Vayishlach, וַיִּשְׁלַח

Vayishlach, וַיִּשְׁלַח
And He Sent Out
32:4-36:43

SHORT ESSAY: One Kind Act (Parashat Vayishlach)

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 […]

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SHORT ESSAY: Our Enemies Are Our Angels (Parashat Vayishlach)

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

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SHORT ESSAY: Aligning with the Divine (Parashat Vayishlach)

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

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