dreams of a ladder to heaven; at the end of the parsha he dreams about sheep, material possessions. At this point God tells him it's time to go home!
Delivered at the OU Israel Center, January 30th, 2019 (24 Shevat 5779)