Parashat Vayishlach 5767/2006
EJD
The weekly reading for the week of 18 Kislev, 5767 - December 9, 2006 Parashah: Vayishlach Genesis 32:3(4) to 36:43; Haftarah: Hosea 11:7-12:12(11) (Ashkenazim) Obadiah 1:1-21 (Sephardim); Mei Kituvim: 2 Chronicles 25:1-28; Brit Chadashah: Colossians 1:11-22
Parashah Lite Edition (Focuses on one verse or idea anywhere in the readings.)
The Bagel: Outnumbered.
"And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him" (Genesis 33:1).
Jacob was outnumbered. One Jacob vs. one Esau, plus 400 men. It is a 401 to 1 ratio. Jacob should have been beat. But G-d! This was the difference. It was Esau who was really outnumbered, just on angelic count alone! Who knows the exact number of the myriads of angels? It doesn't matter, they certainly exceed the four hundred men. Of course, Adonay doesn't need the assistance of angels to beat Esau. But rather than get into a numbers' game, G-d does it another way. He shows His might through the weakness of just one man.
May we have the same faith as Jacob that preserved the birthright by taking it out of Esau's hand, by his marrying into a g-dly line, by wrestling with the Man, and by his facing Esau alone. Jacob lived up to his name - for he pursued justice and righteousness, divine righteousness, with a grabbing determination. It is no wonder that the messianic kingdom is built on the house of Jacob: "And he (Yeshua) shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever...." (Luke 1:33).
Cream Cheese: Is it just one man or one just man?
Unless noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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