Vayishlach picks up where Vayetze left off: Jacob turns homeward and sends messengers to Esau, splitting his camp, arranging gifts, and praying. Night brings a wrestling—man, angel, or inner shadow—after which he limps away blessed and renamed Israel. “Katonti mikol hachasadim u’mikol ha’emet… ata hayiti lishnei machanot”: humility before kindness and truth, and the burden of becoming “two camps.” The reunion with Esau lands between embrace and careful distance; in Shechem, Dinah’s story forces hard questions about power, consent, justice, and vengeance. The road threads Bethel’s altar, Rachel’s death and Benjamin’s birth, and Isaac’s burial—losses and landmarks that root a family in a land.

We explore:

• Vayishlach as Vayetze’s counterpoint: diaspora skills brought back home

• “Katonti” & “I have become two camps”: holding chesed and din without collapse

• The night struggle: dream, angel, or shadow self—and why the blessing comes with a limp and a new name

• Threefold preparation for danger: gift, defense, prayer (and why Jacob uses all three)

• The gift by numbers: 200 she-goats/20 he-goats, 200 ewes/20 rams, 30 nursing camels, 40 cows/10 bulls, 20 she-donkeys/10 males—real stockmanship and planned continuity

• Esau and Jacob: bows, tears, parting paths—appeasement, detente, or peace?

• Dinah in Shechem: reading Rashi and Malbim side-by-side; outrage, honor, and the brothers’ raid

• Returning to Bethel; Rachel’s grave on the road; Isaac’s burial—altars and grief that anchor the covenant

Parshat Vayishlach 5786

Torah: Genesis 32:4–36:43 | Haftarah: Obadiah 1:1–21

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