Parashat Va'ye'tze (“and he
departed”) starts out with Ya'acov the fugitive making his way from the land of Yisrael
to Cha'ran (Haran
Thus, although the opening verse of the
Parasha seems to indicate that Ya'acov had in mind a set destiny, his path took
him to a less defined and (quite likely) less desired place. We just noted that
"he came upon a place…” and that “he stopped over for the night, because
the sun had set…" (28:11). The circumstances were imposed upon Ya’acov,
and so he stopped at what was a mere "place" (only later, in verse
19, do we find out that there was a town there). As Ya'acov lay down, using a
stone for a pillow, he had the aforementioned dream, during which Elohim
promised to give him the “a’retz” (“ground, land”) that he
was lying upon (v. 13), and to bring him back to this very “adama” (“soil”, v.
15; see Parashot* B’resheet – 2:6, and Toldot – 25:25). But as if to suggest
that there was a greater dimension (a ‘heavenly’ one) attached to this plot of
land, the promise was given in a most awesome manner, with YHVH being described
as standing above a ladder that connected heaven and earth (while the angels
were ascending and descending, as mentioned). Ya'acov therefore deemed this
place to be the "house of Elohim and the gate of heaven" (28:17).
Yaacov
not only "happened" by this "place," he also used one of
the stones of the "place" for a pillow. He lay down in this
"place" and discovered that YHVH was in the "place," and
that this "place" was truly awesome! Finally, he named the
"place" Bet-El - the "house of Elohim." The Hebrew word for
"place" is “ma'kom,” of the root k.o.m (kof, vav, mem),
meaning to "rise up." This particular “makom” was indeed the
location where Ya'acov's call to rise up was starting to resound! We cannot
leave Yaacov and “makom” without mentioning “y’kum,” which is translated “all
living things,” and is found in B’resheet (Genesis) 7:4, 23, in reference to that
which YHVH created (but which He had also destroyed).
Needing something tangible to mark his
experience, Ya’acov picked up the stone on which he had rested his head, lifted
it up as a column and poured oil on top of it (28:18). After naming the place, he made an oath promising to
make YHVH his Elohim (providing his conditions are met), adding, "This
stone… shall become Elohim's house" (v. 22). Next, we meet the
Patriarch-to-be at his desired destination. Upon seeing his beautiful cousin,
he mustered up an inordinate amount of vigor, which enabled him to roll a large
stone off the "mouth of the well," a feat that ordinarily required
several people to accomplish (ref. 29:8-10). Toward the end of the Parasha (in
31:45-47), the covenant made between Ya'acov and his father-in-law, Lah'van
(Laban), was also marked by a stone, which he again placed uprightly, as well
as by a heap of stones which he named "gal'ed," "a witness
heap." Apparently during that season in Ya’acov’s life the "e'vehn"
(“stone”) became a marker (‘milestone’) of significant events and
experiences.
Many years later, when the elderly Ya'acov
pronounced blessings upon his sons on his deathbed, he gave his favorite one,
Yosef (Joseph), the longest and most complex of the blessings. In the course of
his pronouncement, Ya'acov made mention of the Mighty One of Ya'acov, the Shepherd
and Stone of Israel - E'vehn Yisrael,
all these being titles of YHVH (Gen. 49:24 emphasis and italics added). This is the only time that specific mention
is made of the "Stone of Israel" in the entire Holy Writ, and not
surprisingly it was uttered by the mouth of the one who walked a path made up
of many stepping-stones. Later on in the Word, more stones are being uncovered:
"the stone which the builders rejected, [and which] has become the chief
corner stone" (Ps. 118:22), as well as the "stone to strike and a
rock [tzur] to stumble over" for "the two houses of Israel
Being a member of the family of Be'tu'el
(Bethuel) and Lah'van, Ra’chel's name, not unlike that of her aunt Rivka, is
associated with the family business, as “Ra’chel” means a "ewe."
Ya’acov mentioned Lah'van's ewes and female goats in 31:38, when he lodged his
complaint about the life style and conditions that were imposed on him by his
father-in-law during their twenty-year association. Ewes as “ra'chel” (plural
“r'che'lim”) are mentioned rather rarely in the Tanach, one of those few
instances being Yishayahu 53:7, where the Messiah is described as "an ewe
- 'ra'chel' - before its shearers".
Whereas Ya’acov’s mother Rivka watered the
entourage of Avraham’s servants and livestock, in the present episode by the
well, her son is the one watering the flocks of his uncle (ref. 29:10). Next Ya’acov
proceeds to kiss his cousin. In Hebrew these two actions are described thus: “va’yashk
et hatzon” (and he watered the flocks); “va’yishak… le’Rachel” (“and
he kissed… Rachel”). Noticed the alliteration employed here, hinting at
what will soon transpire in Ya’acov’s life – “watering” (work) in exchange for
“kissing” (marrying the one he loved).
Eleven of Ya'acov's twelve sons
were born in Cha'ran. Leh'ah gave birth to the first four, whose names express
her attempts at appeasing her husband. The firstborn was therefore named - Re’u’ven
- meaning, "behold, a son." Next is Shim'on,
whose name stems from the verb "to hear" (indicating that her
plee for another son has been heard). Following him is Leh'vi, of the
root "to accompany," (being sure now that upon his birth her
husband will ‘accompany’ her). Leh'ah's fourth son is Yehuda, whose name
is related to "giving thanks" or to "praise."
Ra’chel's maid, Bil’ha, whom the former gave to her husband, so that she could
be (literally) built through her, is next in line. Rachel used the same words as Sarah did in
relationship to Hagar (ref. Gen. 16:2. As we saw there in “being built” –
ebaneh – are also imbedded the letters for “ben,” son). Her anguish about being
barren came to the fore in the names that she gave the sons that her maid bore
to Ya’acov. The meaning of the name of the first, Dan, is "judgment,"
or "dispensing justice/vindication." Bilha's second son
was Naphtali, meaning "writhing" or "twisting,"
and by implication "struggle" (denoting Ra’chel's struggle
with her sister). However, Leh'ah was not going to stand by and allow her
sister to be "built up" through her maid (30:3). Thus, she too gave
her maid, Zilpah, to her husband, hoping to have more sons through her. Zilpah
birthed Gad, meaning "fortune" (as in "luck").
However, the pronouncement made there by Leah – “ba-gad” – as she named this one, may also mean “he
betrayed” (perhaps in reference to Ya’acov’s relationship with her). Zilpa’s
next pregnancy yielded Asher, whose name is of the root "happiness."
Leh'ah's words… "I am blessed [or
happy], for the daughters shall call me blessed" (30:13), recall the words
of Miriam (Mary), Yeshua's mother, upon the birth of her Son (ref. Luke
1:48). Leh’ah herself birthed the next one, and named him Yisas'char,
from the root to "hire," since she became pregnant with him
upon "hiring" Ya'acov from Ra’chel for a 'fee,' in the form of a
mandrake plant that was picked by Re'uven. But once the baby was born, Leh'ah
recalled the other meaning of the name, which is "wages," saying:
"Elohim has given me my wages, because I gave my maid to my husband"
(30:18). Leh'ah's sixth son was Z'vulun, whose name stems from the rare
“zeved,” which means "endowment or gift.” But
Leah did not stop there, she said, “now will my husband dwell with me” (30:20).
“Dwell” here is “yizbeleni,” which can also mean “honor me.” Thus this son’s name, as is the case with
some of his siblings’ names, has a twofold meaning, in spite of the root of the
words not being identical. Thus, it is not the grammatical accuracy which is
prominent, but rather associative thinking which is so prevalent in the
Biblical text (and the Hebraic mindset).
After Dina's birth (whose name, like Dan’s,
means "judgment" or "justice"), Ra’chel's desire was
granted her, and she too bore a son. "Elohim has taken away (a'saf)
my reproach, [and] she named him Yosef, saying, 'may YHVH add (yosef)
to me another son'" (v. 23, 24 emphasis added). While Ra’chel was
contemplating how her shame and disgrace were being removed by giving birth,
she was also expressing hope that this one, who opened up her womb, will serve
as a signal for more sons to follow. The two words, “asaf” (a.s.f., alef,
samech, fey), here "take away" while literally "to gather,"
and “yasaf” (y.s.f., yod, samech, fey) "to add" and "to
repeat" are related both in sound and meaning. When looking down the road
of history these two words become prophetically significant. Yosef certainly
was "added to" by his brother Binyamin (Benjamin), and also by
receiving a double portion among the tribes of Yisrael when each of his sons
became a tribe in his own right. Prophecy predicts the ingathering of the House
of Yosef (and "his companions") at a future day, thus fulfilling the
second meaning of his name.
The two 'camps' of Ya'acov's descendants are
alluded to at the end of the Parasha. In 32:1-2 Ya'acov, as we pointed out
before, met the angels or messengers of YHVH, upon whose sight he exclaimed:
"This is the camp [or encampment] of Elohim,’ and he named the place
Ma'cha'na'yim." “Ma'cha'na'yim” is a plural form of “ma'cha'neh,”
meaning “camp.” The particular ending, as attached here to the noun,
renders the camp a "multiple" one, or a "double camp." What did Ya'acov see when he looked at this
‘band of angels’? What was it about them that caused him to refer to a
"camp" or to an "encampment," and why a double, or a
multiple, one?
In next week's Parasha we will see how, for
strategic reasons, Ya'acov will divide up his family into two companies
(literally “camps”), before going to meet his brother Esav. Was the idea
already brewing in his mind when he saw the angels/messengers, and thus he
projected duality onto their "camp"? Or was it the messengers
from YHVH who advised him to so divide up his family before the crucial
meeting? Perhaps, through something they said or did, he learned about the two
camps that his family was destined to be divided into sometime in the future.
Is there a direct connection between the angels who were ascending and
descending the ladder, when he first departed from the land of Yisrael
We cannot leave our Parasha without
examining the verb “to steal,” which recurs eight times in chapter 31, and is
used (in Hebrew) in a number of ways. In verse 19 we learn that Ra’chel stole
the household idols, and immediately following that it says: “and Jacob stole
away,” literally “stole the heart” (of Laban). The latter accused his nephew of
“stealing away,” with once again the literal rendering being “stealing my
heart,” then of “stealing away” – literally “stealing me,” and what’s more, of
“stealing the household idols” (vs. 26, 27, 30). In Ya’acov’s retort against
those accusations, he said, among other things: “These twenty years I have been
with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and
I have not eaten the rams of your flock.
That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of
it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night”
(vs. 38-39 italics added). However, the Hebrew rendering of the last expression
is: “I was stolen by day and stolen by night” – “ganov gunavti” (g.n.v,
gimmel, noon, bet/vet), describing Ya’acov’s state of vulnerability while with
his employer. Many years later, his favorite son, Yosef, will repeat these very
words while in the Egyptian jail: "For indeed I was stolen away – ganov
gunavti - from the land of the Hebrews” (Gen. 40:15).
*Parashot, plural of “Parasha”
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