Parsha for Kids: Vayishlach 2022
Below is the transcript for this week’s episode of Parsha for Kids, Vayishlach 2022.
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Episode 8:
Hello! My name is Chana, and this is Parsha for Kids. The Parsha of the week is Vayishlach. Vayishlach means “And he sent.”
Who sent? And why?
It was Yaakov. He sent messengers, or according to Rashi, angels, to his brother Esav. Remember that when Yaakov last interacted with his brother, Esav wanted to kill him. That was why Yaakov needed to run away in the first place! And Yaakov’s mother, Rivka, had told him that she would ask him to come back home when his brother’s temper had cooled. It’s been twenty years and Rivka still didn’t ask Yaakov to come home. Therefore, Yaakov is wise to assume that Esav is still angry with him.
You may recall that last week’s parsha ended with Yaakov encountering angels. It therefore makes sense that Rashi believes that Yaakov sent these angels to Esav. This is a smart strategy because even if Esav were to fly into a rage and try to harm these individuals, he would not be successful- because angels can’t die.
Yaakov gave the angels a message to deliver to Esav. He explained that im lavan garti, I have lived as a stranger with Lavan, and have remained there until now. Rashi explains that Yaakov used the word garti deliberately. This would indicate that Yaakov had lived as a stranger, not someone who was in a high position, a dignitary or officer. Thus, Yaakov was hinting that it was not worth it for Esav to hate him because of the blessings he had taken. Yitzchak had blessed Yaakov that he would be a master over his brothers. However, Yaakov had just spent the last twenty years as a shepherd, overheated by day and freezing at night. He hadn’t achieved a high position where he was returning as a lord, and thus Esav didn’t need to worry.
Yaakov clarified that over the course of his time with Lavan, he had acquired oxen, donkeys and servants since he didn’t want this to come as a surprise to his brother. He also explained he hoped limtzo chen b’einecha, to find favor in your, meaning Esav’s, eyes. Yaakov hoped that now that it had been so long, he and his brother could make peace.
TRANSITION SOUND
The messengers, or angels, returned to Yaakov and told him Esav was coming with four hundred men.
This was not the reaction Yaakov had hoped for. It sounded as though Esav was coming against him with an army, and not with feelings of love. Yaakov became frightened, but even though he was frightened, he made some practical decisions.
First, Yaakov divided his family, the people who were with him, his flocks, cattle and camels into two camps. He reasoned that if Esav attacked one camp, at least the other camp would survive. From here we learn that when we are in a dangerous situation, we should take practical steps to save our lives and defend ourselves rather than simply hoping for the best.
Second, Yaakov prayed to God. He reminded God of the promises God had made to him back when Yaakov had dreamed of the ladder. At that time, God had said he would make sure Yaakov returned safely to the land of Israel. Yaakov thanked God for making sure he had so much good in his life- his children and his possessions- and requested that God save him from the hand of his brother Esav.
Third, Yaakov prepared a gift for Esav. He hoped that this gift would appease Esav and make him less angry. His gift consisted of two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred female sheep and twenty rams, thirty nursing camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. He summoned his servants and told them to lead all these animals to Esav, but not all at the same time. Instead, the animals should be given in groups, or herds. The servant needed to make spaces between one herd and another herd so that it looked like an endless parade of creatures. This would make the gift look even larger and more impressive than it was.
Yaakov instructed his servant to respond to Esav’s query- since Esav would certainly ask “To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and for whom are these animals?”- by saying “I belong to your servant Yaakov, and this is a mincha, gift, sent to my master Esav, and Yaakov himself is following behind us.” And Yaakov gave the same command to his second and third servants.
Here, Yaakov is being smart and putting together a clever strategy. By giving this huge gift to Esav, he hoped that Esav would calm down and be appreciative by the time he and Yaakov met face to face.
During the night, Yaakov moved the two camps he had made across the Yabbok River. The pasuk specifically says that Yaakov took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven children and crossed the river. That accounts for Rachel and Leah, Bilha and Zilpah, and the eleven sons. Rashi is a close reader of the text and realizes that someone is missing here- Dina, Leah’s daughter! Where was she when Yaakov moved his family?
Rashi answers this question by suggesting that Yaakov hid Dina away, placing her inside of a large wooden chest. He did not want Esav to see her and want to marry her.
TRANSITION
Yaakov went back across the river to check whether there were any belongings or items he had accidentally left behind. According to Rashi, he had forgotten some small bottles. A different commentator explains that these were actually small bottles his young children would drink out of, and he wanted them to be comfortable on the journey, so he risked his life to go bring them back.
As Yaakov was reaching for the bottles, a figure suddenly appeared. It was night, and Yaakov was already anticipating a confrontation with his brother the next day. This mysterious figure was not Esav- he is only described as Ish, a man. This man grabbed Yaakov and began to wrestle with him, and as the two of them clung to and grappled with one another, they kicked up dust.
But who was this mysterious man? Our sages say this was Esav’s guardian angel, and that the outcome of this momentous struggle would determine who would be successful in Yaakov’s eventual confrontation with his brother. However, a different commentator called Radak, whose full name was Rabbi David Kimchi, explains that God actually sent this angel to Yaakov to increase his courage. After all, if Yaakov could struggle with an angel all night and win, why would he need to be afraid of a man of flesh and blood like Esav? You may have heard the expression “it’s always darkest before the dawn.” This means that often people are faced with tremendous problems and challenges before there is a breakthrough, light or a way forward appearing before them. Radak said this was exactly the message God was sending Yaakov. After a period of night, challenges and problems, there would come light, peace.
When the mysterious figure was not able to overpower Yaaakov entirely, he touched Yaakov’s hip, such that Yaakov’s hip bone became dislocated.
The man said, “Let me go, for dawn is breaking.”
Yaakov replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” According to the approach that Rashi brings down, where this man was Esav’s guardian angel, Yaakov wanted the angel to acknowledge that Yaakov had won and deserved the blessings he had taken from Yitzchak.
The man asked Yaakov, “What’s your name?”
And Yaakov replied, “Yaakov.”
The man stated, “Your name shall no longer be called Yakov but rather Yisrael, because sarisa im Elohim v’im Anashim.’ This phrase can be translated two ways. Either it can mean because you have wrestled with Elohim and with men - Elohim can mean angels and can also mean lords. In this context, it would mean that Yaakov is called Yisrael because he successfully wrestled with an angel. Or sarisa could come from the idea of having serara, commanding power and authority, over an angel and over men.
The change of Yaakov’s name is highly significant. You see, when Yaaakov took Esav’s blessings, Esav was upset. But he said something very specific. Esav told his father, Yitzchak, “Is this why you named him Yaakov? He has yeaakveni, tripped me up, these two times- first by taking the birthright and now by taking the blessings!” Esav suggested that Yaakov got the blessings through deceit and trickery and did not deserve them.
But now Yaakov is being given a new name, Yisrael. According to Rashi, what this meant is that one can no longer say that Yaakov received blessings through trickery and deceit, but rather he got them through serara u’bigiluy panim, authority and openness. The angel was acknowledging that Yaakov under his new identity of Yisrael deserved those blessings, and no one, including Esav, could say otherwise.
Yaakov said, “Now tell me your name.” The man, or angel, replied, “Why is it that you ask for my name?” He did not answer Yaakov, but he did affirm Yaakov’s right to the blessings.
Because the angel dislocated Yaakov’s hip, he walked with a limp. To this day, as Jews, we do not eat the gid hanasheh, the hip sinew of any kosher animal, as a remembrance of the encounter between Yaakov and the angel.
TRANSITION
That day, Yaakov saw Esav approaching him with four hundred men. Yaakov divided up his family into two camps, and then he approached Esav, bowing to the ground seven times.
Esav ran towards Yaakov and hugged and kissed him. Both of them cried.
Esav then saw Yaakov’s wives and children and asked who they were. Yaakov answered, and Leah and her children and Yosef and Rachel came forward and bowed to Esav.
Esav then asked about the large gift Yaakov had sent and why he had sent it. Yaakov explained he wanted to find favor in Esav’s eyes. Esav said “Yesh li rav,” meaning, “I have a lot,” and told Yaakov he could keep what he had. Yaakov insisted that he wanted Esav to take his gift, and so Esav ultimately agreed.
At that point, Esav suggested that Yaakov travel alongside him. But Yaakov demurred, saying that his children were young, and the flocks had young babies, and if he were to drive them too hard, the baby animals would die. Instead, Yaakov suggested that Esav go first, and Yaakov would continue at a slow pace behind him.
Esav offered to leave some of the people who were with him with Yaakov’s camp, possibly to serve as guards and protectors. But Yaakov said it wasn’t necessary.
So Esav continued on his way, while Yaakov continued on his way.
TRANSITION
Yaakov and his entourage came to the city of Shechem. He bought the part of the field where he pitched his tent from the people who lived there.
At this point, Dinah decided to go out and see the daughters of the land. It had been a long and tiring journey and she only had brothers, so she was curious to meet other women. Unfortunately, she did not realize that the prince of the land, whose name was also Shechem, was watching her. Shechem kidnapped her and decided he wanted her to be his wife. First he hurt her, but then he told her loving things and spoke to her heart.
Shechem told his father, Chamor, that he wanted Dinah as a wife.
Yaakov had heard what had happened to Dinah, but he waited to take any decisive action until his sons came in from the field. When Yaakov’s sons did come back to his tent, they burned with anger because they were upset about what had happened to their sister.
Chamor requested that Dinah become Shechem’s wife and he suggested that in general the Bnei Yisrael, sons of Yaakov, should take wives from Chamor’s people. Shechem offered to pay a significant amount of money so that he would have the right to marry Dinah.
Yaakov’s sons answered Shechem and Chamor with cunning. They explained that Jewish men had a bris milah, a sign on their bodies that showed they were Jewish. They explained there was no way Dinah could marry a man who did not have a bris milah. They said that if the people of Shechem were willing to get bris milahs, they would then be willing to intermarry with them.
The men of the city circumcised themselves. On the third day, when all the people of Shechem were weak and in pain, Shimon and Levi took their swords and killed every male in the city. They then found Dinah and took her back. The sons of Yaakov also took the women, children, flocks and donkeys and the wealth of the city for their own.
Yaakov was not happy about this. He was worried that other people in Canaan would band against him and his family and attack him, destroying his family. Yaakov felt he did not have enough people to defend against such an attack.
Shimon and Levi disagreed, saying what they did was justified because no one had the right to simply kidnap Dinah.
TRANSITION
God told Yaakov to go to a place called Beit El and to build an altar to Him there. You may remember that when Yaakov originally dreamed of the ladder, he had promised he would give 1/10th of all of his possessions to God. He had been slow in fulfilling this promise and God was urging him to hurry up.
God confirmed that Yaakov’s new name was Yisrael and that God would give Yaakov the land of Israel.
Unfortunately, after Yaakov and his family traveled onward from that place, Rachel experienced trouble while giving birth to her second child. She gave birth, but it was with difficulty. She named her son ‘Ben Oni,’ son of my pain, but Yaakov called him ‘Binyamin,’ ‘son of my right hand.’ Rachel died in childbirth and was buried on the road to Efrat. We know where her grave is even today, and if you are ever in Israel, you can visit Kever Rachel, the place where she is buried.
After this event, Reuven, Yaakov’s firstborn son, did something wrong. Rashi explains that after Rachel died, Yaakov decided to move into Bilha’s tent. Bilha was Rachel’s maidservant and also Yaakov’s wife. Reuven was upset about his mother Leah’s honor. He felt it was disrespectful for his father to decide to move into a maidservant’s tent instead of his own mother Leah’s tent. Therefore, he moved Yaakov’s bed. Even though Reuven was understandably upset, there were other ways he could have dealt with this situation- including talking to his father about his feelings. Taking the step of actually moving Yaakov’s bed was disrespectful.
TRANSITION
So here’s what we learned this week:
When faced with a crisis, Yaakov kept a level head. He divided his family into two camps so that at least one would survive, prayed to God, and also came up with the strategy of sending Esav a large gift so that Esav wouldn’t be angry with him. From here we learn that when we are in crisis, it’s important to take practical steps to handle it in addition to praying to God for help.
Sometimes a situation may seem terrible but it is actually for the best. Yaakov must have been upset and frightened when a man started wrestling with him. But a commentator named Radak explains that God actually wanted Yaakov to feel empowered, because if he could overcome this angel, he didn’t need to be scared of a human man, his brother Esav. It’s always darkest before the dawn- and then the light shines through.
The change in Yaakov’s name from Yaakov to Yisrael symbolized Esav’s angel affirming that Yaakov did deserve the brachos after all.
Sometimes people don’t make the best decisions when they are in pain. Rachel, for example, named her son ‘Ben Oni,’ son of my pain. Yaakov decided to change that to Binyamin, son of my right hand, or son of my strength. Yaakov understood that it would be hard for a child to constantly be reminded of the fact that they had caused their mother’s death, and so he changed Binyamin’s name to reflect something more positive. Similarly, Reuven made a decision out of pain by choosing to move Yaakov’s bed, when there were better ways that he could have gone about sharing his unhappiness regarding his father’s choice.
If you have any questions or comments on this week’s episode, please email me at parsha4kids (at) gmail.com. That’s parsha the number 4 kids at gmail.com. Good Shabbos!
