Vayishlach

📜 The Story

Jacob left Laban's house and came close to the land of Canaan. His brother Esau was there, the same Esau who had once wanted to kill him. Jacob sent messengers to Esau with a message of peace. He got ready in three ways: he prayed to God, he prepared a big gift for Esau, and he got ready to fight if he had to.

That night Jacob was alone, and a mysterious man wrestled with him until morning. The man was really an angel. The angel hurt Jacob's hip. Because of that, Jews do not eat a certain part of the meat, called the gid hanasheh (the sciatic nerve). Before he left, the angel blessed Jacob and gave him a new name, Israel, because he had struggled with angels and with people, and won.

The next day Jacob met Esau. He was afraid of his brother, so he bowed down to him seven times to show respect. Then something surprising happened. Esau ran to Jacob, hugged him and kissed him, and the two brothers cried together. They said goodbye in peace and each went his own way.

Jacob came to the city of Shechem. He bought a piece of land there and built an altar to God. Then he went to Bethel, just as he had promised God many years before. God appeared to him again, said that his name would now be Israel, and blessed him with many children and with the land.

On the road, Rachel gave birth to a son, Benjamin. Sadly, she died giving birth, and she was buried on the way to Bethlehem. Later in the parsha, Isaac died at the age of one hundred eighty, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him together.