Parasha Va-yeytzey: Genesis 32:4-36:25

16 days ago
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Back in Canaan, Jacob now needs to face his brother, Esau. Even though it's been twenty years, Jacob is very fearful that Esau still harbors murderous thoughts about him. Jacob implores God to rescue him from his brother's wrath. The night before Jacob meets up with Esau, he gets into an all-night wrestling match with an iysh, or man. At the break of dawn, the iysh realizes he cannot win, and strikes Jacob on the hip, dislocating it. He changes Jacob's name to Israel, which means 'he who strives with gods and people and overcomes,' and blesses him. After this event, Jacob and Esau reconcile and go their separate ways. Jacob then settles in the town of Shechem, where Dina wanders out to see the daughters of the land and is violated and taken by Shechem. Dina's brothers get outraged, and with cleverness get the Shechemites to agree to be circumcised, who agree only when they are told that now they can take over Israel's other daughters and possessions. Three days after the deed is done, Dina's brothers Shimon and Levi kill all the men and take their sister Dina out of Shechem. God speaks to Jacob, now Israel, and repeats His covenant with him. Israel wanders to Bethlehem, where Rachel gives birth to Benjamin, but dies in childbirth. After the trauma of Rachel's death, Israel's oldest son, Reuben, violates Israel's wife and Rachel's maidservant, Bilhah.

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