Questions — Vayishlach
Bereshit 32:4-33
Why does this Parshah begin with verse 4 instead of verse 2? The shift between the parshiyot is from Jacob’s experiences with Laban to his experiences with Esau. Between those two moments Jacob has God’s messengers, usually translated as angels. This moment, one could argue, belongs with the Laban narrative because it is a frame with Jacob’s earlier encounter with the Angels on his way towards Laban. A comment in Ets Hayim, which is unattributed, suggests that in this moment Jacob is recognizing the presence of angels who had always been with him, throughout his time outside of the Holy Land. Does this devalue Jacob’s own agency? Has Jacob struggled against Laban or was God struggling against Laban and giving Jacob a free ride (despite the reality of his frustration with Laban’s actions). The quote in Etz Hayim may be implying that the presence of the angels, rather than any actions on their part, was sufficient to give Jacob an advantage over Laban. Do we want the Torah to be a guide for divine how God chooses sides? Why does Jacob refer to the place as Mahanaim (two camps)? He could mean, a camp of humanity and a camp of divinity. This works with the sense of the frame that links back to Laban. But it is hard to ignore the fact that Jacob will shortly afterwards split his camp into two, a tactic related to his meeting with Esau.
How do Jacob’s men know where to find Esau? Has Jacob gotten intelligence or is he just expecting Esau to be in the same places where he had been twenty years earlier?
“Your servant Jacob…” Jacob supplanted Esau in birthright and blessing, but he abandoned his birthright to Esau when he fled. Although he may have been entitled to it, he left it and allowed Esau to assume the benefits of it, at the least. By referring to himself as Esau’s servant is he trying to communicate with Esau that he will not try to resume the privilege of birthright that he tricked Esau out of? Is he offering a Teshuvah to Esau genuinely or insincerely? Is he acting out of fear or with trickery?
In the time that Jacob grew his family and his wealth Esau seems to have grown himself an army. What has Esau been doing in the years of Jacob’s absence? Has he also had angels accompanying him?
Why does Jacob share all of the information about his wealth in the message to Esau? Is he not afraid that this will only further motivate Esau to attack him?
Who are the messengers that Jacob sends? The word Melakhim is the same as what was just previously used to indicate angels. Jacob mentions that in the message that the messengers carry that he has male and female slaves. Are Jacob’s messengers angels, are they slaves, or there some other possibility?
In verse 32:7 we have an interesting phrase (בָּ֤אנוּ אֶל־אָחִ֙יךָ֙ אֶל־עֵשָׂ֔ו:) . Does this resonate with the way that God calls to Abraham and indicates that the son that he wants Abraham to sacrifice is Isaac? (See Rashi‘s comment on that verse Gen 22:2). There is a difference - Beno vs. Banu. Can we make a worthwhile comment on this association?
Who goes where when Jacob divides his camp? Does Esau enter Jacob’s camp?
When Jacob calls himself “two camps” is this a physical description alone or does he mean to also express his doubts and misgivings? As Jaccb speaks to God, is he pleading or bargaining?
Why does Jacob send across the river his wife and children and then his possessions separately? Why does he send them ahead of him? Is he willing even to sacrifice them if it will save him? Why does he not maintain a cadre of men with him as protection and instead choose to be alone? How are all of these movements made safely in darkness? Perhaps there was a moon, but if so, why not mention it?
So much has happened in the the one night. How late was it before Jacob was alone and how long was the time that he struggled with the man? Why does Torah use the word Ish? Both Ish and Malakh are used in very confusing ways. We are always wondering which it is in the stories of the patriarchs.
The account of Jacob wrestling with the man is very brief. We don’t know if the man comes on him as soon as he is alone or if he has had some time by himself before the man found him. We can even wonder whether Jacob knew that the man was there and specifically returned over the river to engage with him. We spend so much time talking about who Jacob is wrestling with that we don’t ask whether Jacob is surprised by the encounter. What do you think?
Jacob is injured and continues to wrestle with the man. Does he perceive the stakes to be life and death? If not, what is he trying to get out of the effort and why does he not want to let the man get away. Why does the man need to get away before dawn?
Jacob insists on receiving a blessing from the man. Does he need a blessing because he feels that Esau has taken back the blessing that he had gotten from Isaac? Is the man a representation of his father, rather than, as often implied by many commentators, a representation of his brother? The man asks Jacob for his name. This question reminds one of Isaac’s questioning of Jacob and the difficulty that Isaac has accepting that Jacob, despite his disguise, is Esau. Jacob admits to his true identity, but the man insists on renaming him. This adds an element to the scene that may not fit with Biblical culture, but resonates in Rabbinic culture, that of renaming a person in the face of a life threatening situation so that the Angel of Death will not be able to find the sick or otherwise endangered person.
The man tells Jacob that he has struggled with beings human and Divine. We usually assume that the man is a Divine being. Must this be the case? Why won’t he reveal his name? Why does the man insist so much on not being precisely known?
Why is there so much emphasis on the wounding of Jacob? Can we see this as in a line of woundings that the patriarchs experience? That is, Abraham from circumcision, Isaac from the near trauma of fatal sacrifice and finally the dislocation of Jacob’s him. There are lessons from all of these incidents, but why does Torah draw such a weak lesson from Isaac’s wound compared to the wounds of Abraham and Isaac>
Chapter 33
The rabbis can only see evil in Esau, but, although he comes with 400 men, the two brothers have as ward an embrace as one can imagine. Does it matter to Esau that Jacob has shown such deference to him? Does Esau take Jacob's deference as Jacob intends or is he overcome with the excitement of recognition? How does this scene compare to Joseph’s revelation of his identity to his brothers in Egypt?
Is part of what goes on in this meeting a result in a difference of styles between Jacob and Esau? Is Esau still the one who acts rashly, but this time rashly showing love rather than anger or frustration? Do the brothers weep for the same reasons? What are their reasons? How does this incident compare with the moment when Joseph reveals himself to his brothers? How does Jacob’s demurring about the value of the goods that he has sent to Esau compare with the way Abraham and Ephron negotiate over the cave of Machpelah?
Why is Jacob so resistant to the idea of traveling with Esau? Does he worry about being subsumed or is he just trying to remain back in the Land and not want to leave the land for Esau’s new home, Seir? The journey to Succoth takes him over the Jabbok again…
“Jacob arrived safe in the city of Shechem…” This section starts suddenly. The text feels the need to explain that Shechem is in Canaan and that Jacob had departed from Padddan-Aram. This seems almost like an alternate story that excludes the meeting with Esau and the wrestling with the man. Could it be?
Jacob immediately purchases land. Abraham did not feel the need to do so until he needed a place for burial. The purchase along with the clarity of a named price indicates an intent of permanence, but the location is far away from the wells that his father dug and not so close to the Cave of Machpelah. Jacob, like Abraham and Isaac, is a pastoralist. Why does Jacob feel the need to do this? Is he doing it in order to have control of the land on which he builds an altar? Having returned to God’s chosen land does he feel the need (or the power) to make his relationship with God regular and public?
Chapter 34
Dinah leaves the camp on her own. Traditional commentators criticize her for this as a hint at sexual promiscuity even though the text is clear that her intent is to be among women. Even still, could it be that she has a motivation to find female companionship that she lacks in an otherwise all male generation. Also, might we not suspect that being so often among a crowd of her brothers she is more masculine in her conduct than might have been expected and more confident in her ability to do for herself?
The person who molests Dinah is Shechem, the son of the person who sold the land to Jacob, the local chief. The town is not named for Hamor, but for his son. Is the town named for the son or is the son named for the town. Can we suspect that Shechem acts as he does because he feels that, due to his place in local society it is his right to do as he pleases? Does he act with political intentions? Is this a sign of some kind of rift in his relationship with his father that he is trying to have an effect on? The Torah tells us that he loves her (he certainly doesn’t do so in an acceptable way). But still, with the Torah as a source we are being pushed to look at him with greater sympathy than we might have had for him. Being raped by Shechem cannot have been Dinah’s choice, but is she ever allowed choice (other than her going out in the first place) or asked what her choices might be?
It is a struggle to understand who Dinah really is as a person. Jacob finds out that Dinah has been raped. Is it Dinah who tells him or someone, perhaps Leah, who she Dinah has told first? We know that it is not one of her brothers.
“Jacob kept silent” Who could he have spoken to before Hamor arrived? Presumably his wives and servants were there. Shechem’s action presents a kind of threat to the entire camp. The way the verses are ordered makes it seem like (as Etz Hayim comments: Hamor “is left cooling his heels”) Does the fact that Hamor (and Shechem) have arrived without retainers allow Jacob to think that he will be safe enough for the moment to be silent, but not really safe until his sons return?
