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2014-2015 CYCLE
P165 Parash 07 Vayeitzei (He went out) B’resheet/Genesis 28:10-32:3
Focus 29-30
Synopsis
– Ya’akov/Jacob leaves
his hometown
Be'er
Sheva
and journeys to Charan. On the way, he encounters "the place" and
sleeps there, dreaming of a ladder connecting heaven and earth, with
angels climbing and descending on it; God appears and promises that the land
upon which he lies will be given to his descendents. In the morning, Ya’akov/Jacob
raises the stone on which he laid his head as an altar and monument,
pledging that it will be made the house of God. In Charan, Ya’akov/Jacob
stays with and works for his uncle Lavan, tending Lavan/Laban's sheep. Lavan/Laban
agrees to give him his younger daughter Rachel -- whom Ya’akov/Jacob
loves -- in marriage, in return for seven years' labor. But on the wedding
night, Lavan gives him his elder daughter, Leah, instead -- a deception
Ya’akov discovers only in the morning. Ya’akov marries Rachel, too, a week
later, after agreeing to work another seven years for Lavan. Leah gives
birth to six sons – Re’uvan/Reuben, Shim’on/Shimon, Levi, Yehudah/Judah,
Yissakhar/Issachar and Z’vulan/Zebulun -- and a daughter, Dinah, while
Rachel remains barren. Rachel gives Ya’akov her handmaid, Bilhah, as a
wife to bear children in her stead, and two more sons, Dan and Naftali/Naphtali,
are born. Leah does the same with her handmaid, Zilpah, who gives birth
to Gad and Asher. Finally, Rachel's prayers are answered and she gives birth to
Yoseph/Joseph. Ya’akov has now been in Charan for fourteen years and
wishes to return home, but Lavan persuades him to remain, now offering him
sheep in return for his labor. Jacob prospers, despite Lavan's repeated
attempts to swindle him. After six years, Jacob leaves Charan in stealth,
fearing that Lavan would prevent him from leaving with the family and property
for which he labored. Lavan pursues Ya’akov, but is warned by God in a dream not
to harm him. Lavan and Jacob make a pact on Mount Gal-Ed, attested to by
a pile of stones, and Ya’akov proceeds to the Holy Land, where he is met by
angels.
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