VayishlachBereshit (genesis)

He instructed them as follows: “Thus must you say to my master, Esau, ‘So said your servant, Jacob: “There is no need for you to be concerned about our father’s blessing to me that I will rule over you, for he made this blessing contingent on my first becoming a recognized political leader, and I am anything but that. In fact, I have been sojourning with Laban in his land for the past twenty years, during which time my social status has not risen above that of a simple sojourner. Because I have been dependent on Laban for my livelihood all these years, I have delayed my return home until now. But I am also proud to say that even though I have been sojourning with Laban all these years, I have continued to faithfully observe the Torah’s commandments, and I have not been influenced by his corrupt ways.

The Angels’ Report
The angels approached Esau, as Jacob had charged them to, and delivered his message. The angels then returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to Esau, whom you had hoped would be willing and ready to relate to you as your brother, but he evinced no brotherly sentiments; we found we had come to none other than the infamous, unreformed, and malevolent Esau. In response to our announcement of your arrival, he himself has set out and is heading towards you, and 400 armed men are with him.”

Jacob was very frightened over the prospect that he might be killed, and distressed over the prospect that he might have to kill others. He divided the people who were with him – along with the flocks, cattle, and camels – into two camps.

“Thus,” he said, “even if Esau comes to the first camp and attacks it, the remaining camp will survive.”

Yet, I fear that my numerous sins may have offset most of my merits, and that the kindness You have already shown me therefore constitutes the full reward for whatever merits may have remained to my credit. If so, I am no longer worthy of Your promised protection, due to all the acts of kindness and trustworthiness that You have already done for me, Your servant. After all, I crossed this Jordan River on my way to Charan with nothing to my name but my staff, and now, thanks to Your kindness, I have become the head of two camps: one consisting of a large family and the other consisting of the great wealth I have amassed.

And You have already said, ‘I will surely make things go well with you, both in your own merit and in the merit of your forebears, and I will fulfill through you the promise I made to Abraham: I will make your descendants like the grains of sand on the seashore, i.e., that they will become too numerous to count.’”

He spent that night there, and the following morning he implemented his third strategy: sending Esau a propitiatory gift. After first tithing his possessions, as he had promised God he would, he selected a gift for his brother Esau from among what remained and was therefore rightfully his to give away.

Jacob’s Gift to Esau
He first prepared a gift of precious stones and jewels. He then prepared five types of animals, providing the females of each species with the appropriate number of males of that same species with whom to mate: 200 she-goats and 20 he-goats; 200 ewes and 20 rams;

nursing camels with both their young and 30 male camels with whom to mate; 40 cows and 10 bulls; 20 she-donkeys and 10 he-donkeys. (Because camels mate modestly, the Torah does not mention the male mates explicitly.)

He put all these in the charge of his servants, drove by drove, and said to his servants, “Go on a day’s journey ahead of me, and I will follow behind. Be sure to keep a distance between one drove and the next. This will make the gift look more impressive and hopefully appeal to my brother’s avarice.”

He instructed the first one as follows: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, ‘Whose man are you, i.e., Who sent you? Where are you headed? And to whom are these droves in front of you being sent?’

you must reply, answering his questions in the order in which he asked them, ‘I am an emissary of your servant Jacob. This is a gift sent to my master Esau, and Jacob himself is also right behind us.’”

He gave similar instructions to the second one, to the third, and to all the others who were following the droves, saying, “With such words must you speak to Esau when you meet him,

and you must also say, ‘Your servant Jacob is also right behind us’” – for he reasoned, “I will appease him with the gift that is being sent ahead, and then I will face him; perhaps he will then show me favor.” Jacob was angry that he had to take all these measures in preparation for his meeting with Esau.

And so the gift of jewels and animals passed on ahead of him. Jacob spent that night in the camp.

That night he arose, took his two wives, the two bondwomen whom he had taken as concubines, his 11 sons, and all their twin sisters, and crossed the ford of the Yabok River. He hid his daughter Dinah in a crate so that Esau would not see her and desire her. Although the motive for his cautiousness was praiseworthy, he in fact erred, for Dinah’s extraordinary righteousness would have enabled her to reform Esau.

He took them and carried them across the stream one at a time, lifting them up on one bank and setting them down on the other, and then carried all his possessions across the stream in the same way. He then went back to get some small articles that had inadvertently been left behind.

Jacob Wrestles with Esau’s Guardian Angel
Thus Jacob remained on his own on the north shore of the Yabok River. Esau’s guardian angel assumed the physical form of a man and wrestled with him until the break of dawn. Their wrestling was a physical manifestation of the two brothers’ inner, spiritual struggle over the birthright.

When Esau’s guardian angel saw that he could not overcome him, he touched Jacob’s hip joint, so that Jacob’s hip joint became dislocated as he wrestled with him.

The angel asked him, “What is your name?” and he answered, “Jacob.”

The angel then said, “Be patient. God will soon appear to you and give you an alternative name. No longer will it be said that your name is just Jacob [Ya’akov, from the verb akov – “ensnare”], implying that you usurped Esau’s blessings, but you will also be called Israel [Yisra’eil, from serarah, “nobility,” and also meaning “striven with God”], implying that you obtained the blessings from your father honorably, for you have striven with me – an angel of God – and with men – i.e., Esau and Laban – over what is rightfully yours, and you have prevailed over the three of us. I will be present to consent to this additional naming, thereby acknowledging your right to the birthright.”

Jacob inquired and said, “Please tell me your name.” He replied, “Why do you ask what my name is? We angels have no fixed names; our names merely express the missions we are sent on; they therefore change as our missions change.” Jacob did not agree to wait until God would appear to him at some unknown point in the future, because he wanted Esau’s guardian angel to acknowledge his right to the birthright before he confronted Esau himself. So, as Jacob had requested, the angel blessed Jacob then and there. Jacob then released his hold on the angel and he disappeared.

Jacob named the place Peni’eil [“the face of God”], “for,” he said, “I beheld an angel of God face to face, yet my life was spared.”

Miraculously, the sun rose upon him earlier than it naturally should have as he passed Penu’eil – just as it had set earlier than it naturally should have when he returned from Charan in order to pray at Mount Moriah – because he was limping, favoring his dislocated hip, and God wanted the sun’s healing power to speed his recovery. The injury did not heal completely, however, until a year and a half later.

Jacob Meets Esau
Jacob raised his eyes and saw Esau approaching, accompanied by 400 men, so he went to the second camp, which comprised his family members, and divided up the children among their respective mothers: Leah, Rachel, and the two bondwomen.

Mindful of the approaching danger, he placed them in order of increasing critical importance to the perpetuation of his Divine mission: the bondwomen and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and her son Joseph last.

He went ahead of them, stationing himself at the head of his camp in order to confront Esau first in case he would begin to fight, and prostrated himself seven times as he approached his brother.

Esau, seeing his brother prostrate himself, was deeply touched by this display of deference and abandoned his plans to attack Jacob. Instead, he ran towards him, embraced him wholeheartedly, and threw himself on his neck. He also kissed him, but not wholeheartedly, for he was not entirely overcome by emotion. From another perspective, Esau did kiss Jacob wholeheartedly, but this spontaneous display of emotion was only fleeting. And they wept for joy as they embraced.

Esau raised his eyes and, seeing the women and children, asked Jacob, “How are all these people related to you?” He replied, “These are the wives and children whom God has been kind enough to grant your servant.”

The bondwomen drew near, followed by their children, and prostrated themselves before Esau.

Leah and her children also drew near and prostrated themselves before Esau, and finally Joseph and his mother Rachel drew near and prostrated themselves before Esau. Joseph knew his mother was beautiful, so to prevent Esau from seeing her and desiring her, he moved in front of her in advance in order to hide her from Esau’s sight.

Esau then asked Jacob, “What did you intend by sending that whole entourage that I encountered bearing gifts for me?” Jacob replied, “I had hoped, by sending them, to thereby gain favor in my master’s eyes.”

Esau said, “I have plenty of wealth, much more than I need. My brother, let that which is yours remain yours. In fact, let the birthright, which is yours because I sold it to you, also remain yours, because you deserve it.”

Esau Accepts Jacob’s Gift
Please accept my welcoming gift, which has been brought to you at my own expense. I have already taken the trouble to prepare it and present it to you. Do not worry about how much it cost me, for God has been kind to me, and I have all I need.” (In contrast to Esau, who boasted of possessing more than he needed, Jacob humbly referred to God’s beneficence as being all he needed.) After Jacob thus urged him to accept the gift, Esau finally accepted it.

Esau then said, “Travel on and let us go, and let me proceed at a slower pace than I normally would, so I can walk alongside you to escort you.”

Despite Esau’s avowals of fraternal love, Jacob sensed that his brother’s change of heart was not entirely sincere, or at least not permanently so, so he understood that it would not be advisable to prolong their meeting. He therefore answered him, “I would rather not inconvenience you by slowing you down. On the other hand, if I speed up my own pace, my master knows that, in addition to the fact that the children are frail, I am also responsible for the nursing lambs, goats, and cattle. If they are driven hard for even one day, all the flocks will die.

Therefore, let my master please go on at his usual pace, ahead of his servant, while I move on at my own slow pace, at the pace of the workforce that is ahead of me, and at the pace of the children – until I reach my master at Se’ir, whenever that might be.”

Esau then made another offer. He said, “Let me leave some of the people who are with me with you.” Wishing to excuse himself from accepting this second offer as well, Jacob replied, “Why should you do this? I do not need an entourage to escort me. I would rather you not repay me for the gift I have given you so I can remain favorable in my master’s eyes.”

Jacob and Esau Part
So, on that day, Esau returned on his way to Se’ir.

Jacob moved on and arrived at the place that he would later name Sukot (“shelters”), where he tarried for a year and a half (2205–2206). Having arrived in the summer, he built temporary shelters for his family and livestock. When winter came, he built himself sturdier houses for his family to move into, and when the following summer arrived, he again made shelters for his family and his livestock. He therefore named the place Sukot.

Jacob in Shechem
Jacob arrived safely in the city of Shechem, which is located in Canaan, having set out from Padan Aram. The ruler of Shechem was Chamor the Hivite; his son’s name was the same as that of his city: Shechem. He encamped in view of the city.

Even though Jacob had no intention of remaining in Shechem permanently, he purchased the small parcel of land upon which he had pitched his tent in order to demonstrate his love for the land promised him by God. He bought this land from the sons of Shechem’s father, Chamor. The price of this small plot of land was five shekels (80 grams or 2.8 oz.) of silver. He could easily have paid with five large shekel coins, but he instead chose to pay with 100 smaller but more ornate coins, kesitahs, which are also used as jewelry – again, in order to demonstrate his fondness for the Promised Land.

He erected an altar there, and in gratitude over having been delivered by God from the clutches of Laban and Esau, he named the altar “God is the God of Israel.” In recognition of Jacob’s heightened, profound awareness of God’s providence in his life, God augmented His earlier promise that Jacob’s influence would extend to the four corners of the earth, now granting him the same dominion over the entire world that He had originally granted Adam. In this sense, the God of Israel appointed Jacob the representative of God in the world.

Dinah was the daughter of Leah, whom Leah had borne to Jacob. Dinah was Leah’s daughter not only in the biological sense but also in the moral sense: she inherited her mother’s willingness to venture out of the safety of her tent for holy and righteous purposes. Confident in her ability to positively influence others – even though she was no more than a girl of 10 at the time – she went out to observe the girls of that region in order to convince them to adopt the righteous ways of her family.

The Violation of Dinah
But Shechem, son of Chamor the Hivite, who was the chief of the region, saw her, took her, lay carnally with her, and abused her carnally in other ways, as well.

Shechem spoke to his father, Chamor, as follows: “Get me this young girl as a wife.”

Now Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah. His sons were in the field with his livestock, so Jacob held his peace until they arrived.

Meanwhile, Shechem’s father, Chamor, went out to Jacob to speak with him.

Chamor spoke with them, saying, “My son Shechem deeply desires your daughter. I implore you, give her to him in marriage

and intermarry with us: give us your daughters, and take our daughters for yourselves. These marriages between our two peoples will take place at your sole discretion: you may decide to which of our men you will give your daughters, as well as which of our daughters you will take for your men.

You will live among us, and the land will be open before you; you may settle it, trade in it, and acquire holdings in it.”

Then Shechem said to her father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you tell me to give as a dowry, I will give.

Go ahead, demand of me an exceedingly high figure for the dowry you will stipulate in the bridal contract, and for gifts, and I will give as much as you tell me; just give me this girl as a wife!”

Therefore, we will give our assent only on this condition: that you be like us in that every male among you be circumcised.

We will then intermarry with you as you have proposed, i.e., at our sole discretion: We will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live together with you and become a single nation.

But if you do not heed us and circumcise yourselves, we will take our sister, our father’s daughter, and depart.”

Their terms were acceptable to Chamor and to Shechem, Chamor’s son.

The young man did not delay in carrying out this thing, since he desired Jacob’s daughter, and he was the most respected person in his father’s household.

Chamor then came with his son Shechem to the gate of their city, where they were all gathered, and they spoke to the men of their city as follows:

“These men are fully at peace with us. Let them live in the land and trade in it, for the land has ample room for them. Supply in our land exceeds demand, so letting them live here and trade in the land will not adversely affect our economy.” When Chamor and Shechem had proposed intermarriage between the two peoples to Jacob and his sons, they phrased their proposal to Jacob’s family’s advantage, allowing them to select Hivite men for their daughters and take whatever Hivite girls they wished for wives. In contrast, when they now set the proposal of intermarriage before their compatriots, they altered the wording to their compatriots’ advantage in order to induce them to consent to be circumcised: “We will take their daughters as wives, and we will give our daughters to them, both at our discretion.

But only on this condition will these men consent to live with us and become one nation: that every male among us be circumcised, just as they are circumcised.

After all, when they will dwell among us, their livestock, their possessions, and all their animals will become ours. Let us just agree to their condition and they will live among us.”

All the people who had come out to the gate of Chamor’s city heeded Chamor and his son Shechem, and all the males who came out to the gate of his city had themselves circumcised.

Simeon and Levi’s Revenge
On the third day after their circumcision, when the Hivites were in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, each took up his sword. They acted as Dinah’s loyal brothers, risking their lives for her sake, but without first consulting their father. They fell upon the city, confident in their ability to overcome the men – firstly, because of the Hivites’ weakness and pain due to the circumcision, and secondly, in the merit of their father Jacob – and killed every male.

They also killed Chamor and his son Shechem by the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left.

Jacob’s sons came to strip the slain of their possessions, and they plundered the city that had defiled their sister.

They took the Hivites’ flocks, cattle, donkeys, and whatever else was in the city and the field.

They seized all their money and captured all their children and womenfolk, and plundered everything in the houses.

Jacob Rebukes His Sons
Despite the victory, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have taken away my peace of mind by making me odious among the local inhabitants, i.e., the Canaanites and the Perizites. Until now, they did not perceive us as a threat, for although they knew of God’s promise to give us this land, they assumed that we would not attempt to drive them out until we had sufficiently multiplied and grown into a nation, since that is how God phrased His blessing. But now that they have seen that the two of you undertook to execute judgment against the whole city on your own instead of leaving the matter to the regional legal authorities, I fear they will attack us, and I have only a few people on my side; if they now band together against me to attack me, I and my family will be wiped out.”

Jacob said to the members of his household and to all those who were with him, “Remove the idols you took as spoil from the non-Jews in Shechem and that are now in your possession; ritually purify yourselves from having come into contact with these idols by immersing yourselves; and, if you are wearing any clothing taken from Shechem, be sure to change your clothes if they bear any idolatrous images or decorations.

Then we will arise and go up to Bethel, and there I will make an altar to the God who has always answered me in my time of distress, and who has always accompanied me and protected me on the journey that I took.”

They handed over all the idols in their possession to Jacob, as well as the earrings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the terebinth that is next to Shechem.

They set out. Jacob’s fears proved unfounded, for the dread of God fell upon the inhabitants of the surrounding cities, and they did not pursue Jacob and his sons in consequence of the incident in Shechem.

Thus Jacob came to Luz, which is Bethel, in Canaan – he and all the people who were with him.

He built an altar there, and he named the place on which the altar stood Eil-Bethel [“God is revealed in Bethel”], since it was there that God revealed Himself to him when he was fleeing his brother Esau.

Rebecca’s wet-nurse, Deborah, whom she had sent to fetch Jacob from Laban’s house eight years prior to this and who was now accompanying his household on their return journey, died, and she was buried at the bottom of the hill upon which the city of Bethel was located – that is, both below Bethel and below the plateau named Alon, which was located partway down the slope of the hill upon which Bethel was situated. As Jacob was burying Deborah, a messenger arrived to inform him that his mother Rebecca had also just died. Jacob therefore named this plateau Alon Bachut [meaning both “Plateau of Weeping” and “Another Weeping”], for he mourned his mother there.

Just as He had done when Jacob was on his way to Padan Aram, God again appeared to Jacob at Bethel on his way from Padan Aram, and blessed him, this time in order to console him in his mourning over his mother.

Furthermore, I swear that I will give you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, and I will give the land to your descendants after you as well.”

God ascended from above him, at the place where He had spoken with him.

In addition to the altar he had built the first time he was in Bethel, Jacob now erected a monument at the place where God spoke with him, a monument of stone. He poured a wine-libation upon it, and also poured oil upon it.

Jacob again named the place where God had spoken with him Bethel [“the House of God”].

The Birth of Benjamin and the Death of Rachel
Jacob and his company journeyed onward from Bethel toward Hebron, and when there was still some distance to Efrat, Rachel went into labor and had difficulty giving birth.

When her labor became severe, the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid, for besides Joseph, this one, too, is a son for you.” In addition to a son, Rachel gave birth to two daughters at this birth.

As she breathed her last, for she was dying, she named her newborn son Ben-Oni [“son of my sorrow”], but Jacob, his father, called him Benjamin [Binyamin, “son of the south”], since he was the only one of his sons to have been born in Canaan, south of Padan Aram.

Rachel died, and she was buried on the road leading to Efrat, which is also known as Bethlehem.

Jacob erected a tombstone on her grave; this is the tombstone that has remained on Rachel’s grave to this very day.

While Israel inexcusably continued to reside in that region, Reuben went and moved his father’s bed from Bilhah’s tent to Leah’s. Although Reuben’s intentions were honorable, it was a severe breach of filial respect to have meddled in his father’s private affairs, as unconscionable as if he had had relations with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. When Israel heard about it, he chastised his son. Now that Benjamin had been born, the sons of Jacob were 12 in number. Jacob’s family was now complete, poised to become the progenitors of the Jewish people.

The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn; Simeon; Levi; Judah; Issachar; and Zebulun.

The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

The sons of Rachel’s bondwoman Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali.

The sons of Leah’s bondwoman Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, all of whom except Benjamin were born to him in Padan Aram. Jacob’s sons – except for Judah and Joseph – married their half-sisters. Simeon, besides marrying a half-sister, also married his full sister, Dinah. Four of Jacob’s sons each married two of their half-sisters.

Jacob Returns to Isaac
In the year 2208, Jacob came to his father Isaac in the city of Kiryat Arba in the plain of Mamrei; this city is also known as Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned.

Isaac lived to be 180 years old. Although he had taken care to set his affairs in order when he was five years younger than his mother had been when she had died, he actually lived five years longer than did his father, who died at the age of 175.

In the year 2228, Isaac expired, died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and with his days fulfilled; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him in the Machpeilah Cave in Hebron.

The Line of Esau
The following are the descendants of Esau, who was nicknamed Edom.

Esau took wives from among the daughters of the Canaanites: Adah (whom people had nicknamed Basemat) daughter of Eilon the Hittite; Oholivamah (whom Esau nicknamed Judith) daughter of Anah (whom Esau nicknamed Be’eri). Oholivamah was not Anah’s biological daughter; she was the illegitimate daughter of Anah’s wife by Anah’s father, Tziv’on the Hivite;

and Basemat (who was nicknamed Machalat) daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nevayot.

And these are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholivamah: Chief Ye’ush, Chief Ya’lam, Chief Korach. (Korach is thus listed twice: above as Adah’s grandson, and again here as Oholivamah’s son, since he was both.) These are the tribal chiefs who were born from Esau’s wife Oholivamah, daughter of Anah.

All these are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their tribal chiefs.

Sha’ul died, and he was succeeded as king by Ba’al-Chanan son of Achbor.