Torah Portion
Learning To Find
The Peace Of Shabbat
-
Shabbat Vayishlach:
Genesis 32:4-36:43;
Hosea 11:742:12.
ur Torah portion for this
Shabbat is a familiar story.
Jacob, having left his father-
in-law's house, prepares for an
encounter with his brother Esau, who
had sworn to kill him.
"Jacob was left alone," the narrative
says, but we read of a "wrestling match"
that lasted until the break of dawn.
Jacob emerges from the experience with
a limp and a new name, "Israel."
And then, after the reconciliation
between brothers, Jacob continues on
his journey, and arrives at his destination
shalem — whole.
My teacher, Prof. Larry Hoffman, has
written that Jacob is the easiest of the
three patriarchs with whom we can
identify in our lives. He is the most
human and the
most instructive;
perhaps that is why
he is "Israel."
Abraham's deeds,
for example, are
too monumental
for us to grasp:
Not only does he
(and his wife and
family) pick up
RABBI
and leave home to
NORMAN T.
start anew, but he
ROMAN
argues directly
Special to The
with God to save
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innocent lives and
almost sacrifices his own son!
Jacob, on the other hand, is painfully
human. His experiences include sibling
rivalry, trickery as both perpetrator and
victim, opportunities for personal suc-
cess mixed with tragedies in the family.
Until one day evaluating everything in
his life, "Jacob is left alone." He has an
all-night wrestling match (was it with
his own self?) and soon thereafter, con-
tinues on his life-journey "whole."
How does Jacob move from being
alone to a state of wholeness? How do
we? Playing on the close connection
between the Hebrew words "shalem"
and "shalom," Rashi and other com-
mentators teach that Jacob can arrive at
his destination with wholeness because
of three steps (each an interpretation of
the term "shalem") . He becomes
healthy (enjoying a r:fitah sMeimah — a
Norman T. Roman is rabbi of Temple
Kol Ami.
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The Detroit Jewish News
12/4
1998
Detroit Jewish News
59