Sefaria Weekly Parashah: Wrestling, reconciliation, and transformation
Sefaria Weekly Parashah: Wrestling, reconciliation, and transformation וישלח VAYISHLACH Hi Ariel, In last week’s Torah portion, Jacob left his home of Canaan and settled in Haran, where he married Leah and Rachel and had most of his children. The story of Jacob and his family continues this week with Parashat Vayishlach, meaning “he sent.” לֹא יַעֲקֹב יֵאָמֵר עוֹד שִׁמְךָ כִּי אִם־יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי־שָׂרִיתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִים וְעִם־אֲנָשִׁים וַתּוּכָל׃ Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human, and have prevailed. Genesis 32:29 In Vayishlach, Jacob journeys back to Canaan for a reconciliation with his brother Esau. On the way, he finds himself wrestling with a figure, commonly understood as an angel. This night-long encounter signals a transformation in Jacob, marked by his renaming as Israel. The parashah ends with the death of Rachel as she gives birth to Jacob’s youngest chi