Vayetze (He Went Out) B’Resheet (Gen) 28-32
Torah Portion: Vayetze (And He Went Out) B’Resheet (Gen.) 28-32
HafTorah: Hosea 12:13-14:10
Our Torah portion this week covers at least 20 years of the life of Jacob/Ya’acov. We see him literally running for his life from Esau his brother. He went to the land of Abraham and his uncle Laban. He worked for Laban for twenty years. He was tricked into marrying not his first love Rachel, but her older sister Leah. This sets into motion a family struggle that would have many repercussions in Jacob’s life and his descendants. It is interesting to note that the unloved Leah actually birthed six sons to Jacob. Her sons formed the majority of the tribes of Israel. Rachel had two sons, Benjamin and Joseph. Additionally it was Leah who was buried beside Jacob in the tomb in Hebron while Rachel was buried some distance away in Bethlehem. So we see a family in turmoil for a good bit of history, yet from this turmoil G-d brought forth the nation of Israel.