* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
Five ideas before Shabbat
1) This week’s parasha is Vayishlach, the eighth parasha in the Book of Bereishit. Our forefather Yaakov returns to the land of Israel after many long years devoted to raising his family and building the Jewish nation. He prepares to meet his brother, the evil Esav, who wants to kill him. Our Sages explain that Esav didn’t look wicked; on the contrary, he was a fine-looking man. Outward appearances are often deceiving and confusing—a wicked person doesn’t always appear wicked, and a righteous person doesn’t always appear righteous.
2) The Torah does not conceal the fact that Yaakov fears meeting his brother. As the verse says, “Jacob was greatly frightened and distressed.”
But he channels his fear into action: (with) a gift, prayer, and (by preparing) for war.” But this isn’t only a historical account; our father Yaakov is teaching us how to cope with challenges and threats. The Ramban says that we should learn from this parasha how to confront adversity.
3) Yaakov begins his prayer by mentioning his grandfather and father, Avraham and Yitzchak. “Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Yitzchak, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your land and to your birthplace and I will do good to you.’” Yaakov says, This story did not start with me; I am here to follow in the footsteps of my forebears. Likewise, each one of us is tasked with the mission of carrying on the ways of our ancestors, of all the generations that came before us.
4) Before Yaakov’s physical meeting with Esav, he must undergo a spiritual battle: In the middle of the night, he wrestles with an angel who represents Esav. The angel doesn’t manage to kill him but only to strike him in the socket of his hip, his “gid hanasheh.” For this reason, we are forbidden to eat that part of an animal’s body. It’s amazing to see how the parasha influences the food we consume until this day.
5) There is yet another important lesson we can learn from Yaakov’s struggle with the angel. Throughout the generations our enemies haven’t succeeded in destroying us but only to harm us—and to spur us to new growth. As a consequence of this battle, Yaakov limps, but he also earns a new name: Yisrael. “And he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you have striven with beings divine and human and have prevailed.” This is the name of our people until this day— from every encounter with evil we derive blessing, achieve growth, and raise ourselves to a higher level.
Shabbat Shalom.
