Jacob’s Blessing: Vayishlach
By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman
December 7, 2022
Vayishlach (“Jacob sent,” Genesis 32:4—36:43), this week’s Torah portion, recounts Jacob’s torturous path home after fleeing from his father-in-law’s house. It is one of the most tragic portions in the entire story, one that has prompted many commentaries and interpretations.
Shortly after leaving, Jacob receives word that his brother Esau is coming toward him with a legion of 400 armed men. It seems that twenty years later, the hatred for his brother still burns in Esau’s heart and he intends to wreak vengeance.
Jacob sends messengers and a large contingent of animals as gifts for Esau, along with a contrite message. Just in case, however, he also divides his household—people and possessions—into two camps, hoping that if Esau does give in to his violent nature, only one group will be harmed while the other (including Rachel, Jacob’s beloved wife, and their only son so far, Joseph) remains safe. Under cover of night, he has the two camps cross the river into Canaan, while he himself stays behind.
That entire night, Jacob struggles with a mysterious being. The wrestling match remains undecided until dawn, when this being (now definitely described as an angel) begs to be allowed to depart. Jacob refuses, demanding a blessing in return. The angel agrees and informs Jacob that from now on his name will be known as “Israel,” meaning that Jacob has struggled with men and with divine beings and has prevailed. The sun rises and Jacob, limping and in pain, realizes that he has not come out of the struggle unscathed. (One of the dietary rules followed by observant Jews is to avoid eating the area of the sciatic nerve of an animal, in remembrance that this was the region where Jacob was hurt).
Jacob now has to face Esau in person, a meeting he has been dreading for twenty years. However, all goes well. Jacob’s plan of mollifying Esau has worked. Esau takes the offered gifts and—after offering “to accompany” Jacob for the rest of the journey, an offer Jacob wisely declines—Esau departs, letting Jacob proceed on his own.
But the hardships are far from over. Dinah, Jacob and Leah’s only daughter, leaves camp “to visit the daughters of the land.” She is seen by the prince of the city of Shechem who, overcome by lust, rapes her. Jacob’s sons, led by Simeon and Levi, exact terrible revenge on the men of Shechem, arousing Jacob’s anger, though he does nothing other than to reproach them. They respond bitterly, “Should our sister be treated like a whore?” Jacob is silent.
God instructs Jacob to go to Beth-El, the place where many years earlier he had his famous dream of the ladder and had sworn to offer a sacrifice to God. There God blesses Jacob, reinforcing the blessing first bestowed by the angel.
As Jacob slowly makes his way homeward, however, yet another tragedy befalls him. In giving birth to their second son, Benjamin, Rachel dies. Jacob buries her in Efrat, also known as Bethlehem.
Jacob’s tragic story has been explained in several ways. It could be seen as a series of tests of faith. If so, I suspect a very cruel God is behind these tests.
This sad tale, however, could also be seen as an allegory. The moral here might be: as you have done, so it shall be done unto you. Jacob’s suffering is explained as punishment for his acts of cheating first his brother, then his father. He is cheated in return, first by Laban and then even by his own children. The subterfuge used by Simeon and Levi seem to indicate that dishonesty and deceit run in the family. But this explanation, too, raises questions: Is free will imbued within us after all? On the one hand Judaism teaches that we can improve our ways, that forgiveness and redemption are possible. On the other is the belief that humanity is set in its ways and that there is simply no possibility for us to change.
Both of these explanations make Vayishlach a particularly difficult portion. Is there really no way for us to learn from experience and a become better? Is everything really preordained?
These questions have troubled humanity from the very beginning. The struggle between them still continues today, an even match that perhaps only a new dawn will resolve.
But we do not live without hope. The blessing that Jacob receives, first from the angel and then from God, is that in the end we will prevail. The lesson about survival that Jacob learns is that self-sufficiency is important, but that by itself it is not enough. We also need faith. This combination is what enables us, in the end, to overcome adversity. Jacob’s blessing enables us to rise from the ashes, wiser, better and stronger for the experience.
© 2022 by Boaz D. Heilman
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