Parashat Vayetze

Parashat Vayetze.- Erev Shabbat 25 November 2017

Week of 19 to 26 November

Torah portion: Genesis 28:10-32:2 Haftarah: Hosea 12:12-14:10

Jacob was coming from Beer-sheba to Haran down to up – He is in the desert land of Israel and then going up to Haran, a foreign land. Rashi says we need different angels when we are in different places with different missions. So also Jacob needed the help of the angels as he was fleeing from his birthplace and from Esau. Logically these angels will have to come down and then go back. According to Rashi angels are with us – ministering to us and taking messages back to heaven. Jacob feared that Esau would attack him. So he really had to trust God. But he was in the beginning of his God quest. This is his first experience with trial. Moses, David were made great, they were tested as shepherds. Labor is beloved, for all the prophets engaged in it (The Torah, A Modern Commentary pg.207.

Praying at any place is like standing at the very foot of God’s throne of glory, for the gate of heaven is there and the door is open for prayer to be heard (The Torah, A Modern Commentary pg.197). The Hebrew Word Ha-Makom means “God is the place of the world”. The Dream which Jacob had included the people of Israel and all his descendents. So according to a midrash, Jacob’s dream depicts the rise and fall of nations and their cultures in the arena of world history like Rome, Babylonia. (Leibowitz 299).

Jacob’s trickery of Esau is repaid by that of his Uncle Laban’s trickery. The Talmud speaks of repentance before the world was created. Rabbi Eliezar says: “repent one day before your death” and since death is unknown, we must repent each day. When Jacob experienced fear and anxiety he admitted his brokenness telling that “I don’t know”. In the same manner when we admit our brokenness only God can intervene.

Jacob uses the same Hebrew word that Isaac used when he complained about being deceived (Gen, 27:35). Laban is a masterful characterization: A selfish, greedy, exploiting, suspicious man of wealth, who never fails to observe good manners. The time has come to face the past and, in doing so, to secure the future.

In Hosea God remembers his promise to the people of Israel. Jacob has deepened his faith in God’s promise. He comes to know God not only in His immediate manifestations but also in the long-range processes of nature. God is concerned with Jacob and the latter knows this concern. Jacob is favored in that he learns the secrets of nature and utilizes them in accordance with God’s will.

For Reflection and discussion: [1] Have you experienced God in your brokenness, when there is no one to help you, with no other option than suffering and loneliness in moments of crisis? [2] How do we tide over struggles and crisis? Is it through acceptance or through deeper relationship with others or in silent contemplation with God [3] Have we learned to move from anxiety to thanksgiving rather than going for abstinence and special offerings?

Bibliography: The Torah, A Modern Commentary (UAHC New York 1981), The Five Books of Moses, (NY 1995), Studies in Bereshit (Genesis)- Leibowitz.

This week’s teaching commentary was prepared by

Dr. Joan Chunkapura, Ph.D., MMS, TRADA, Kerala, India. Bat Kol alumna, 2006.

Email: joanc.mms@gmail.com

……………….…………………………………

PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Parashah commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. The commentaries, along with all materials published on the Bat Kol website, are copyrighted by the writers, and are made available for personal and group study, and local church purposes. Permission needed for other purposes. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.

………………………………………………………

Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem

1983-2017

“Christians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.”

Website: www.batkol.info; Parashah Admin: gill@batkol.info