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Wednesday, December 2, 2020

VAYISHLACH 32:4-36:43

 

VAYISHLACH 32:4-36:43


This week's Parshah is Vayishlach.

Among other things we learn:

After 20 years Jacob returns to the Land.

He learns that Esau is approaching with 400 armed men.

Jacob prepares for war, prays, and sends Esau a large gift of livestock.

Jacob wrestles with an Angel who renames him "Yisrael".

Jacob and Esau meet; embrace and kiss, but part ways.

Jacob and his family settle in Shechem where Dinah is raped and Shimon and Levi take revenge.

Rachel dies while giving birth to Benjamin, and is buried in a roadside grave.

Esau's family is recounted in detail.

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In this week's Parshah at 32:25, we learn that our forefather Jacob was tough.  He wrestled with an Angel, hung in there and finally succeeded, a lesson for us all.

 וַיִּוָּתֵר יַעֲקֹב, לְבַדּוֹ; וַיֵּאָבֵק אִישׁ עִמּוֹ, עַד עֲלוֹת הַשָּׁחַר

“And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day”.

Why did a “man” wrestle with Jacob? 

What meaning does that wrestling match have for us today in terms of Jacob or the Jewish people or yourself?  

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 The 13th century French Rabbi Chizkuni comments on “...Jacob was left alone...”

Jacob should have had support from his family.  He should not have been left alone for this struggle.

If you are like most Jews and come from assimilated families, you will not have their support.  At the very best they will consider you to be quirky.  At the worst they will consider you certifiable.

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The Angel renames Jacob; he will be called Israel.  At 32:29:

וַיֹּאמֶר, לֹא יַעֲקֹב יֵאָמֵר עוֹד שִׁמְךָ--כִּי, אִם-יִשְׂרָאֵל:  כִּי-שָׂרִיתָ עִם-אֱלֹהִים וְעִם-אֲנָשִׁים, וַתּוּכָל

“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you have  power with God and with men, and you have overcome”.

I think an alternate translation should be considered.  One that considers the root of שָׂרִיתָ to stem from "price":

"... for as a prince you have power with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”

The problem with this translation is that it comes from the King James Version of the Chumash.


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 In the Parshah at 32:21 it seems that Jacob may be making an atonement, כפרה  to his brother Esau for the taking of the birthright and usurping the blessing of material wealth given to him by Isaac. 

כִּי-אָמַר אֲכַפְּרָה פָנָיו, בַּמִּנְחָה הַהֹלֶכֶת לְפָנָי, וְאַחֲרֵי-כֵן אֶרְאֶה פָנָיו, אוּלַי יִשָּׂא פָנָי

" …For he said, "I will atone his anger with the gift that is going before me, and afterwards I will see his face, perhaps he will favor me."

At 33:3 Jacob bows down seven times and refers to himself as Esau’s servant.  This is tantamount to offering Esau back the birthright. 

And Jacob transfers over to Esau much of the material wealth accumulated while working for Lavan.

 וְהוּא, עָבַר לִפְנֵיהֶם; וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אַרְצָה שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים

“And he went ahead of them and prostrated himself to the ground seven times…”

A suzerain does not kowtow to an under lord.  The irony of this however, is that Esau is indifferent.  As told to us by Rabbi Yitz, indifference is Esau’s major character flaw.  In the sense of appeasement, he can take it or leave it.  Esau takes the gift of appeasement; the brothers embrace. Esau leaves, and each brother goes their separate ways.

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1-How many years elapsed since Jacob left his father and returned?

2-Why did Jacob chose this time to return Israel?

3-Why was Jacob afraid from Eisav, didn't he have full trust in G-d?

4-What was the total # of animals sent to Eisav, & what does it signifies?

5-Why was there spaces between gifts sent to Eisav?

6-In what 3-Ways Jacob prepared for the encounter with Eisav?

7-How old was Jacob when Joseph was sold?

8-How do we know that boys become Bar Mitzvah at 13?

9-Why did the evil angel attack Jacob and not Abraham or Yitzchak?

10-On which day of the year did Eisav Angel attack YAAKOV?

11-Which 4-Parts of a Kosher animal are we forbidden to eat?

12-Which blessing did Eisav's Angel give to Jacob ?

13-What did MORDECHAI tell HAMMAN about their Ancestors?

14-What did Shimon & Levi rely on when they waged war with SHECHEM?

15-How many Rabbis do we know that learned privately with Angels?

16-Why do many Jews wrap a red string around Kever Rachel as Segulah?

17-How are the names of Avos & Imavos alluded in the name ISRAEL?

18-How old was Jacob when he returned to Eretz Yisroel?

19-Who and how many men did Dinah (Leah's daughter) marry?

20-What was Reuben's sin?

21-Which grandson(s) of Eisav tried to kill all the Jews?

22-Where do we learn that one should patronize his own country ?

23-How do we see that Yosef had the strength to overpower Eisav ?

24-Which Mitzvah did Jacob performed as he arrived in Schechem ?

25-What will the Sun do in the future days of MOSHIACH?

26-Why did Jacob teach his son Yosef more that the other brothers ?

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DECEPTION: an act or statement which misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not trueoften done for personal gain or advantage.

At 33:14 we learn that Ya’akov misleads Esav about his plans to join him in Se’ir, and that the sons of Ya’akov dupe the citizens of Sh’khem into a mass circumcision – and then pillage the town in revenge for the rape of Dinah (34:13). 

No big deal so you say; what’s a little deception now and again?

But look at this list.  If you try not very hard you may begin to see a pattern emerging  :

a. Yitzhak is deceived by Ya’akov who is prompted and aided by Rivkah (Ch. 27).

b. Yitzhak is deceived by Rivkah, who claims that she wants to send Ya’akov away for marriage purposes (when it’s really to save his life – 27:46).

c. Lavan fools Ya’akov into marrying Leah before Rachel – thus getting her married off and gaining 7 more “free” years of labor from Ya’akov (29:23-27).

d. Rachel lies to her father about the idols she stole from his house (31:19).

e. Lavan manipulates Ya’akov’s wages “ten times” (31:41).

f. Ya’akov misleads Esav about his plans to join him in Se’ir (33:14).

g. The sons of Ya’akov dupe the citizens of Sh’khem into a mass circumcision – and then pillage the town in revenge for the rape of Dinah (34:13).

h.The brothers fool their father into thinking that Yoseph has been killed by an animal (37:31).

i. Tamar fools Yehudah into thinking that she is a *K’deshah* (38:14-15).

j. Potiphar’s wife lies to her husband, getting Yoseph thrown into the court jail (39:14-20).

k. Yoseph maintains his disguise with his brothers, not revealing their relationship until Yehudah’s bold stand (44:18-34)

l. Yoseph (evidently) has his brothers lie to Pharaoh about their livelihood (46:33-34).

m. The brothers (apparently) lie to Yoseph about Ya’akov’s deathbed wishes (49:17).


What lies to we hear today?

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PROCASTINATION

 

After the massacre of the townspeople of Shechem, Hashem once more reminds Jacob at 35:1 –

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל-יַעֲקֹב, קוּם עֲלֵה בֵית-אֵל וְשֶׁב-שָׁם; וַעֲשֵׂה-שָׁם מִזְבֵּחַ--לָאֵלהַנִּרְאֶה אֵלֶיךָ, בְּבָרְחֲךָ מִפְּנֵי עֵשָׂו אָחִיךָ

“And God said to Jacob, Arise and go up to Beth el and dwell there, and make there an altar to the God Who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau."

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If you want Hashem’s protection, you better get rid of your foreign gods (35:2,4):


 וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל-בֵּיתוֹ, וְאֶל כָּל-אֲשֶׁר עִמּוֹ:  הָסִרוּ אֶת-אֱלֹהֵי הַנֵּכָר, אֲשֶׁר בְּתֹכְכֶם, וְהִטַּהֲרוּ, וְהַחֲלִיפוּ שִׂמְלֹתֵיכֶם.

"Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him: 'Put away the strange gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your garments";

וַיִּתְּנוּ אֶל-יַעֲקֹב, אֵת כָּל-אֱלֹהֵי הַנֵּכָר אֲשֶׁר בְּיָדָם, וְאֶת-הַנְּזָמִים, אֲשֶׁר בְּאָזְנֵיהֶם; וַיִּטְמֹן אֹתָם יַעֲקֹב, תַּחַת הָאֵלָה אֲשֶׁר עִם-שְׁכֶם

“And they gave unto Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hand, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth which was by Shechem”.

Why under a tree?

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In the final Aliyah at 36:20 we learn something about a Canaanite king named Seir and Jacob’s brother Esau.  Seir was king over a mountain region immediately south of Israel, an area later called “Edom”.  Prior to his encounter with Jacob, Esau moved south to the Mountain of Seir.  The 400 men who rode with him were from that region.  At some point Esau had displaced Seir and ruled the region.

Seir eldest son was named Lotan was a leader in his own right.  Lotan had a sister.  Her name was Timna.  She was a noble woman and Clan Leader (36:22,40), and she was under the rule of Esau. 

The Talmud, Sanhedrin 99b, speaks about Menashe, a Judean king who ridiculed and trivialized the Torah, including the passages that refer to Esau’s genealogy and Timna. The Sages tell of the importance of the passages.  They relate that Timna wanted to convert, but was rejected by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. She then becomes a concubine to Esau’s son Eliphaz in order to have a relationship with the family, albeit a secondary one.  Timna and Eliphaz have a son; he is Amalek our dire enemy.  The Sages conjecture that had Timna been accepted by the Patriarchs, history may have turned out differently.

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BS”D

MAX’S PARSHAT VASHALACH QUIZ QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Olim:

Max has come up with a quiz that relates to the Parshat Vashalach Torah portion.  Here are his questions and answers.  How did you do?

Any comments for Max?

Stay Inside; Stay Safe and Stay Healthy.  Wear your mask.

Shabbat shalom,

Mick

 

> 1-How many years elapsed since Jacob left his father and returned ?

34-Years,( 14-Years with Shem & Ever, and 20-Years with Laban)

> 2-Why did Jacob chose this time to return Israel ?

Jacob took the initiative to make peace with Eisav while Isaac was alive

> 3-Why was Jacob afraid from Eisav, didn't he have full trust in G-d ?

He felt because he did not honor his parents for 20-Years, he lacked merit

> 4-What was the total # of animals sent to Eisav, & what does it signifies?

550 total animals, representing the # of years the descendants of Eisav

Preceded Jacob as an organized State

> 5-Why was there spaces between gifts sent to Eisav ?

Jacob was praying that in the future persecutions will be delayed

From one another to all Jews to recover

> 6-In what 3-Ways Jacob prepared for the encounter with Eisav?

1-Send Gifts, 2-Prepare for Battle, and 3-Offer Prayers

> 7-How old was Jacob when Joseph was sold ?

108 Years Old

> 8-How do we know that boys become Bar Mitzvah at 13 ?

When Shimon &Levi attacked the people in Shechem Shimon was 13

> 9-Why did the evil angel attack Jacob and not Abraham or Yitzchak ?

Evil Angel only concern with Talmud Torah, not kindness nor prayer

> 10-On which day of the year did Eisav Angel attack YAAKOV?

TISHAH B'AV

> 11-Which 4-Parts of a Kosher animal are we forbidden to eat ?

1-Chelev (certain Fat), 2-Gid Hanasheh, 3-Shuman Hagid, &4-Blood

> 12-Which blessing did Eisav's Angel give to Jacob ?

That Jacob Sons should be TZADDIKIM like him

> 13-What did MORDECHAI tell HAMMAN about their Ancestors ?

Just like my Grandfather BINYOMIN never bowed to your Grandfather

Eisav Harasha, so too , i am not bowing down to you

> 14-What did Shimon & Levi rely on when they waged war with SHECHEM  ?

They counted on their ZECHUS Avos as they fought the enemy

> 15-How many Rabbis do we know that learned privately with Angels?

Moshe Rabbeinu, the Tur, Baal Haturim, Beis Yoseff, & The Arizal

> 16-Why do many Jews wrap a red string around Kever Rachel as Segulah ?

Red signifies the Shame that Rachel spared her Sister marrying Jacob

> 17-How are the names of Avos & Imavos alluded in the name ISRAEL ?

Yud=YITZCHAK & YAAKOV, Sin=Sarah, Reish=Rivkah & Rachel

Alef=Avraham, and Lamed=Leah

> 18-How old was Jacob when he returned to Eretz Yisroel ?

99-Years Old, (Never Too Late to Make Aliyah)

> 19-Who and how many men did Dinah (Leah's daughter) marry ?

First she married Shimon, divorced and then married the righteous Iyov

> 20-What was Reuben's sin ?

He did not respect Jacob Decision in moving his bed to Billah's

> 21-Which grandson(s) of Eisav tried to kill all the Jews?

Haman and Hitler Direct descendants of Eisav

> 22-Where do we learn that we should patronize your own country ?

As soon as Jacob arrived in SHECHEM he participated in its economy

> 23-How do we see that Yosef had the strength to overpower Eisav ?

Yehoshua a descendant of Yosef led the Battle to defeat Amalek

> 24-Which Mitzvah did Jacob performed as he arrived in Schechem ?

He marked the Techum limits in preparation for Shabbat

> 25-What will the Sun do in the future days of MOSHIACH

The Sun will burn the Wicked and heal the Righteous

> 26-Why did Jacob teach his son Yosef more that the other brothers ?

Yosef was very eager to learn and participate in everything Jacob taught


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