December 14, 2024 · י"ג כסלו תשפ״ה
Parashat Vayishlach · פרשת וישלח
A PEEK AT THE PARSHA Parshat Vayishlach begins with Yaakov returning to his father’s home and inevitably seeing his brother Esav, who he hasn’t seen in many years. Yaakov sends messengers to Esav to see if he is still angry at Yaakov. The messengers return and share that Esav has an army of 400 men. Yaakov prepares for meeting Esav in three ways. First, he prays to Hashem, asking for protection: “Save me from my brother, save me from Esav.” Yaakov then tries to appease Esav with gifts. Yaakov sends Esav hundreds of goats, cows, camels, and donkeys. Lastly, Yaakov prepares for a war, in case Esav attacks. Yaakov divides his family into two groups,
ONE BIG IDEA Yaakov’s name being changed to Yisrael is so important that the entire Jewish People becomes Am Yisrael. And the Jewish state becomes Eretz Yisrael! And the name means “struggling with God!” Why are we and the holy land named that? Why not “Simcha” (happiness) or “Ahava” (love)? Maybe Hashem is telling us that many of the important things in life are not easy to get. They take hard work. And sometimes we will succeed and sometimes we won’t. But the reward isn’t always succeeding. Sometimes the reward is the hard work itself.
this way if Esav attacks one group, the other group could run away. One night, as Yaakov is on his way to meet Esav, he wrestles with a mysterious man until dawn. After the fight, the man blesses Yaakov and changes his name to Yisrael, meaning “one who struggles with God.” Yaakov’s thigh gets injured in the fight and that is why Jews do not eat the Gid Hanasheh (a nerve found in the thigh of a cow). The next day, Yaakov and Esav meet. Yaakov bows seven times before Esav. Esav runs to Yaakov and they hug and kiss. Yaakov then introduces Esav to his entire family. Esav asks Yaakov to join him in traveling to Seir, but Yaakov says that his family is too large and won’t be able to keep up. Yaakov and his family travel to Shechem. In Shechem, the prince kidnaps Dina, Yaakov’s daughter, to make her his wife. Shimon and Levi free Dina and then wage war with the entire city of Shechem. At the end of the parsha, Rachel dies while giving birth to her second son, Binyamin. Rachel is buried in a grave on the side of the road. Yitzchak dies at the age of 180 and is buried by Yaakov and Esav in Ma’arat Hamachpela.
TIMES - זמנים Candle-lighting: 4:10pm Havdalah: 5:10pm allah: 5:25pm