Join Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship for a two-part look at parsha “Vayishlach,” Genesis 32:4 through chapter 36) the story of Yakov/Jacob as he finally returns to Beit El, and a ‘reunion’ with his estranged brother, Esau.

The Erev Shabbat reading:

That story has lessons enough, but there is an extended genealogy of Esau’s side of the family that might seem out of place, given the reminder that “Yakov I have loved, Esau I have hated,” says YHVH. And there are certainly a number of prophecies – arguably yet to be fulfilled – about the ultimate demise of the descendants of that line.

So who, or what, is Esau? As Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa documents in the midrash, there are no shortages of opinions on that score. But we have certainly been warned.

The combined two-part reading and Sabbath midrash: