Vayishlach
Genesis 32:4–36:43
Obadiah 1:1–21
Sitting around the Shabbat table,
my son told us about the next episode in Genesis. Episode? Maybe he was watching too much TV, one of his older brothers suggested. But episode seems about right. After all, the Tanach might make one of the best TV series of all times. And every year we would have a chance to see the same events differently.
For example, I don’t know if I always considered what happened to Abraham and Isaac’s daily home life after the binding. But a careful reading shows us that not only do the two not return from the mountain together to the same home, but they never speak again. Moreover, God doesn’t speak to Abraham, and Abraham doesn’t speak with Sarah, as she dies soon after.
According to some commentaries, Isaac is so traumatized by the binding experience that he cuts all ties with Abraham. Therefore, he doesn’t partake in his father’s richness, which explains why the most famous dish we hear about at Isaac’s home is Jacob’s lentil soup, as opposed to what Abraham lavishly serves his guests: butter, milk, cakes, bread and fresh meat from one of his calves.
With Isaac forgoing his inheritance, Jacob’s early years are spent in poverty. This is also why the family relies on Esau, the hunter, for “real” food, and not on Jacob, who is described as one who “dwells in the tents.”
This might help explain why, at the time, Esau doesn’t care for the birthright, for he doesn’t stand to gain anything. Isaac’s later wealth is a result not of an inheritance but of his own doing when, symbolically, he goes out to redig his father’s wells — and possibly makes the birthright more attractive.
It is now that Jacob needs to “deceive” his brother by dressing like him, to ensure he’ll receive the family’s blessing, which isn’t so much monetary but is the right to the spiritual path.
After the deception, Jacob leaves his parents’ home and journeys to Haran, birthplace of his mother and grandparents, in what is Iraq today.
When in the opening of this week’s parshah the two brothers meet again after they haven’t seen each other for 20 years, it is no wonder that Jacob is a little worried. It is not only their complicated past that scares Jacob but also the news that Esau is coming toward him with an army of 400 men — some even say these were 400 commanders, which means they had additional troops.
Jacob prepares his camp for the worst-case scenario: war. At the same time, he also sends thoughtful presents to his brother: a herd of goats, sheep, cows, donkeys and camels, male and female, all organized and calculated to reproduce and be fruitful. It is from this that the rabbis learn of man’s conjugal obligation to his wife: If unemployed, like the sheep and goat, he should be busier satisfying his wife; if he has a full-time job nearby, like the cattle, or travels away from home, like the donkey or camel, his obligation drops.
But Jacob does something else besides dividing the camp, preparing for war and sending well-calculated gifts. He prays.
Why should he pray? Isn’t he all set for the meeting? Alternatively, if he believes in God and prays for help, why invest in war preparations and gifts? Doesn’t that signal his disbelief?
A common answer is that God helps those who help themselves — he wants to see us “try.” But we should do more than just try. We should act as if there is no God, and pray as if everything depends on God.
An illustrative story tells of a man who embraces religion after surviving a bad accident. “A truck came swerving from behind a curve and I was thrown off the road,” he tells the rabbi. “Can you believe it? I came out unharmed. God saved me!”
“Yeah,” the rabbi says with a smile, “and who do you think sent the truck in the first place?”
As Jacob modeled for us, in order to grow we must take on life’s challenges with a balance of faith and effort. In this way, we can face our fears and our adversaries, and emerge victorious.
Michal Kohane is the director of the Israel Center of the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation. She has served in leadership roles throughout Northern California and holds advanced degrees in studies of Israel, psychology and education. She can be reached at [email protected].