Synopsis of Vayishlach

And He Sent
Genesis/Bᵊreishiyth 32:4-36:43

Aliyah One—Genesis/Bᵊreishiyth 32:4-13

• Jacob/Ya’aqov sends messengers to Esav

• Ya’aqov sends gifts of livestock with them for Esav
• The messengers return to him with the news that Esav is coming to meet him with 400
men/soldiers.
• He splits his group into two groups in anticipation of an attack
• He prays to The Almighty for safety
• He sets camp and prepares more gifts for Esav

Aliyah Two——Genesis/Bᵊreishiyth 32:14-30

• He sends his servants ahead with the gifts for Esav

• He instructs the servants to go in separate groups with a message meant to appease Esav
• He stays behind with his wife and children
• He takes his wives and children across the Wadi Yabbōq
• Ya’aqov wrestles with a man/angel until dawn
• There is a three-way word play verse 25 – Ya'aqov and the wadi share the same letters in
Hebrew (yud, bet, and qoph; Ya’aqov has an added ayin). The word for “and there wrestled” is
vaiyeiavaq (similar sound but different root). It carries the idea of getting dusty.
• Ya’aqov is touched/struck in the top of his leg in the joint by the man
• Ya’aqov and the man continue to wrestle
• At dawn, the man tells Ya’aqov to let him go
• Ya’aqov refuses unless the man blesses him
• The man asks Ya’aqov his name
• Ya’aqov gives his name
• The man tells Ya’aqov his name is being changed to Yisrael because he has successfully wrestled
with God and man
• Ya’aqov names the place Pᵊniel because he has seen the face (been in the presence of) elohim
and lived

Aliyah Three—Genesis/Bᵊreishiyth 32:31-33:5

• Ya’aqov limps back across the Yabboq

• An editor’s note is added to explain this is the reason Ben Yisrael no longer eat the
sinew/tendon on the hip
• Ya’aqov looks up and sees Esav approaching
 • He responds by separating his wives and children into separate groups
• He puts Zilpah and Bilhah, with their children, in the lead. Leah and her children come next
followed by Rachel and Yoseiph.
• Ya’aqov goes first and greets Esav by bowing seven times as he approaches Esav. This is a sign of
great honor as it is how one approached a king.
• Esav runs to meet Ya’aqov
• Their reunion is very emotional
• Over the word “and he kissed him” the scrolls have six dots, one over each letter. Some say this
means Esav bit Ya’aqov violently. The true meaning seems to be more that this word causes
trouble with the sages and is marked as maybe not belonging in the text. There are other
instances of this type of marking in the Torah.
• Esav asks about Ya’aqov’s women and children
• Ya’aqov tells him they are his family

Aliyah Four—Genesis/Bᵊreishiyth 33:6-20

• Zilpah, Bilhah, Leah, and Rachel come forward to greet Esav, bowing before him in respect
• Esav questions Ya’aqov why he has sent all the livestock to him. Ya’aqov says they are gifts for
him in hopes that Esav will be gracious and forgiving. Ya’aqov repeatedly calls Esav his master
and himself Esav’s servant.
• Esav tells Ya’aqov he has enough wealth
• Ya’aqov prevails upon Esav to accept his gift
• Verse 10 wording? Ya’aqov is very happy to once again see Esav, especially since he has shown
kindness and not killed him
• Esav suggests that they go on their way together, offering to go in the lead.
• Ya’aqov declines the offer
• Esav then suggests he leave some of his soldiers/men with Ya’aqov. Ya’aqov says there is no
need for that and calls upon the kindness of Esav
• Esav heads back to Seir while Ya’aqov travels to Succoth instead of going to Esav in Seir
• Ya’aqov ends up settling in Shechem
• Ya’aqov erects an altar to Yah in Shechem, calling it El Elohei Yisrael

Aliyah Five—Genesis/Bᵊreishiyth 34:1-35:11

• Dinah goes to visit the young women of Shechem

• Shechem sees Dinah and falls in love with her. He takes Dinah and defiles her
• He asks his father, Chamor, to ask Ya’aqov to allow him to marry Dinah
• Y'aqov hears of the defilement of Dinah by Shechem
• The sons of Ya’aqov learn of their sister’s defilement and go to meet Shechem and Chamor
• Chamor asks that Shechem be allowed to marry Dinah
• He asks the sons of Ya’aqov to set the terms
• Chamor and Shechem agree to the terms put forward by the sons of Ya’aqov
• The sons of Ya’aqov act treacherously to the inhabitants of Shechem
• Simeon and Levi kill the inhabitants of Shechem and take their sister
• The rest of the sons plundered the town
 • Ya’aqov is angry with Simeon and Levi, fearing for his family’s safety
• Simeon and Levi attempt to justify their actions
• God instructs Ya’aqov to leave Shechem and go to Beit El and make Him an altar
• Ya’aqov instructs his family to get rid of their idols and prepare to meet God
• They head to Beit El as instructed
• God protects Ya’aqov from his enemies
• Ya’aqov builds the altar and calls it El Beit El
• Deborah, the nurse of Rivkah dies and is buried under the oak tree at Beit El
• The place is called Allon Bacuth (Oak of weeping)
• God appears once again unto Ya’aqov at Padan Aram
• He blesses Ya’aqov and changes his name to Yisrael
• God identifies himself as El Shaddai (El Most Powerful)
• He promises Yisrael that he will become a great multiplicity of nations and that his descendants
will have kings among them

Aliyah Six—Genesis/Bᵊreishiyth 35:12-36:19

• God continues blessing Yisrael with the promises given to Avraham and Yitzchaq
• Ya’aqov builds another altar to God and calls it Beit El
• Ya’aqov and his family continue journeying on
• As they approached Ephrath (Beit Lechem), Rachel goes into labor
• As Rachel is dying, she names her son Ben Oni “son of my sorrow”
• Ya’aqov names him Ben Yamin “son of my right hand”
• Rachel is buried in Beit Lechem
• Ya’aqov sets a pillar/monument on Rachel’s gravesite
• Ya’aqov journeys and dwells beyond Migdal-Edar
• Reuven lays with Bilhah
• Children of Ya’aqov listed with their mothers
• Ya’aqov goes to visit his father in Mamre
• Ya’aqov dies at 180-years old
• Ya’aqov and Esav bury their father
• The descendants of Esav are listed

Aliyah Seven—Genesis/Bᵊreishiyth 36:20-43

• The descendants of Seir are listed