Growth Through Struggle

After leaving Laban’s household, Jacob must face another strained relationship in a scary encounter. His estrangement from Esau was alway sin the background of his journeys, his relationships, and his self-definition. Before Parashat Vayishlach, Jacob has not reached out to his twin for any reason. The last time we read about these siblings, fear motivated a complete parting of ways. (Esau, interestingly, chooses to marry into Ishmael’s family instead of a Canaanite, in order to fulfill Isaac’s wishes.) Although the motivation is not recorded in detail, Jacob now reaches out to Esau. When his messengers report that Esau is coming with four hundred men, Jacob is understandably scared, and devises contention plans so his family is not hurt (in case he is). However, this parsha provides a touching story of reconciliation, and restores Jacob’s family of origin from a particularly dramatic beginning.

Before the brothers’ reunion, however, Jacob must face another struggle. He wrestles with a man (an angel? G!d?) who renames him Israel, proclaiming his overcoming of both human and divine challenges. [Perhaps this precession in the Torah gives hope to his ultimate personal meeting with Esau, which occurs directly after the wrestling match.]

Dinah’s struggle has persisted in confusion – we see the revenge and protectiveness of her families, even in the compromise met by Hamor, Shechem, and their kinsmen. While many interpretations of what can be learned from this story exist in later interpretations, the Torah leaves with the idea of an unrequited revenge about which Jacob disagrees with his sons. This seems to at least partially precipitate the move from Shechem to Beit-El. Here, we are told that G!d himself names Jacob Israel, calling the wrestling story into question again. He also repeats a command for reproduction, similar to his instructions to Abraham, even though Jacob has already had many children. He also promises a royal lineage to Jacob. However, the hopeful interchanges are twinged with the immense pain of Rachel’s death in childbirth. Her second son, Ben-Oni/Benyamin, is the last of Jacob’s sons.

The rest of the parsha presents genealogies, making us wait until next week for the beginning of the stories of the next generation.

Chappy Thanksgiving Turkey Challah-Dayz!

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Since the last post was late, komps kaos was covered there.