Please take a few seconds to tell us a little about yourself:
Gender:
Age:
How would you describe your Jewish religious affiliation?
About how frequently, if at all, do you participate in Jewish life through Jewish organizations?

Vayishlah

Genesis 32:3-36:43

  • Bookmark and Share
  • In this Torah portion, God tells Jacob to return home. Jacob is worried that his brother Esau will kill him, so he separates his clan into two camps, so at least some will survive in case of a fight. Jacob sleeps alone in the desert and is awoken by an angel who wrestles him through the night. Jacob survives and is blessed by the angel and renamed Israel. Jacob meets his brother, and surprisingly, Esau kisses his neck and they embrace. Dinah, Jacob's daughter, is raped by Shekhem, who then proposes to Jacob that he marry her. Shimeon and Levi murder Shekhem and his clan. Rachel has another child, whom they name Benjamin.

    Click here for a summary of Vayishlah.
    Click here for a summary of the Haftarah for Vayishlah.

     

    Wrestling
    Jacob wrestled with God's angel and became Israel

     

    Text Studies

    Social Action and Environmentalism

    Anatomy Of An Enemy
    Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life

    Transformative Encounters
    Alana Alpert, AJWS

    The Question Is The Blessing
    Rabbi Neal J. Loevinger, KOLEL

    The Path to Reconciliation
    Carol Towarnicky, AJWS

    Confronting the Sitra Ahra
    Rabbi Burt E. Schuman, Union for Reform Judaism

    A Lack of Empathy
    Aviva Presser Aiden, AJWS

     

    Exile And Survival: Jacob's Legacy
    Rabbi Gerry Serotta, socialaction.com

     

    Small Vessels
    Jonathan Neril, Canfei Nesharim

    From the Denominations

    Pluralism and Outreach

    Truly Present To God And People
    Rabbi Bradley Artson, American Jewish Unversity

    Recovery and Reconciliation
    Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, Jewish Outreach Initiative

    Silent Deliberations
    Rabbi Mark Wolf, Jewish Theological Seminary

    Overcoming Envy
    Dvora Weisberg, CLA

    Living With Threat
    Rabbi Avraham Fischer, Orthodox Union

    Struggling With Monotheism
    Osnat Elnatan, UJA-Federation of New York

     

    Making Today Matter
    Erica Brown, Partnership for Jewish Life & Learning

    Family and Fun

     

    Parashat Vayishlah Quiz
    Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies

     

    Parashat Vayishlah Challah
    Julie Seltzer

     

     

    Return to the index of weekly Torah portions.