This week's Parsha is Parshat Vayishlach. A huge theme of Vayishlach is family bond—specifically between siblings. This is directly seen through both Yaakov and Eisav, as well as through Dinah and her brothers, Shimon and Levi.
Yaakov finally comes back to Eretz Canaan to see his father, Yitzchak, after being away for twenty years. On his journey back, he gets word that Eisav is waiting to greet him with an army of 400 men.
Yaakov becomes immensely worried and splits his family into two different groups, in an attempt to save himself. One group would fight while the other would flee. He also decides to send hundreds of heads of cattle and sheep, one herd at a time, hoping to delay Eisav.
Once Yaakov’s family crosses the Jabbok River, Yaakov meets Eisav’s archangel and fights him until dawn. Even though Yaakov survives the battle, he leaves the fight with an injury to his sciatic nerve at the hip. Yaakov refuses to let the angel leave until the angel gives him a blessing, and then the angel goes on his way. Yaakov then meets Eisav, and despite his wariness, approaches him respectfully. Once Eisav sees his brother, he runs to him and embraces him. He then offers to accompany Yaakov on the rest of his journey, but Yaakov turns him down.
Yaakov and his family arrive at the outskirts of the city of Shechem, which inhabited the prince of Shechem. The prince sees Dinah wandering around the city and abducts and violates her.
Chamor, governor of the city and Shechem’s father, approaches Yaakov to inform him that Shechem wants to marry Dinah. Yaakov and his sons agree to this on the terms that all of the men of the city get circumcised. On the third day of the mass circumcision, Shimon and Levi come into the city, slaughter all of the men, and rescue Dinah.
The Parsha then ends with Rachel dying while birthing her second son, Binyamin, and being buried on the side of the road. The Parsha also includes Yitzchak dying and being buried in Maarat HaMachpela.
Yaakov and Esav were opposites their entire lives. They had a rocky relationship when they were children which only worsened as they grew older. Yet, after being separated for so long, Yaakov still approached his brother even after hearing he was coming with an army, since he trusted Hashem to help him stand up to Eisav.
Once Dinah was abducted, her brothers were very worried for her safety and wanted to ensure that she would be rescued safe and sound. Shimon and Levi took the matter into their own hands and killed the whole male population of Shechem, with just the two of them and Hashem on their side. They put their trust in Hashem to help them save their sister and were ultimately able to free her.
This Parsha shows that having a bond with family is vital to living a good life, and Hashem provides us with families so that we can protect them with His help along the way.
Shabbat Shalom!
By: Emma Attias (10th)
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