Vayishlach

📜 The Story

Our father Jacob leaves Lavan's house and comes close to the land of Canaan. There his brother Esau, who once wanted to kill him, is waiting. Jacob sends messengers to Esau with words of peace, and prepares three things: prayer to Hashem, a large gift for Esau, and readiness for war if needed.

At night Jacob stays alone and wrestles with a mysterious man until dawn. This is an angel. The angel injures Jacob's hip, and from that day we do not eat a certain part of meat, called the gid hanasheh. Before disappearing, the angel blesses Jacob and gives him a new name, Israel, because he struggled with an angel and with people and prevailed.

The next day Jacob meets Esau. He bows down to him seven times to show great respect, because he is afraid of him. To everyone's surprise, Esau runs toward Jacob, hugs and kisses him, and the two brothers cry together. The meeting ends peacefully, and the brothers part ways in friendship.

Jacob arrives at Shechem and buys a piece of land there, building an altar to Hashem and naming it 'God, the God of Israel'. Afterward he travels to Beit El, as he had promised long before. There God appears to him again, confirms his new name Israel, and blesses him with many descendants and the land.

Further along the road, our mother Rachel gives birth to a son, Binyamin, but dies during childbirth and is buried on the way to Bethlehem. Later in the parsha, our father Isaac also passes away at the age of one hundred eighty, and his sons Esau and Jacob bury him together.