Parashat Va'ye'tze
(“and he departed”) starts out with Ya'acov the fugitive making his way
from the
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). 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,
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
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).
But prior to being united
with his beloved, Ya’acov was ‘blinded’ into marrying her older sister, whose
eyes are described as “delicate” (“ra’kot” in Hebrew). As we remember Ya’acov
himself took advantage of his father’s blindness to ‘take away the birthright
blessing’ from Esav (ref. 27:36), the word for birthright being “b’chora” (as
we saw last week). Upon Ya’acov lodging a complaint with his father in law,
Lavan, as to having been cheated, the latter retorts by saying: “"It is
not the practice in our place, to marry off the younger before the first-born –
b’chira” (29:36). There events and the terms used in both episodes form quite a
tit-for-tat symmetry. But the theme of blindness and firstborn doesn’t end
there. When time came for Ya’acov to bless his progeny, starting with his
choice of Ephraim and Mensahe, his son Yoseph was quite taken aback when he saw
his, now blind, father switching the places of the grandsons. This time,
however, impairment of sight did not get in the way, and the elderly Patriarch
knew exactly who was in front of him and what he was about to bequeath on each
one (ref. chapter 48).
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 plea for another son has been heard by Elohim). 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
was 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
always the grammatical accuracy which is prominent, as is evident in this
narrative, but rather associative thinking, being os often prevalent in the
Biblical text (and the Hebraic mindset).
After Leh’ah gave birth to Dinah
(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 (see Ez. 37:19).
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, meets the angels or messengers of YHVH, upon
whose sight he exclaims: "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 to 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 that in the
future his family would divide up into two camps. Is there a direct connection
between the angels who were ascending and descending the ladder, when he first
departed from the
We cannot leave our Parasha
without examining the verb “to steal” – which occurs 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).
Stealing and the fear of
such are generally connected to the accumulation and protection of wealth and
property. Verse
*Parashot, plural for “Parasha” (while
“Parashat” is
“Parasha of…”)
