Vayishlach וַיִּשְׁלַח (and he sent)
Torah: B'reisheet/Genesis 32:4* -36:43
* v. 3 in Christian Bibles
Haftarah: Ovadyah/Obadiah 1:1-21
Apostolic Writings: Ivrim/Hebrews 11:11-20
Summary:
On the trip back to Canaan, Jacob meets his brother Esau; Jacob wrestles with the angel. Then they arrive in Shechem; Shechem, the son of Chamor the Hivite, (heir to the town of Shechem) takes Jacob's daughter, Dina; In revenge, Dina's brothers, Shimon and Levy, massacre the men of Shechem; Rebecca (Rivka) dies; G-d gives Jacob an additional name, "Israel," and reaffirms the blessing to Avraham that the land of Canaan (Israel) will be given to his descendants; Rachel dies after giving birth to Benjamin (Binyamin); Jacob's 12 sons are listed; Isaac dies; Esau's lineage is recorded as is that of Seir the Horite; and lastly ... the succession of the Kings of Edom.
WEEKLY WORD
"The Light of Jacob" |
One might go through life without even suspecting God's existence if it wasn't for the fact that occasionally He leaps upon us in the darkness. In this week's Torah portion, Jacob is assaulted by an unknown assailant in the darkness of night. Jacob wrestles him down and refuses to let go of his mysterious assailant, even demanding a blessing of him. The assailant asks him, "What is your name?" As Jacob holds on to the man with all his strength, he answers, "Yaakov" meaning "Heel-grabber." The name is a reference to his talent for not letting go. It is a wrestling name."Then the man said, "Your name shall no longer be Yaakov, but Yisrael (ישראל); for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed." (32:28) Jacob wrestles with God. He struggles with God and men. He struggled with God for the blessing. He struggled with Esau for the blessing, with Isaac for the blessing, with Laban for the blessing, and in each struggle he eventually prevailed. He is Jacob the wrestler. Jacob pursued a life of wrestling because he recognized that the blessing of God was worth the struggle. A thing for which Esau was willing to trade a bowl of soup, Jacob was willing to wrestle for his whole life. We learn from Jacob the value of the eternal. We learn to hold on to God, and to refuse to let go of Him. Too often we are quick to let go of Him. When He does not answer our prayer, we let go of Him. When He smites us, when He touches our hip or strikes us, we let go of Him. Jacob did not let go. And God didn't want him to let go. Neither does He want us to let go. He wants a people that will hold onto Him, cling to Him, grasping His heel through the dark night. We do not understand why God conceals Himself when He could reveal Himself. We do not understand why we must grope in the darkness to apprehend Him, or why He leaps on us in the metaphorical darkness of life, but He does. He certainly does. Perhaps our darkness is self-imposed. From Jacob's story, we learn that there are two kinds of people in this darkness. There are those who will hold on to God and those who will not. Modern man says, "I can't see Him, and I can't hold on to what I cannot see." A person overcomes only by emulating our father Jacob, who did not let go-even in the darkness. Jacob sought the Light in the Darkness and refused to let go until the Angel of the L-RD blessed him. "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (John 1:5) |
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adapted from aish and ffoz commentaries
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
"A little light will dispel much darkness."
- Isaachar Eilenburg, Tzeda LaDerek
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The KHD MeetUp
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SHABBAT SHALOM !
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