Genesis 32.4-36:43

Genesis 32.4-36:43

It did not say at the beginning of this parsha who the messengers were that Jacob sent to meet his brother Esau before travelling further. My first thought was that they were angels, since that was how the previous parsha ended, but they acted in a very human manner, returning to say that Esau was heading their way with 400 men. They did not tell Jacob he had no reason to fear, so of course he was afraid and divided his camp into two, thinking that if Esau attacked one camp, the other might escape. Then he prayed to God, praising him for his steadfast kindness and protection in the past and asking for it again when Esau arrived. He reminded God of the promise to make his progeny too numerous to count!" (This reminding God of His promise in times of trouble seems to be a family trait.)

In Torah study, we discussed the repeated use of the word face in Hebrew; we're not entirely sure of the exact definition. An Israeli in attendance said it was not used like the English losing face. Rabbi Yitz said it was inner essence. There are a couple places where the Hebrew is used to indicate the face or faces of God (Panim = faces) and indicates turning.

Jacob selected a huge number of livestock to give to Esau as a gift and sent them ahead in droves to meet Esau. He intended each time for Esau to be pleased with his gift and think it was the last, then encounter another (and finer) gift. He waited out part of the night, then sent his wives, servants and eleven children plus all his possessions across a stream and remained alone.

A "man," interpreted to be an angel, wrestled with Jacob the rest of the night, leaving Jacob's hip wrenched out of his socket, but undefeated. This is, after all, the same Jacob who rolled the rock apparently several other men usually rolled off the well. The angel actually begged him to let him go at daybreak, but Jacob insisted on a blessing first. The angel said Jacob would be renamed Israel because he fought both human and divine and prevailed. Jacob asked the angel's name, but the angel refused and left. In Israeli society (and also American Indian) one can find out a lot about others by the names they are given. Unlike modern day Americans, who are often named after celebrities or ancestors, or just because the names sound good, Israeli names included a description of the individual. Talmud has two opinions, which are both considered true, that both a man and a god fought with Jacob. The sense is there is a blurred line between man and divine. My fiance and I talked about whether the wrestling is to deal with Esau or to wrestle with himself and that he had to end up crippled because his ego was so tied up in physical strength.

Thereafter, Jacob/Israel limped and therefore, the Bible says we Jews are not to eat the thigh muscle that attaches to the hip socket. (The Rabbis extend this prohibition.)

In Torah study, someone reminded us that God wanted to destroy Moses, too and Zipporah saved the family by circumcising the boys in a hurry. We still struggle with worry over whether God wants to destroy us or let others destroy us. We are not always as quick and bright as Zipporah.

Jacob (the text still calls him so here) divided his children and wives according to their dearness to him; he put the maids and their children first, then Leah and her children, then Rachel and Joseph. He went ahead and bowed low seven times as he approached his brother. When he and Esau met, they embraced and wept. (David said that wrestling with the angel prepared him for this meeting with Esau, since wrestling and embracing are related!) Esau was astonished by the number of wives and children Jacob had and protested about all the gifts Jacob had sent ahead. Esau said he had enough possessions of his own. But Jacob insisted.

From JewishJournal.com:

Esau's response is surprising. He embraces his brother. Kisses him. They weep together. Is 20 years enough time to erase the pain of a stolen birthright? Could a fleet of animals have warmed Esau's heart? To be sure, Esau is overwhelmed. “Looking about, Esau saw the women and the children. ‘Who,’ he asked, ‘are these with you?’ “ (Genesis 33:5). As it turns out, Esau has become a brother-in-law and uncle many times over. “And what do you mean by all this company which I have met?” (Genesis 33:8). He is perplexed by the number of animals representing Yaakov's wealth and prosperity. He might even be stunned by Yaakov's generosity, amazed by all that has transpired since Yaakov ran away.


And in the midst of animals, wives and children, two brothers acknowledge a new reality:


Yesh li rav, Esav says. “I have enough. Let what you have remain yours.”


Yesh li kol, Ya’akov says. “I have plenty. Please accept.”


And suddenly, where once there was only enough for one, it seems there is enough for everyone. Twenty years earlier, a perceived scarcity was the source of great fear and anger, dividing the family. Twenty years later, surrounded by family and livestock, both brothers proclaim, “I have what I need,” and they embrace.


There is something magical about this declaration, “Yesh li kol.” I have enough. I have everything I need. In Parashat Vayishlach, it transforms a scene between brothers.


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It appeared that Jacob may have deceived his brother again when he asked that Esau go on home and Jacob would travel at the pace of his children and livestock and meet Esau at his home. JPS says " But Jacob journeyed on to Succoth and built a house for himself and made stalls for his cattle."

In this home, Dinah, Leah's daughter, "went out to visit the daughters of the land." (Rabbi Yitz says dinah/din means judgment.) The Talmudic Rabbis saw this as very unwomanly behavior; no wonder she was raped by Shechem! Rabbi Yitz and the Israeli in Torah study said it was unclear in Hebrew. The same word is used in the relationship between Sarah and Hagar. It might be all of the following:  oppressed, responded, humbled, humiliated and defiled, purposely allowing multiple meanings.

Likewise, we don't know what to think about the fact that Shechem wanted his father to get him Dinah as a wife. Was he repentant or just a control freak?  So the father, Hamor, went to speak with Jacob. Here Jacob acts like Abraham; he knew what happened, but kept silent until his sons came home. Hamor intended to speak with Jacob, but the sons met him first.


Jacob's sons were very angry and were not impressed by Hamor's entreaties for them to intermarry with his city's daughters in return. Hamor promised them that they could settle in the land. Shechem offered to pay whatever bride price and to ply them with gifts if he could have Dinah for a wife.

Jacob's sons tricked the men by saying they could not agree to let any of their women marry uncircumcised men. But if they and the others in their town would be circumcised, they could settle in peace, intermarry and become like kin. Shechem and Hamor went into town and pleaded with the townspeople to be circumcised so they may live as kindred. The men did so. (There is no record if they knew that Shechem had actually raped Dinah or just wanted her for his wife.)  On the third day Simeon and Levi went into town with swords and slew all the men, who were in too much pain to fight. They took Dinah back home. The other sons plundered the town, seizing not only goods and livestock, but also all the women.

In Torah study, my fiance brought up that the men of the town were circumcised but not for religious reasons, but for profit. Rabbi Maurice says it was not done in repugnance of intermarrying because they took the women of the town. Rabbi Maurice also brought up the final blessing in a later parsha - in which the tribal head of the priesthood kills men when he is angry and maims cattle when he is not. This may serve as a warning for later.

Dinah is not treated as a human being here. I think since she is not a matriarch, Torah did not consider it important that she has a personality. Unlike the matriarchs, she was not shown to feel love, jealousy, hurt, anger or joy. She was an extra rather than a character actor; it was more important how Jacob and the sons react to what happened.  (Nahmanides, in contrast to all the other sages, said that Dinah was not described, even though all the other women of the Bible are, because the Bible does not want to blame the victim by saying she was pretty, shapely, etc.  The other sages assumed she did something to deserve what happened to her.)

Jacob chastised them, saying their actions would make them enemies of all the Canaanites and Perizzites, and that they could be destroyed. The sons answered, "Should our sister be treated like a whore?" This strikes me as harsh, to ruin a town and kill all the men because one behaved badly, especially since that one attempted to make amends. However, this behavior is still fairly common in the Middle East today. 

Jacob heard a call from God to go to Bethel and build an altar "to the God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." Are we to take it that God did not believe Himself adequately thanked?  When Jacob dreamed of the stairway to heaven, he turned his pillow stone to become a pillar, poured oil on it, renamed it Bethel and promised that IF God stayed with, fed and clothed and protected him, God would be his God and that he would tithe, Torah records that he built an altar on the land he bought from Hamor in Canaan. It does not record a return to Bethel, tithing or any particular pattern of worship. In fact, Jacob told his people to rid themselves of their idols and the rings in their noses, so we can only assume they worshipped pagan gods rather than the Lord.

Jacob told his family to purify themselves, including changing their clothes and he buried the idols and earrings before they left. God sent a terror to all the cities surrounding them so that no one pursued them. Jacob took his family to the same place where he had laid his head on a stone, formerly called Luz but now renamed Bethel, meaning that God resided there. Jacob built and altar and named it El-bethel. El, again, is the name of the Canaanite God.

Again, the idols are treated in a manner that could almost be humorous: they are so small one can bury them along with earrings!

God appeared and told Jacob he was to be called Jacob no longer, but Israel. God told him "I am El Shaddai." El-Shaddai means God of the mountain. El is the name of the Canaanite highest god. More on this later. He repeated the commandment to be fertile and multiply, promised that nations would be born of him and kings would spring from his loins. Apparently when Jacob ran away from clear and present danger in Canaan and came to build an altar, God forgave him.

Israel and his family continued on their journey. Rachel went into difficult labor and the family had to stop. The midwife tried to comfort her, saying she had another boy, but Rachel died. She named the boy Ben-oni, son of my suffering. Israel called him Benjamin, which means either son of the south of son of the right hand. Rachel died and was buried on the road to what is now Bethlehem.

Reuben had sex with his father's concubine Bilhah and Jacob/Israel found out, but the text does not tell us if he punished Reuben in any way at this point. But Jacob/Israel did not forget, as we will later see.

Israel at last reached his father, Isaac, who made it to 180 years old before he died and was buried by both sons, Esau and Israel. Intereting he made it this long, because when he blessed the sons, he was already blind and weak. Since then at least 35 years have passed in my estimation, based on the sexuality of the children and the fact that Jacob said when he left Laban that he had promised to serve seven years but ended up serving twenty.

Esau took his large family and livestock and moved because Canaan was not fertile enough to support both his family's and Israel's. Esau's descendants were called Edomites. One of his grandchildren by Esau's son Eliphaz and a concubine was Amalek, who would fight with Israelis later.

Genesis 28:10 - 32:3

Genesis 28:10 - 32:3


Collected from my thoughts, Midrash (usually Genesis Rabbah), TBI’s Torah study group and Midrashic Women by Judith Baskin. I blame no one but myself for all my negative thoughts about the behaviors of our patriarchs and matriarchs.

In previous parsha, Jacob has already received the birthright blessing of his father Isaac through trickery that was Rebekah's idea. Jacob did not protest that that was dishonest, just that his father would recognize his smooth, hairless skin and would curse him as a trickster. (Esau must have been very, very hairy if Rebekah had to affix goat kid skin to him!)

Jacob left his home before Esau could kill him because Rebekah has persuaded (through negativity) Isaac to make sure Jacob found a wife from among their kin. Isaac told Jacob to go choose a wife from Laban's daughters. (Laban is Rebekah's brother, so all these girls would be his nieces.) Isaac says, "May El Shaddai bless you..."

This parsha begins with "Jacob left Beer-sheba and set out for Haran." The place where he first stopped for the night was a holy place, actually Mount Moriah according to the Rabbis, although Jacob did not know it. He placed his head on a stone for a pillow. Rabbi Eliezer said Jacob "met" this place; other rabbis said that the word for his arrival could also mean "prayer", though it was not the usual expression for prayer. Somehow it connotes that the earth, or even the mountain, sprang forward to meet him there. I am afraid I don’t yet know Hebrew, so I can not explain how this is. In Genesis Rabbah, the Rabbis also said the sun set suddenly, forcing him to stop there in this holy place. Genesis Rabbah further goes on to say that "he lay down in that place" implied a restrictiveness, that he never laid down to rest during all his service with Laban, because he was so engaged in Torah study!!!

And is this the inspiration for the Eagles' Stairway to Heaven? "He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky and angels of God were going up and down on it." God appeared to him in the dream, saying, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac..." Here, although it is a little early, we can use Martin Buber's idea:

Martin Buber - "Why do we say: 'our God and the God of our fathers'? There are two kinds of people who believe in God. One believes because he has taken over the faith of his fathers, and his faith is strong. The other has arrived at faith through thinking and studying... The advantage of the first is that, no matter what arguments may be brought against it, his faith cannot be shaken; his faith is firm because it was taken over from his fathers. But there is one flaw in it: he has faith only in response to the command of man and he has acquired it without studying and thinking for himself. The advantage of the second is that, because he found God through much thinking, he has arrived at a faith of his own. But here too there is a flaw: it is easy to shake his faith by refuting it through evidence. But he who unites both kinds of faith is invincible. And so we say 'our God' with reference to our studies and 'God of our fathers' with an eye to tradition. The same interpretation has been given to our saying 'God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob' and not 'God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob', for this indicates that Isaac and Jacob did not merely take over the tradition of Abraham; they themselves searched for God."

God also made the promise to Jacob that his offspring will be the "dust of the earth", which I read as uncountable, essential to living, frequently overlooked and mortal, as in we will return to dust. God said "all the families of the earth" (which could mean of the dust of the earth rather than literally everyone on the earth, since that would not be true) "shall bless themselves by you and your descendants." And still today, we Jews do. God promised he would not leave Jacob until he brought him back to the land and did what he promised. This is a better promise than Abraham got! But Jacob, although shaken and awed, still says "If God remains with me and protects me on this journey... and gives me bread... and clothing... (then) the Lord shall be my God... And I will set aside a tithe." Would you or I, if God spoke with us so, be so bold as to bargain and express disbelief? I hope not.

There's an unusual amount of detail about the well, Gen 29: how large the stone was that covered the well and that flocks of sheep had to wait for someone to roll the stone off the well before they could drink. It says there were three flocks of sheep waiting, but does not mention the shepherds; we are supposed to know that Jacob addresses them when he says, "My friends, where are you from?" In an amazing coincidence when he asked if the shepherds know Laban, they replied that his daughter Rachel was coming now with her father's flock. Jacob urged them to uncover the well but they said they have to wait for all the flocks. I supposed he is showing eagerness to get them off so he might speak with her. The Rabbis explained he thought they are loafing and should be working for their masters, so that is why he says they should water their sheep and go back to pasture.

Rachel was a shepherdess, a working girl! Jacob was so impressed by her; she was beautiful and shapely. He was filled with strength and rolled the stone off the well, ignoring what the others had said so she could water her sheep immediately. Then he KISSED! And he started crying and told her he was kin. The Rabbis thought he cried because he foresaw that they will not be buried together. Alternately, they thought it was because he came bearing no gifts. Even though kissing in welcome is a middle eastern thing, it must have still seemed overwhelming. She ran off to tell Laban, who ran up to greet him. Genesis Rabbah says Laban remembered how Abraham's servant brought many gifts and that is why he came running. The Rabbis so dislike Laban they say he hugged because he thought Jacob might have gold in his bosom and kissed because he thought Jacob might have pearls in his mouth!

Is this Laban the inspiration for Elton John’s Lebon, who liked his money and spent his days counting?

Jacob told Laban he was running from his brother and was penniless. He worked for Laban a month before Laban offered him wages. Jacob offered to serve Laban seven years for Rachel's hand in marriage. He specified Rachel, the younger daughter, lest there be any confusion. Although he wanted her and may have suspected Laban already, he had no gifts. Only his muscle.

The seven years passed very quickly. He asked for Rachel's hand so he "may cohabit with her!"

Laban made a big feast and Jacob must have gotten a little drunk. We are not told if Rachel knew what was happening (Megillot thinks she did and wished to spare her sister shame) but Laban gave Jacob Leah instead and somehow Jacob did not notice the difference until morning. Jacob complained to Laban, who said they marry the older girls first, but he can have the younger one also if he agreed to wait one week before taking possession of her and if he served another 7 years. It occurs to me here that the time for observing the wedding and sitting shiva are the same, 7 days.

The bitterness between these two sisters must have been great; jealousy from Leah and from Rachel, anger at the trickery and Jacob's enforced servitude.

In the Prayer class on the Jewish Day of Learning, Professor Deborah Greene said that it is possible that Leah prayed, because "The Lord saw that Leah was unloved and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren." The first actual recorded prayer is later, from Samuel's mother, Hannah. But it seems likely that Leah cried out, at least.

Rachel, as we know from her later theft of idols, was an idolater. She went to Jacob and said, "Give me children or I shall die." "Jacob was incensed at Rachel and said, 'Can I take the place of God, who has denied you fruit of the womb?'" (Is this where the underwear company got their name?) So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a concubine. Unlike Sarah, Rachel was delighted to have children she could raise as her own, even if she had to find a surrogate. She said God had "vindicated her" and given her a son. When her maid bore a second son, she said she had waged "a fateful contest" against her sister and "prevailed." But I think unlike Sarah’s maid Hagar, Bilhah actually gave up her child.

Leah had already borne 4 sons before Rachel gave her maid as concubines. With the third son, Leah knew she had more than fulfilled the strongest interpretation of the commandment to be fruitful and multiply, which was to bear two sons. She named the first two. The third "was named" Levi, either by Jacob or by God. She realized how great the gift of the 4th son was; she named Judah and promised to praised the Lord. Leah clearly believed in God.

God had not withheld children from Jacob and Leah, but from Rachel. Maybe it was because of Rachel's idols? Or because she, as the more beautiful sister, was vain? Also, she seems to take her hold over Jacob for granted... See the mandrakes, below. When the maid's children are born, Rachel offers no praise, only an indignant sense that she is getting her due.

Leah, who was previously content, became unhappy that she has not borne any more children! So she gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob! Zilpah bears two sons.

Regarding my earlier comment that if I had to give my husband my maid as a concubine, I'd find a hairy and smelly maid, I suspect these women were not great beauties. After all, Laban, who was a greedy fellow, gave them up!

So far:
Leah's own children: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, all sons.
Leah's sons by her maid Zilpah: Gad and Asher
Rachel's sons by Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali.

And there is this bizarre scene, where Rachel wanted a few of the mandrakes Leah's son brought home, and Leah answered, "Was it not enough for you to take away my husband, that you would also take my son's mandrakes?" I really must try some mandrakes, because I can't imagine equating the two... And then Rachel answered that she will let Leah have Jacob for the night in exchange for mandrakes! Then Leah went out and met Jacob as he came back from the fields. She actually told him he was to sleep with her because she purchased him with mandrakes. Whoa!!!! What could Jacob have thought over being sold so cheaply by his favorite wife? Upon reading this, I texted my fiancé, "May our lovemaking and cuddling remain priceless, no matter how many years pass."

In fact, the Rabbis thought that Rachel's and Leah's assumption that they could choose who Jacob slept with was worthy of big punishment. Therefore, Rachel died younger and was not buried with her husband. And Leah's actions were disdained; her daughter Dinah was considered as just above a harlot.

Although Rachel is often called our mother, really Leah is, because all the tribes but Judah and Levi were wiped out or disappeared; thus we are also related to Laban. In Torah study, a lady read aloud: Rachel, who was Jacob's intended for the spiritual world, bore Joseph, who saved Israel, Leah, his intended for this world, bore Levi and Judah.

God "heeded Leah and she conceived, and bore him a fifth son." Leah seems to clearly understand the precedent mentioned above; when she becomes pregnant, she says that God honored her giving of her maid to Jacob. Leah bears Issachar and Zebulun before finally bearing Jacob's only daughter, Dinah. The Rabbis thought that while in utero, Dinah was turned from a boy into a girl because Leah realized that one more son would expose her sister to ridicule.

God finally "remembered Rachel." She bore Joseph. The Rabbis thought that Esau, who strangely had not yet seen Rachel, somehow lusted for her. If a couple had been married 10 years, the man was expected to divorce her just because she was barren. So not only must her joy have been great, but also her relief.

At this point, Jacob asked Laban for permission to leave with his wives and children. Laban knew that he has been blessed with livestock and sons because of Jacob; he tried to strike a deal so as not to lose his good fortune. Jacob answered, "When shall I make a provision for my own household?" (which of course has now grown very large!) They agreed to Jacob's suggestion that he remove all the dark, spotted and speckled sheep and goats. Jacob said this way Laban will be able to easily see that Jacob is not stealing from him. Laban agreed, no doubt thinking these are less worthy animals and also more rare. But just in case, Laban took all the speckled, dark and spotted animals and had his sons pasture them three days' journey away from Jacob. Laban must not have cared one iota for the welfare of his daughters or grandchildren! Jacob answered this with magic: he peeled strips of bark off sticks of poplar, almond and plane (or hazelnut) and put them in the water troughs so when the flocks came to drink, they would see the rods, come into heat, mate and bring forth speckled, spotted and dark offspring. Jacob also ensured he had sturdy offspring by judicious placement of the rods; if sturdy animals came to drink, he placed the rods in and if weak animals came, he did not. Of course I can't miss the symbolism of placing a rod in a trough to ensure fertility!

Laban's sons started speaking badly of Jacob, as if he were stealing from them. Jacob called his wives out to the field and told them that he had served their father with all his might, but their father had cheated him time and time again. He told his wives the reason for his prosperity was not dishonesty, but because God would not let Laban harm him. He told them that God told him it was time to go home to his family. His wives sided with him.

Rachel then stole her father's idols. Jacob sent his wives, children and livestock on towards his homeland first, while continuing to serve Laban, presumably to give his wives a fair chance against being pursued. Then Jacob left. It was three days before Laban knew. Laban pursued them for seven days, finally catching them in Gilead. God appeared to Laban in a dream and warned against doing anything, good or bad, with Jacob. Laban said Jacob should not have run off without saying goodbye. He admitted that God warned him not to attempt anything with Jacob, but then he asked Jacob why he stole his gods!!! Jacob did not know Rachel stole idols so he said if anyone did indeed take Laban's gods, that person could die! I don't think that Jacob didn't think anyone stole it, but that he didn't want a thief in his midst.

Rachel places the idols, which must have been very small, in a camel cushion and sat on them, pretending to have her period. This brings up some "how could people be so blind" questions: If Rachel and Laban knew that God made Jacob prosperous and had heard the voice of God, why would they want these silly little idols that could be hidden in a cushion? In fact, Jacob calls the household goods. (or objects or utensils)

There are a few other possible interpretations. In Torah study a Hebrew scholar pointed out that the word for idols is singular. Laban knew that God would leave with Jacob. The "you have outwitted me" means you have stolen my heart, which could mean stealing his daughters. Someone in Torah study said we should not interpret Laban as bad; he is our ancestor. Laban means white.

My fiancé pointed out another theme in this parsha, that of leaving fathers. Jacob left his and now Rachel, leaving hers, takes mementoes with her. Jacob was confronted with his actions towards his father when he accused Leah of deceiving him that first night in bed and she answered that he was the original deceiver.

Jacob became quite angry at Laban for rummaging through his things as if he were a criminal. Instead of 7 years, he has spent 20 years in Laban's service. It's about time he got angry. And during this time not one of Laban's flock miscarried. Jacob did not eat any of his rams. He served in both scorching and frosty weather, even when unable to sleep. And if it weren't for God's help, Jacob would now be empty handed because Laban had not willingly paid him what he promised.

Laban conceded, ungracefully, although "all Jacob has is really his, what can he do about it now?" So they made a pact not to harm each other, built a mound of stones and made a sacrifice. Laban also said Jacob better not take any wives besides his daughters - I guess he has noted Jacob's randiness.

Laban kissed his family goodbye, then left. Jacob continued on until he encountered angels of the Lord.

Supplementary Readings:

In Hosea 12:3-7, Jacob is criticized for trying to supplant his brother and for fighting a divine being until the being wept. Summarized so, it sounds as if Jacob was proud to a fault. Hosea said that we (like Jacob) had to return to our God, like Jacob did at Bethel, and practice goodness, justice and trust in the Lord. Micah’s book ends in 7:18 -20 with “Who is a God like You, forgiving iniquity and remitting transgression…You will keep faith with Jacob, Loyalty to Abraham, as You promised on oath to our fathers in days gone by.”