Welcome back to Torah Thoughts from Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa and based in Mason City. I see that we have some weather on the way for Northcentral Iowa but hope things are cleared out by Friday afternoon. If so, services will be at 7:00PM and our Midrash (Torah Study) will be on Shabbat starting at 10:00AM. Where we'll learn more about this Parsha and discuss Chanukah. Both events will be at the shul. Hope to see you!
Parsha Vayishlach
This week we read Vayishlach (Gen. 32:4 - 36:43) which means "and he sent" as in, "Then Jacob sent angels ahead if him to Esau his brother..." This begs an interesting question. Why does the Torah say, "...Esau his brother.." after all Jacob had only one brother and that was Esau? We'll answer that in just a bit.
Three Things
Having been told that Esau is coming to kill him Jacob does three things: First he prepares for battle then he prays and finally he sends a lavish tribute to Esau hoping to cool him off.
On the surface these three things seem to be in conflict: Aggression and servitude would not be necessary if one believes in the power of G-d. What is at play here is that Jacob is betting on both the human and spiritual. He gets ready for battle, as he should, and works on Esau to show a bit of fear. This tells us that Israel, in any situation, must rely on what is before us...and strengthen ourselves with prayer.
Dividing the Camp
Then Jacob does something else that has served the Jewish People for thousands of years. He divides the camp. "If Esau comes to the one camp and strikes it down, then the remaining camp shall survive." (Gen. 32:9) Jacob's foresight was meant to save at least part of his family in case Esau attacked. Thus, Jacob laid the foundation for one of the principles that would ensure Jewish survival during our turbulent, painful years of exile. We see the pattern of sunset and sunrise throughout our history; following are just two examples for us to ponder:
As the First Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, the great Jewish community of Babylon (where the Talmud was arranged) was born. Many centuries later, as the sun set upon European Jewry, it rose in America and Israel. Our forefather Jacob laid the foundation well, for no matter what our enemies sought to do, their plans came to naught. Am Yisrael Chai! - The Jewish nation lives!
Furthermore, Upon confronting Esau, Jacob cried out, "Rescue me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau...." (Gen. 32:12). Our Rabbis discuss the meaning of these two hands, and the meaning of "my brother ... Esau." After all, Jacob had no other brother, and we know that nothing is redundant in the Torah, so why did Jacob use these apparently repetitive phrases? Our Sages explain that the Patriarch is teaching us a lesson for survival. Esau will confront us in two different guises: There are times when he will extend to us the hand of a brother in friendship, and in so doing, will attempt to destroy us through assimilation; there are times when he will attack us with Esau's hand, the ruthless hand of oppression.
The Kiss
Esau greets Jacob with a kiss, but the word "kiss" is dotted; the Sages teach us that the kiss was really a bite. (Gen. 33:4) What seemed to be an act of friendship on Esau's part disguised a threat to Jacob's life. The Midrash tells us that God, in His infinite mercy, changed Jacob's neck into a pillar of marble, thereby preventing Esau from injuring his brother. While we must be vigilant in regard to both hands of Esau, Jacob feared the hand of friendship more, pleading first for rescue from the hand of his brother. The danger from the hand of Esau is clear; it attempts to destroy our very lives, but the brother's hand, the hand of friendship, is the more dangerous, for when that hand is outstretched, we may be taken unawares, and can, G-d forbid, lose our identity, our heritage, our very Jewishness. The hand of friendship can make it very easy to forget that we stood at Sinai and are bound to G-d by an eternal covenant. So let us treasure the awesomeness of our survival and protect our identity, our Torah, our Judaism with vigilance and love.
Thank you for reading and Shabbat Shalom!
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