Vayishlach, וַיִּשְׁלַח

(Originally published in December 2020) Yaakov’s struggle with a “man” the night before he meets up with his brother Esav can be read as a rebirth.   It is a transformative experience at the end of which he receives a name change, as if born anew with a fresh way of being in the world.    […]

I was taking a walk the other day, feeling a little glum, when I noticed the ginkgo tree up the street. The sky was blue and the sun was shining on it just so, making its yellow leaves radiant and aglow. I stopped in wonder and thought, “Thank you, God, for this gift today.” I

One kind act can shift the course of history. In this week’s parsha, Yaakov hears that Esav is approaching with 400 men. Was Esav planning an aggressive attack? The Torah doesn’t tell us but Yaakov certainly thinks so. The possible destruction of the future Jewish people is headed off by what? By Yaakov’s overflowing generous

God takes different forms on this earth. When Avraham interacts with God’s messengers in the world, they are visitors, wandering strangers who are in need of hospitality. The face of God in the world for Avraham is the face of hospitality, of hesed, of people in need of help. For Yaakov, on the other hand, God’s

I noticed the other day, as I was making a personal petition to God, that what I was praying for was that God should help me accomplish my goals. Suddenly such prayer seemed very wrong, almost idolatrous, as if instead of worshipping God, I was worshipping my own ambitions/desires, and subordinating God, too, to this