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This week’s parasha is entitled Vayishlach, meaning “and he sent.”Vayishlach – “And He Sent” Jacob, knowing Esau still held the memory of his stolen blessing, sent messengers before him to his brother, who was living in the region of Seir.
In chapter 32, Jacob contacts Esau by sending messengers ahead with a message of humility. It had been many years since their last meeting, when he fled for his life after Esau vowed to kill him. The messengers return with alarming news that Esau is approaching with 400 men. Distressed and terrified, Jacob devises a plan to protect at least part of his household by dividing his family and livestock into two groups in case Esau intends to attack. He then prays to Adonai, the God of his fathers, reminding Him of His promises and humbly asking for protection. To appease Esau, Jacob sends an enormous gift ahead of him. This shows how much he relied on his own strategy and resources – a pattern that has marked much of his life.
Later that night, after sending his family across the Jabbok for safety, Jacob remains alone. A “man” appears and wrestles with him until daybreak. Jacob, a man accustomed to striving for control, is confronted by a power he cannot manipulate or outwit. Though wounded, he refuses to release his opponent. The man touches Jacob’s hip, dislocating it, leaving a permanent mark that symbolizes the breaking of Jacob’s self-reliance. The man then renames him Israel, meaning “he struggles with God,” declaring that Jacob has wrestled with God and with men and prevailed. Jacob concludes that he has encountered the divine and names the place Peniel, meaning “the face of God,” saying, “I have seen God face to face, and my life has been preserved.” Who was this mysterious man who wrestled with Jacob and who is also God? The Lord Yeshua.
In chapter 33, Jacob sees Esau and his 400 men approaching. He divides his family, placing the servant wives first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. Approaching his brother with trepidation, he bows to the ground seven times. But Esau runs to meet him, embraces him, kisses him, and they weep together. This is a powerful picture of how deep bitterness can be overcome through forgiveness and God’s sovereign work in human hearts. Afterward, the brothers part peacefully. The chapter ends with Jacob purchasing land in Shechem and building an altar, calling it “God, the God of Israel.”
Chapter 34 recounts the troubling story of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob and Leah. She is raped by Shechem, the son of Hamor, the ruler of the town. Shechem then desires to marry her and asks his father to arrange it. Hamor proposes a broader alliance with Jacob’s household. Jacob’s sons pretend to agree but plan revenge.
Demanding that all the men of Shechem be circumcised, they wait until the men are incapacitated from pain. Then Simeon and Levi kill all the males of the city. Afterwards, their brothers join them in plundering the town and taking the women and children. Jacob is appalled by their violence, and the family is forced to leave the region in fear.
In chapter 35, Jacob instructs his household to discard their pagan idols and purify themselves before returning to Bethel. When they arrive, he builds an altar and names it El-Bethel, meaning “the God of Bethel.” God blesses him again, reaffirms the name Israel, and reveals Himself as El Shaddai, God Almighty, declaring His power to fulfill His promises. God tells Jacob that a multitude of descendants, nations, and kings will come from him, and He confirms that the land promised to Abraham and Isaac will be Jacob’s inheritance. Jacob sets up a pillar where God spoke to him and consecrates it with a drink offering and oil. He names the place Bethel, “the house of God,” because God had spoken to him there. After leaving Bethel, Rachel goes into hard labor, gives birth to Benjamin, and dies.
Chapter 36 records Esau’s descendants, his marriage to pagan wives, and his move to the hill country of Seir. He leaves Canaan because the combined possessions of the two brothers are too great for them to remain together. Jacob’s line inherits the Promised Land and the Covenant, while Esau’s line receives its own land in Seir – a fulfillment of God’s general blessing of fertility for Abraham’s descendants, though not of the Covenant promise.
Closing Thoughts:
Jacob’s life was filled with struggles from the beginning, including fleeing his home in fear. He faced hardships, disappointments, and setbacks, yet God’s sovereign purposes were fulfilled despite Jacob’s flawed decisions.
As believers, we are works in progress and must surrender our ways to God as He shapes us through hardships and circumstances, drawing us into His sovereign will. We often resist Him, only to learn later that obedience and humble surrender are the true path to freedom from the bondage we experience. Rabbi Paul teaches that we are united with Yeshua to be transformed into His likeness. A genuine encounter with Yeshua leaves marks—whether of suffering or of joy—that testify to a transformed life.
So let us trust Him, for He knows what is best for us. He is the founder of our faith, and He will surely bring His work in us to completion.