8 – Parashat Vayishlach (וַיִּשְׁלַח) — “And He Sent”

Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 32:3 – 36:43

Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 32:3

3. And Ya’aqov sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
4. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Ya’aqov saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:
5. And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my adoniy, that I may find grace in thy sight.
6. And the messengers returned to Ya’aqov, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
7. Then Ya’aqov was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
8. And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
9. And Ya’aqov said, O Elohiym of my father Avraham, and Elohiym of my father Yitschaq, Yahuah which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
10. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed overאת this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
11. Deliver me, I pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
12. And Thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
13. And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;
14. Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,
15. Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.
16. And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.
17. And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
18. Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Ya’aqov’s; it is a present sent unto my adoniy Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.
19. And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.
20. And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Ya’aqov is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
21. So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.
22. And he rose up that night, and took his two women, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.
23. And he took them, and sent them overאת the brook, and sent over that he had.
24. And Ya’aqov was left alone; and there wrestled a Man with him until the breaking of the day.
25. And when He saw that He prevailed not against him, He touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Ya’aqov’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with Him.
26. And He said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.
27. And He said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Ya’aqov.
28. And He said, Thy name shall be called no more Ya’aqov, but Yashar’el: for as a prince hast thou power with Elohiym and with men, and hast prevailed.
29. And Ya’aqov asked Him, and said, Tell me, I pray Thee, Thy name. And He said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after My name? And He blessed him there.
30. And Ya’aqov called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen Elohiym face to face, and my life is preserved.
31. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
32. Therefore the children of Yashar’el eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Ya’aqov’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.

Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 33

And Ya’aqov lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Le’ah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Le’ah and her children after, and Rachel and Yoceph hindermost.
And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which Elohiym hath graciously given thy servant.
Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
And Le’ah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Yoceph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my adoniy.
And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.
And Ya’aqov said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of Elohiym, and thou wast pleased with me.
Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because Elohiym hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.
And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.
And he said unto him, My adoniy knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.
Let my adoniy, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my adoniy unto Seir.
And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my adoniy.
So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.
And Ya’aqov journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made succoth for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
And Ya’aqov came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.
And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.
And he erected there an altar, and called it El Elohai Yashar’el.

Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 34

And Diynah the daughter of Le’ah, which she bare unto Ya’aqov, went out to see the daughters of the land.
And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
And his soul clave unto Diynah the daughter of Ya’aqov, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.
And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to be my woman.
And Ya’aqov heard that he had defiled Diynah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Ya’aqov held his peace until they were come.
And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Ya’aqov to commune with him.
And the sons of Ya’aqov came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Yashar’el in lying with Ya’aqov’s daughter: which thing ought not to be done.
And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to be his woman.
And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.
And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.
And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.
Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to woman.
And the sons of Ya’aqov answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled את Diynah their sister:
And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:
But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;
Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.
But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor’s son.
And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Ya’aqov’s daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.
And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,
These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for women, and let us give them our daughters.
Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.
Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of their’s be our’s? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.
And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Ya’aqov, Shim’on and Leviy, Diynah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Diynah out of Shechem’s house, and went out.
The sons of Ya’aqov came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,
And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their women took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.
And Ya’aqov said to Shim’on and Leviy, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?

Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 35

And Elohiym said unto El-Ya’aqov, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto Elohiym, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
Then Ya’aqov said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange elohai that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto Elohiym, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
And they gave unto El-Ya’aqov את all the strange elohai which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Ya’aqov hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
And they journeyed: and the terror of Elohiym was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Ya’aqov.
So Ya’aqov came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.
And he built there an altar, and called the place El Beyt-El: because there Elohiym appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
But Deborah, Rivqah’s nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.
And Elohiym appeared unto Ya’aqov again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.
And Elohiym said unto him, Thy name is Ya’aqov: thy name shall not be called any more Ya’aqov, but Yashar’el shall be thy name: and He called his name Yashar’el.
And Elohiym said unto him, I am El Shaddai: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
And the land which I gave Avraham and Yitschaq, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.
And Elohiym went up from him in the place where He talked with him.
And Ya’aqov set up a pillar in the place where he talked with Him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
And Ya’aqov called the name of the place where Elohiym spake with him, Beyt-El.
And they journeyed from Beyt’El; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-Oniy: but his father called him Binyamiyn.
And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
And Ya’aqov set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.
And Yashar’el journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.
And it came to pass, when Yashar’el dwelt in that land, that Re’uven went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Yashar’el heard it. Now the sons of Ya’aqov were twelve:
The sons of Le’ah; Re’uven, Ya’aqov’s firstborn, and Shim’on, and Leviy, and Yahudah, and Yisshakar, and Zevulun:
The sons of Rachel; Yoceph, and Benyamiyn:
And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naphtaliy:
And the sons of Zilpah, Le’ah’s handmaid: Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Ya’aqov, which were born to him in Padanaram.
And Ya’aqov came unto Yitschaq his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Avraham and Yitschaq sojourned.
And the days of Yitschaq were an hundred and fourscore years.
And Yitschaq gave up his ruach, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Ya’aqov buried him.

Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 36

Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.
Esau took his women of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;
And Bashemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth.
And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel;
And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan.
And Esau took his women, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Ya’aqov.
For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.
Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.
And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir:
These are the names of Esau’s sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the woman of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the woman of Esau.
And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.
And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau’s woman.
And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau’s woman.
And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s woman: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah.
These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz,
Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah.
And these are the sons of Reuel Esau’s son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Bashemath Esau’s woman.
And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau’s woman; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s woman.
These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.
These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah,
And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.
And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna.
And the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
And the children of Anah were these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.
And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran.
The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan.
The children of Dishan are these; Uz, and Aran.
These are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah,
Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these are the dukes that came of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir.
And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Yashar’el.
And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.
And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead.
And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith.
And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead.
And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead.
And Saul died, and Baalhanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead.
And Baalhanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his woman’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names; duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth,
Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon,
Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar,
Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these be the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of the Edomites.

Haftarah Parashat Vayishlach (וַיִּשְׁלַח) — “And He Sent” – May 18th thru May 24th

Ovadyahu (Obadiah) 1:1-21

The vision of Ovadyahu. Thus saith the Adonai Yahuah concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from Yahuah, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.
Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.
The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith Yahuah.
If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grape gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?
How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.
Shall I not in that day, saith Yahuah, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
For thy violence against thy brother Ya’aqov shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Yahudah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of My people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity;
Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
For the day of Yahuah is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
For as ye have drunk upon My set-apart mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be set-apartness; and the house of Ya’aqov shall possess את their possessions.
And the house of Ya’aqov shall be a fire, and the house of Yoseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for Yahuah hath spoken it.
And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and את the fields of Samaria: and Binyamiyn shall possess Gilead.
And the captivity of this host of the children of Yashar’el shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess את the cities of the south.
And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be Yahuah’s.

Brit Ha’Dasha Parashat Vayishlach (וַיִּשְׁלַח) — “And He Sent” – May 18th thru May 24th

Mattithyahu (Matthew) 2:13-23

13. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of Yah appeareth to Yoseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and flee into Mitsrayim, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.

14. When he arose, he took the young Child and his mother by night, and departed into Mitsrayim:

15. And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of Yah by the prophet, saying, Out of Mitsrayim have I called my Son.

16. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

17. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Yirmeyahu the prophet, saying,

18. In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

19. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of Yah appeareth in a dream to Yoseph in Mitsrayim,

20. Saying, Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and go into the land of Yashar’el: for they are dead which sought the young Child’s life.

21. And he arose, and took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of Elohiym in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

23. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

8 – Parashat Vayishlach (וַיִּשְׁלַח) — “And He Sent” – May 18th thru May 24th