How could Yaakov Avinu go out at night?

A few days ago, in daf yomi (Chullin 91a), we saw that one a Torah scholar should not go out alone at night, and that this is derived from the case of Yaakov, who went out alone after his small vessels at night.

(בראשית לב, כה) ויאבק איש עמו עד עלות השחר אמר רבי יצחק מכאן לת"ח שלא יצא יחידי בלילה

As Rashi explains, they wrestled until dawn, showing that mazikin cannot harm during the day, such that he would not need shemira during the day.

מדקאמר עד עלות השחר - שמע מינה לא ניתנה רשות למזיק להזיק ביום לפיכך לא הוצרך שמירה:
מכאן לתלמיד חכם כו' - שהרי יעקב נשאר יחידי והוזק:

Someone in the shiur asked how Yaakov could go out alone at night. After all, the avot kept the entire Torah. (And, I would add, the gemara just above sort-of endorsed this idea, stating that Yosef in disguyise commanded that his brothers be able to see the bet hashechita as well as that the gid hanasheh was removed.) How could Yaakov go out alone at night, when the gemara says that a Talmid Chacham should not go out at night?

My answer is this: Where is this halacha derived from, if not this very incident! What if Yaakov tried to keep this halachah, and did not go out at night? Then, the incident would not have happened and the gemara could not have derived the halachah. In which case, Yaakov would not have known not to go alone out at night.

More than that, not going out alone at night would have created a temporal paradox which could have destroyed the entire universe! Therefore, Yaakov had no choice but to go out alone at night and subject himself to danger.

Vayishlach thoughts

Yaakov's Gift of Camels

Yaakov sends many different species as a gift to Esav (Bereishis 32:15-16), and for each of them, sends males and females. The exception is camels, where he sends nursing camels and their young.

גְּמַלִּים מֵינִיקוֹת וּבְנֵיהֶם שְׁלשִׁים פָּרוֹת אַרְבָּעִים וּפָרִים עֲשָׂרָה אֲתֹנֹת עֶשְׂרִים וַעְיָרִם עֲשָׂרָה:

It is unclear why camels are the exception. Rashi explains the peshat, that it means the camel calves with them, but also brings a midrashic understanding* (from Bereishis Rabba 76:7) that it refers to the male counterparts of the female camels. The Torah is discreet specifically by camels and not by any of the other species listed because the camel's modesty in intercourse. Thus, Rashi writes:

גמלים מיניקות שלשים: ובניהם עמהם. ומדרש אגדה ובניהם בנאיהם, זכר כנגד נקבה, ולפי שצנוע בתשמיש לא פרסמו הכתוב:

I would say that the camel calves are deliberate. That camels were used, at this early point in their domestication**, primarily to give milk. Thus female nursing camels were the gift. But a nursing camel has to suckle her young, or else it will stop producing milk***. That is why the female nursing camels, specifically, needed to be accompanied by their young.

When Yitzchak is weaned, we read (Bereishis 21:8):

וַיִּגְדַּל הַיֶּלֶד וַיִּגָּמַל

I say that vayigmal is the word used for "weaned" because that is the time he transfers from drinking human milk to drinking camel milk. Or simply because of the association of camels with milk. Camel milk is the popular milk choice for nomads in the wilderness.

Footnotes:
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* Also see Rashi on pasuk 15, when talking about male : female ratio, in which a 1:1 ration for camels is given. This Rashi, citing the same siman of midrash, as well, assumes that the "וּבְנֵיהֶם " are rather בַּנָאֵיהֶם.

** Many modern scholars say the Torah is anachronistic when it comes to camels, since they hadn't been widely domesticated yet. This claim can be questioned, based on various findings, and how one interprets the evidence. But, for instance, "In a Sumerian text from Nippur (19th Century B.C.), we find reference to camels’ milk, which seems to allude to some domestication of the animal."
https://www.westernseminary.edu/…/5-things-you-need-to-kno…/

*** "Their thirteen-month gestation period must conclude in a live birth followed by suckling, else the female camel will stop producing milk. Unlike a dairy cow which is parted from her calf when it is born and then gives milk for six to nine months, a camel can share her milk with the farmer and her calf for twelve to eighteen months." See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_milk

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Daf Yomi question, based on the Mishna in today's daf (Bava Metzia 80a, towards the bottom):

If one rented a donkey to transport wheat, and instead he transported buckwheat, and an injury results, is he liable?

Do we say that it is kasha ke-masuy?

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The small bottles

That Yaakov went back for small bottles, and was therefore alone to grapple with the angel, is not explicit in the pesukim. It is Rashi citing the midrash found in Bereishit Rabba 77:2 and Chullin 91a.

http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/8227…

What the pesukim themselves say is:
כד וַיִּקָּחֵם וַיַּעֲבִרֵם אֶת הַנָּחַל וַיַּעֲבֵר אֶת אֲשֶׁר לוֹ:
כה וַיִּוָּתֵר יַעֲקֹב לְבַדּוֹ וַיֵּאָבֵק אִישׁ עִמּוֹ עַד עֲלוֹת הַשָּׁחַר:
"And he took them [namely, his family] and brought them across the stream, and he took across what was his.
And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn."

It is a statement in Chullin 91a that:
https://he.wikisource.org/…/%D7%97%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9F_…

ויותר יעקב לבדו אמר רבי אלעזר שנשתייר על פכין קטנים מכאן לצדיקים שחביב עליהם ממונם יותר מגופם וכל כך למה לפי שאין פושטין ידיהן בגזל
"And Yaakov was left alone - Rabbi Eleazar said: that he remained because of the small vessels. From here that the money of the righteous is dearer to them than their bodies. And to such an extent, why? Because they don't stretch their hands forth in theft."

What is the derivation? The derasha seems to sit on the words:
וַיִּוָּתֵר יַעֲקֹב לְבַדּוֹ
in which case it could be (re-)interpreted as something was left over to Yaakov alone. The prior pasuk had said that he had brought over his family and all his possessions. So this is something which was left over, but only from the perspective of a tzaddik like Yaakov. This then works well with the midrashic talk about possessions specifically of the righteous.

That strikes me as the most likely derash. Alternatively, we can go back a bit and try to darshen the "et" in:
וַיַּעֲבֵר אֶת אֲשֶׁר לוֹ
as something extraneous, additional, to all that he had. And these would be the pachim ketanim.

Chanukkah tie-in: The pachim ketanim and the pach shemen.

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Mamash Malachim

In pashas Vayishlach, Yaakov sends Malachim. Are these malachim angels or human messengers? This is actually a question about a good many instances of "malach" throughout Tanach. (Indeed, even where Malach Elokim is used, as Ralbag will interpret that as human prophetic messenger.)

A famous Rashi at the start of our parsha cites one of two opinions in Bereishis Rabba (75:4), that these are actual angels. The other position in the midrash is that these are human messengers (1). Onkelos is fairly clear that these are humans, as he translates malachim as izgadin, while two pesukim back, at the end of parshas Vayeitzei, he translated the malachei Elokim as malachaya.

We get very different pictures about Yaakov power in the situation. Does he operate like other humans, subject to derech hateva, and is thus clearly vulnerable? Does he have actual heavenly angels at his command, which take not only God's instruction but his own? (Thus, midrash having the various groups of angels beating up Esav.)

Aside from our own inclinations as to how to answer the above question, as we try to assess the peshat of the pasuk, we have to decide how much context weighs in. In the preceding pesukim, Yaakov encountered two camps of malachei Elokim which, Ralbag aside, is easy to see as actual angels. And these may be the same angels he saw ascending and descending in his dream. If peshat places angels there, and we are not going to divide between narrative threads, then should we NOT be inclined to interpret the malachim as the malachim which Yaakov has just encountered and are, in some way (as per the dream), at his disposal. And in the same parsha, Yaakov grapples with an angel. On the flip side of this, and putting midrashic expectations aside, Esav isn't shocked to recieve these angels, and who says that the angels would follow Yaakov's instructions as if they are his servants? We would expect him to send humans, and malachim literally means messengers. Perhaps we shouldn't be overly swayed by the context, and also shouldn't take the global popular interpretation (since that is how we most often will encounter it) of malach as angel.

Footnotes:
(1) מלאכים
אלו שלוחי בשר ודם.

רבנן אמרי:
מלאכים ממש.

Why does Yaakov privately refer to Esav as his master?

The Brisker Rov,
Rabbi Yitzchok Zev
HaLevi Soloveitchik

The Brisker Rov has an interesting analysis of Yaakov's instructions to his servants / address to Esav, where Yaakov says כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו. This analysis differs, but falls in line, with something I heard from Dr. Steiner about the role of this phrase.










We begin with the pasuk in Vayishlach, in Bereishit 32:5:

And he commanded them, saying, "So shall you say to my master to Esau, 'Thus said your servant Jacob, "I have sojourned with Laban, and I have tarried until now.

ה. וַיְצַו אֹתָם לֵאמֹר כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו כֹּה אָמַר עַבְדְּךָ יַעֲקֹב עִם לָבָן גַּרְתִּי וָאֵחַר עַד עָתָּה:

Yaakov not only refers to himself as a servant within this text to be quoted to Esav. He also, in speaking to his own messengers, refers to Esav as his master. This is not something for Esav's ears, and yet he places Esav as his master.

The Brisker Rov writes, in Chiddushei HaGriz:

"וַיְצַו אֹתָם לֵאמֹר כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו כֹּה אָמַר עַבְדְּךָ יַעֲקֹב -- And this requires explanation, why it states כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו. This was, after all, what he said to his messengers, so why should he say "to my master?!" And what seems is that the word לֵאמֹר requires further explanation, for its meaning it "say to them", and if so, why should any further כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן etc. be necessary?! Didn't he already say 'say to him', when he said לֵאמֹר? And the conclusion compelled by this analysis is that they need to say to Esav as well the words "כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן etc.", that he said to them that they should say to Esav. For so did he say to them "כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו". And therefore he said לַאדֹנִי, since they said this to Esav, as I wrote."

This is a nice analysis, whose conclusion -- that לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו was part of the message related to Esav -- I have encountered elsewhere with some very good backup. I'll get to that in a minute.

However, I am not sure I agree with the details of the Brisker Rov's analysis. Specifically, I would argue that לֵאמֹר actually means "as follows", not (a command) "to say". It is true that Chazal often take לֵאמֹר -- perhaps midrashically -- to mean a command to say to others. (See e.g. Rashi on Vayikra 1:1) Thus, the famous vayomer Hashem el Moshe leimor is a command by Hashem that Moshe should say to others. And thus, when that is followed by a further command to say, then it is sometimes cause for midrashic discussion.

But while that is an established way of interpreting leimor, I would argue that it means "as follows". If so, וַיְצַו אֹתָם לֵאמֹר means that Yaakov instructed the messengers as follows, and there is no repetition! If so, כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן can readily be his instruction to his servants, rather than a quoted phrase to repeat to Esav. As to why Yaakov would use the term "my master" to his servants, we could answer that he was indeed assuming a subservient role in his placation of Esav, and this was getting into character; or a way of impressing this idea upon the messengers who were to believe and deliver the message.

However, in Dr. Richard Steiner's class -- I think it was in Galilean Aramaic, where we saw the Bereishit Rabba in question -- he presented us with a solution to this, along similar lines. That is, that לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו was part of the words quoted to Esav. I wrote this up in greater detail here, and used it to react to a claim by Speiser that this idea was against the trup and Chazal.

The idea is that there is a "routine epistolary formula", such as in Akkadian: to my lord X say, thus (speaks) your servant Y. And we see an instance of this in Ezra 4:11:

יא דְּנָה֙ פַּרְשֶׁ֣גֶן אִגַּרְתָּ֔א דִּ֚י שְׁלַ֣חוּ עֲל֔וֹהִי עַל־אַרְתַּחְשַׁ֖שְׂתְּא מַלְכָּ֑א עבדיך (עַבְדָ֛ךְ) אֱנָ֥שׁ עֲבַֽר־נַהֲרָ֖ה וּכְעֶֽנֶת׃

And that this in Vayishlach was an epistolary formula was known to Yehuda Nesia, as the following Midrash Rabba makes clear (for those read the midrash and who also recognize the epistolary formula from elsewhere):

מדרש רבה פרשה ע"ה

ה וַיְצַו אֹתָם, לֵאמֹר, כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן, לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו
רבינו אמר לרבי אפס
כתוב חד אגרא מן שמי למרן מלכא אנטונינוס
קם וכתב
מן יהודה נשיאה למרן מלכא אנטונינוס
נסבה וקרייה וקרעיה
אמר ליה כתוב
מן עבדך יהודה למרן מלכא אנטונינוס
אמר ליה רבי מפני מה אתה מבזה על כבודך?
אמר ליה מה אנא טב מן סבי?!
לא כך אמר
כֹּה אָמַר, עַבְדְּךָ יַעֲקֹב

'And he commanded them saying, so say to my lord Esav'
Rabbenu said to Rabbi Apas:
'Write a letter from me (lit. from my name) to my master the king Antoninus.'
He (R Apas) got up and wrote: From Yehuda Nesia (the Prince) to our master the king Antoninus.
He (Yehuda Nesia) got up and read it and tore it up.
He (Yehuda Nesia) said 'Write: From your servant Yehuda to our master the king Antoninus.'
He (R Apas) said, 'Rebbi, for what cause do you degrade your honor?'
He (Yehuda Nesia) said to him, 'What, am I better than my ancestor?! Does it not say: So says your servant Yaakov?'

One could perhaps argue whether כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן should be placed as part of the quote or not, but certainly לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו should.

Two takes on Vateitzei Dinah

The pasuk in Vayishlach reads:

א  וַתֵּצֵא דִינָה בַּת-לֵאָה, אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה לְיַעֲקֹב, לִרְאוֹת, בִּבְנוֹת הָאָרֶץ.

1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

Regarding וַתֵּצֵא דִינָה, we see that she is a yatzanit, just like her father Yaakov, about whom was said:

י  וַיֵּצֵא יַעֲקֹב, מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע; וַיֵּלֶךְ, חָרָנָה.

10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran.

:-)

But the Midrash Rabba does make the link to Leah's behavior, going out into the sadeh to seek out Yaakov, pointing to the pasuk in Yechezkel 16:

מד  הִנֵּה, כָּל-הַמֹּשֵׁל, עָלַיִךְ יִמְשֹׁל, לֵאמֹר:  כְּאִמָּה, בִּתָּהּ.

44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying: As the mother, so her daughter.

and pointing to Leah's seeking out of Yaakov in Bereishit 30:

טז  וַיָּבֹא יַעֲקֹב מִן-הַשָּׂדֶה, בָּעֶרֶב, וַתֵּצֵא לֵאָה לִקְרָאתוֹ וַתֹּאמֶר אֵלַי תָּבוֹא, כִּי שָׂכֹר שְׂכַרְתִּיךָ בְּדוּדָאֵי בְּנִי; וַיִּשְׁכַּב עִמָּהּ, בַּלַּיְלָה הוּא.

16 And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said: 'Thou must come in unto me; for I have surely hired thee with my son's mandrakes.' And he lay with her that night.

Thus, for example:
אמר לו ריש לקיש:עד כדון לא חסילית מן מפייסיה על הדא, ואתה מייתי לן אוחרי?
עיקרו של דבר הנה כל המושל מהו? אמר לו: לית תורתא ענישא, עד דברתה בעיטא, לית אתתא זניא, עד דברתה זניא. 
אמרו ליה: א"כ לאה אמנו זונה היתה?! 
אמר להם: ותצא לאה לקראתו וגו', יצאת מקושטת כזונה, לפיכך, ותצא דינה בת לאה. 

This is based on the mention of bat Leah in וַתֵּצֵא דִינָה בַּת-לֵאָה, and probably as well as that we have these words וַתֵּצֵא... לֵאָה in Bereishit 30.

On the other hand, another midrash in Midrash Rabba casts this upon Yaakov:

ויקם בלילה הוא ויקח את שתי נשיו ואת שתי שפחותיו וגו' ודינה היכן היא? נתנה בתיבה ונעל בפניה. 
אמר: הרשע הזה עינו רמה היא, שלא יתלה עיניו ויראה אותה ויקח אותה ממני. 

ר' הונא בשם ר' אבא הכהן ברדלא אמר:אמר לו הקב"ה: (שם ו) למס מרעהו חסד,מנעת מרעך חסד, מנעת חסדך מן אחוך, דאלו איתנסיבת לגברא לא זינתה. בתמיה. 
לא בקשת להשיאה למהול, הרי היא נשאת לערל. 
לא בקשת להשיאה דרך היתר, הרי נשאת דרך איסור, הה"ד: (בראשית לד) ותצא דינה בת לאה. 

Since Dinah is not mentioned among those who met Esav, the midrashist assumes that she was hidden away. (*A peshat alternative might be that there were actually many sisters, unmentioned in general, and Dinah is only mentioned among the births in Vayeitzei because of this incident in Vayishlach. And then, in meeting Esav, none of the daughters are mentioned by an explicit, as is the usual course.)

And there is midrashic precedent for this. Avraham hid Sarah away in a box, and this, too, did not really end well.

But if so, that she was hidden in a box, then perhaps the midrashist is also interpreting וַתֵּצֵא דִינָה. She left the box!

This is then a second take on the incident. In the first, it was a result of being to open. In the second, it is a result of being too closed off.

YUTorah on parashat Vayishlach

Download the YUTorah Parsha Reader for Vayishlach 5774  Audio Shiurim on Vayishlach Rabbi Elchanan Adler: Transforming Enemies into Friends: Lessons from an Enigmatic Rashi Rabbi Eli Belizon: Can You Please Pass the Filet Mignon? Rabbi Avi Billet: When did Eisav die? Rabbi Chaim Brovender: Your Name is Yisrael Rabbi Zevulun Charlop: Dealing with Stories that Make the Avos Look Dishonest Rabbi Avishai David: Is it Yaakov or Yisrael Rabbi Ari Cutler: Challenge and Importance of Chevra Rabbi Yisroel Meir Druck: Just One (More) Tefillah Rabbi Ally Ehrman: The Name Of Yisrael And Yeshurun Rabbi Chaim Eisenstein: Kinyan kessef: Acquiring property, acquiring peace Rabbi Aaron Feigenbaum: Yaacov's Prayer Rabbi Joel Finkelstein: Jacob Was Alone Ms. Elana Flaumenhaft: Like Mother Like Daughter: A Close Reading of Rashi 34:1 Rabbi David Forhman: Become a Person of Integrity Rabbi Beinish Ginsburg: Chanukah and the Mesorah - the Eternal Jew Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: You Have Some Nerve Rabbi Yehuda Goldschmidt: It's a Jungle Out There Rabbi Meir Goldwicht: I Have Everything Even When I Have Nothing Rabbi Moshe Gordon: Secrets of the pachim k'tanim Rabbi Ephraim Greene: The Jewish Value of Life Rabbi Yonah Gross: Paradigms of Zealotry Rabbi Yaacov Haber: The Battle of Yaacov and Esav Rabbi Shalom Hammer: Spirits in a Material World Rabbi David Hirsch: Ma'avir Al Midosav- Yaakov Avinu Rabbi Jesse Horn: Dina and Leah: who could have been a Shiduch for Esuv Rabbi Shimon Isaacson: Vayishlach and Overcoming the Challenges of "Achi" Rabbi Aharon Kahn: Reishis Chochma Yiras Hashem Rabbi Ari Kahn: Preparing for Battle Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky: The Fight with the Yetzer Hora Rabbi Eliakim Koenigsberg: Learning from the Yetzer Hara Rabbi Binyamin Kwalwasser: How Yaacov Personifies Emes Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz: Vayishlach Derasha - It's Not "Just Stuff" But It Is Also is Not Everything Rabbi Eliezer Lerner: Always Moving Forward Rabbi Ben Leybovich: Jewish Pride Rabbi Meir Lipschitz: Yaakov Becomes Yisrael Rabbi Dovid Miller: Never Leave a Jew Alone Rabbi Judah Mischel: Malachim Mamash Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt: Pachim K'Tanim Rabbi Michael Rosensweig: The National Lesson to Learn from Shimon, Levi, and Shechem Rabbi Yonason Sacks: Yakov vs. Avraham Mrs Ilana Saks: The Kings of Binyamin Rabbi Hershel Schachter: Esav and Yaacov - Non-Identical Twins Shay Schachter: Food on the Fire For Shabbos Rabbi Etan Schnall: Kever Rochel: Paradigm or Paradox? Rabbi Avi Schneider: Preparing for Battle Rabbi Avraham Shulman: The Torah Perspective on Living in Galus Rabbi Baruch Simon: Man Is Greater then the Angels Mrs. Shira Smiles: Timna's Trajectory Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik: How could Shimon and Levi punish Shechem? Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik: Yaakov and Eisav Rabbi Reuven Spolter: The Burial of Rachel Rabbi Moshe Stav: ויותר יעקב Rabbi Josh Strulowitz: Having the Nerve to Get to the Meat of the Mitzvah Rabbi Moshe Taragin: Little Man Rabbi Michael Taubes: Are there Limits on Self Defense Rabbi Moshe D. Tendler: The Battle with Esav and the name Yisrael Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner: When Esav Met Yaakov: A Jew in a non-Jewish World Rabbi Ya'akov Trump: Names and Essence Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Weinberg: The Last Laugh: The Indestructible Nature of the Eternal Nation Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Woolf: Confronting the Ish Rabbi Andi Yudin: Alone Yet Content Rabbi Ari Zahtz: Yaakovs Wrestling Match Rabbi Zvi Zimmerman: Finding the Pintele Yid Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler: The Mystery of Dinah Articles on Vayishlach Rabbi Shlomo Einhorn: Both Names are Truth Rabbi Ozer Glickman: Law and Literature Rabbi Shmuel Goldin: Negotiating a Severance Rabbi Avraham Gordimer: Mixed Messages to Eisav? Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb: Yaakov’s Legacy and the Slaughter of Shechem Rabbi Maury Grebenau: Emotionally Intelligent Judaism Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg: העבר וההוה לאור העתיד Rabbi David Horwitz: Material Gains Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl: The Damage Inflicted by the Angel of Esav Abigail Rabinowitz: An Orthopedic Analysis of Jacob's Injury Rabbi Shmuel Silber : Introspective Identity Helen Ayala Unger: From Rachel to Michal: Maternal Mortality in Tanach Rabbi Yaakov Werblowsky: Social Responsibility Parsha Sheets on Vayishlach HALB: D'Varim HaYotzim Min HaLev Student Organization of Yeshiva (YU): Einayim L'Torah YU-Torah miTzion Toronto Beit Midrash: Toronto Torah YULA Boys High School: Likutei Ohr Shiurim on the Haftorah of Vayishlach Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: You ARE Your Brother’s Keeper Rabbi Avraham Rivlin: קטן נתתיך בגויים - חזון עובדיה Rabbi Zvi Romm: Defeating Esav Rabbi Jeremy Wieder: Laining for Parshat Vayishlach See all shiurim on YUTorah for Parshat Vayishlach

New This Week Working Towards Shalom Bayis - for men Rabbi Josh Blass How Does LearningTorah Bring One Closer to G-d? Rabbi Chaim Eisenstein Lefties in Halacha Rabbi Yonatan Emmett Why We Bless Our Children On Friday Night Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff Transforming Our Lives with Teffilah Rabbi Marc Penner Genetics Meets Halacha Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman "The Torah was given for the  Refinement of Man":  Exploring the Value System of Halacha Rabbi Michael Rosensweig Kiddush Hashem  in a Complicated World Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks Book Launch for the OU Mesorat Harav Chumash Rabbi Dr. Jacob J Schacter Remembering Rav Ovadia Yosef Rabbi Hershel Schachter Fresh Perspectives on Dating Mrs. Dina Schoonmaker What's the Bracha on Pizza? Rabbi Ezra Schwartz Heating Up Food on Shabbos Using a Non Jew Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky Kiddush, Havdalah, and Women Rabbi Daniel Stein The Holy Shluf: Sleep in Halacha Rabbi Reuven Ungar Channukah: The Story Behind the Letter Samech Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Weinberg Kislev: Remember to Dream Big Rabbi Moshe Weinberger

Posts so far for parshat Vayishlach

2012

1. What nekitas chefetz was there, if Yaakov was nolad mahul? So asks Rav Chaim Kanievsky, further exploring the path set by Mizrachi. By Avraham, it was nekitas chefetz on the milah, and Avraham's very first mitzvah. Not so for Yaakov, on two counts. Rav Kanievsky's answer, and then I explore further.

2. Torah Temima on danger -- Yaakov was diminished by Hashem's kindness. And how one should avoid dangerous situations. And eating meat and fish, and whether bittul works for sakana. Then, at the end, I weigh in.

3. Rav Aharon Kotler vs. Yaakov Avinu -- while Yaakov Avinu prioritized his family. Meanwhile, an author intending to praise Rav Aharon Kotler speculates about him as follows: "He did not think about his family, his Rebbetzin, his children and grandchildren..."

4. YUTorah on parashat Vayishlach.

5. Vayishlach parsha stumpers? As a response to a post on DovBear. For instance, Why does Bethel have two naming stories? It is called framing. How can Rashi say Yaakov kept "taryag mitzvos? The point of the midrash is not that he literally kept 613 commandments, but "613 commandments" are a stand-in for Torah true attitude and middot. And so on.

2011

1. Vayishlach sources. Even further expanded. Some biographical information added, as well.
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2. How can the amplifying 'azla geresh' appear on קטנתי? Assuming -- and it is an assumption -- the role of azla geresh is to amplify and make great, how can it appear on word קטנתי? Birkas Avraham has a ready explanation based on a Zohar. Or, this is a good reason that some switch the azla geresh for a revii. But perhaps this azla geresh gives the lie to the theory. I offer a bit of analysis, based on Wickes, of both azla geresh and revii.
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3. YU Torah for parashat Vayishlach.
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4. Was Timna a son, a concubine, or both? The trup and Divrei Hayamim parse a pasuk in Vayishlach in divergent ways. Rishonim harmonize. And Chizkuni (and Birkas Avraham) darshen a munach legarmeih as apesik to bolster the multivalent reading of the pasuk.
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5. A question for the Taliban women -- What are they doing out of their homes? We see from Rashi, Ralbag, and Rambam, that it is a breach of tznius for a woman to leave her home. And an analysis and response to this, of why this is not obligatory or even a good idea for present-day women.
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6. A censored Sporno on Vayishlach? It would seem so. They did not like the talk of worldwide Jewish domination.
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7. Commentators who live in glass houses, redux -- On an extremely old parshablog post on Vayishlach, from 2003, Z comments:
   

   It is now 8 years since you wrote this post. I wonder how different it would look if you wrote it today. just curious.

   It would indeed look somewhat different. In part, this is due to my own development, and in part, due to knowledge gained over the past eight years.
   
   So, here is a do-over of that old post.
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8. The trup on עָלוֹת עָלָי in Vayishlach -- The trup in Bereishit 33:13 is against the typical commentaries. Shadal Rasahad gives a suggestion of how to read it in accordance with trup, which Haksav vehaKabbalah rejects. But, he endorses an explanation by Wolf Heidenheim. Finally, I consider whether all of this is even necessary.
   
   My, that sounds dry! How about this, instead. There is weird trup on עלות, within the text of וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו  אֲדֹנִי יֹדֵעַ כִּי-הַיְלָדִים רַכִּים וְהַצֹּאן וְהַבָּקָר עָלוֹת עָלָי. The typical understanding of the pasuk is "And he said unto him: 'My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and that the flocks and herds giving suck are a care to me; and if they overdrive them one day, all the flocks will die." Thus,alay means "upon me", even as עָלוֹת means "raising".  But Shadal says that this does not work out with the trup. One could also imagine עָלוֹת means "they ascend", as in "they ascend upon me as a burden". I think that is what Shadal (purportedly) suggests, and what I personally find compelling. But HaKsav veHakkaballah finds this problematic, and suggests a different explanation, in accordance with Wolf Heidenheim. But then, I try to debunk the question.
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9. Shadal on Yitzchaki and the eight kings of Edom -- As a further followup to Yitzchaki and the eight kings in parashat Vayishlach, I present Shadal's thoughts on the matter:

2010

1. A cute Bar Mitzvah invitation -- related to the parasha.
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2. Vayishlach sources -- further expanded. For example, many more meforshei Rashi.
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3. The Targum on נִסְעָה -- Presenting Shadal, from Ohev Ger, on the Targum to this phrase. Do Onkelos and Rashi agree or disagree?
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4. Was El Bet El named for Hashem, or for Angels? A dispute between Rashi and Targum Onkelos, or possibly not.
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5. How is Nachal Yabbok 'This Jordan'? So asks the Baal HaTurim, on the basis of geographical knowledge. And so he suggests that hazeh refers to the staff. We can answer this question by looking at a map, which was not available to the Tur.
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6. Does Onkelos claim that Yaakov's zechuyot shrunk? In other words, is he echoing Rashi and Chazal? In my humble opinion, Onkelos is not really taking a position between the peshat and the derash. After all, he translates מִכֹּל as מִכֹּל. The ambiguity is preserved in the Aramaic. And as I note, stating  זְעֵירָן זָכְוָתִי also indicates nothing, because it means (or can readily mean) "my merits are few" rather than "my merits are lessened".
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7. Why did Dinah recommend cursing Hashem? Or, dybbyk min ha-Torah minayin?
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8. Minchas Shai on Hashem or Angels as an Etymology for Bet El -- I considered this question, in item #4, at length. But I was thinking from the perspective of Targumim and girsology. This from a masoretic perspective, courtesy of Minchat Shai.
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9. What is the purpose of the Mitzvah of Gid Hanasheh? Yes, gezeirat haMelech of course. But the pasuk associates our not eating of the sciatic nerve with the incident in which Yaakov struggles with the angel. How are they related, and what is the message?
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10. Reuven and Bilhah -- In Midrash Rabba, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi takes a peshat-approach to the incident.

2009

1. Vayishlach sources -- links to over 100 meforshim on the parasha and haftarah, as well as links to an online Mikraos Gedolos.
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2. Why did Yaakov weep, pt i -- in this, I analyze Rashi's two answers for Yaakov's weeping, as contrasted with that of Ibn Ezra. Rashi suggests that it was because he saw that Rachel wouldn't be buried with him, and secondly that he came without money, in contrast to Eliezer who came laden with wealth. Maharshal harmonizes the two reasons, so that Rashi can intend to say both simultaneously, but I explain why I think this harmonization is extremely farfetched. Finally, I give my own suggestion as to Rashi's motivations in bringing down these two midrashim from Bereishit Rabba.
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3. Angels or messengers? There is a famous Rashi which starts of Vayishlach that the malachim Yaakov sent were malachim mamash, actual angels. This likely relates to the camp of malachei elokim from the previous parsha. But as Ibn Caspi points out, the parsha gap, or else the petucha gap makes it clear that there is a distinction. Though that is just an indicator, rather than the real reason. Also, how Ralbag and Sefer Hayashar treat the malachim of this parasha and last.
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4. Why was Yaakov distressed? Why did he fear? Yaakov fears and is distressed. Why the duplication? Rashi seems spot on, that the fear is of being killed and the distress is of killing others. But watch out for supercommentators who read their own ideas into him! Would Yaakov not be distressed at killing others, simply because it was halachically justified homicide?
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5. Moral lessons from parshas Vayishlach -- Once again, focusing on the moral lessons one can derive from the parsha, selected from Ralbag's commentary. Because too much attention to dikduk, peshat and derash can leave us without inspiration. A very small selection from his lessons learned from Yaakov's confrontation with Esav, and then a "fun" one from the tale of Dinah.
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6. Machaneh as a feminine and masculine form -- In Vayishlach, Rashi notes that 'camp' is used in both the masculine and feminine genders. What in the pasuk prompts this? And would Rashi necessarily agree with how Gur Aryeh develops this?
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7. In what manner(s) did Shechem rape Dinah? Another study of methodology of peshat, examining how different meforshim treat the duplication in different terminology as Shechem's actions vis a vis Dinah. I last reviewed this idea of peshat methodology in terms of the unnecessary poetic duplication of Rivkah being a virgin, whom no man had known.
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8. How old was Dinah when she was abducted by Shechem? A simple calculation based on when children had to be born within the given time frame would make her about 7 years old. Yet there are difficulties with that. How Rav Shimon Shkop and Ibn Ezra deal with that.
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9. The derash on Esav's kiss -- does Ibn Ezra insult Chazal? Esav and Yaakov meet, and he kisses him. But there are dots over the word. Rashi cites a midrash, and Ibn Ezra disagrees, in a pretty dismissive manner, stating that the midrash is good for just-weaned children! What are we to make of this? Does Ibn Ezra not say in his introduction that none of Chazal's words fall to the ground? See also my earlier post about the dots over vayishakeihu.
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10. Shechem acted admirably -- Well, not precisely, but that is the general theme of an explanation by Rav Yonasan Eibeshitz in Tiferes Yehonasan. Namely, it was bia shelo kedarka in order to preserve her life.
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11. The vandalization of a mosque in Shechem -- Now, a good argument can be made that Islam is not avodah zarah for non-Jews, but is simply monotheism. Though I am not certain what motivated the perps. But there seems a likelihood that such an attack, on a mosque, could stir up acheinu bnei yishmael in a bad way; and that a strong motivator of the apology is concern for potential loss of life. This calls to mind the dispute between Yaakov and his sons in destroying Shechem, and a parallel dispute between two (or more) commentators.

2008

1. From The Age of Trup, how Ramban ignores the pasuk ending and claims that Timna was one of Elifaz's sons, rather than his concubine.
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2. Instances of Malachim, according to Ralbag. He understands the malachim at the end of Vayeitzei to be either angels or prophets, and the malachim at the beginning of Vayishlach to be simply human messengers from Yaakov.
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3. Vayishlach sources -- links to online parsha resources for Vayishlach. Thus, to a Mikraos Gedolos by aliyah and perek, and to an online English Rashi, to Ralbag, and to Shadal. For now.
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4. What was the name of the city of Shechem? Was the city named Shechem, or was it named Shalem? And Shadal's take. Then, in an update, why Shadal might have adopted that approach, as a response to Geiger, and how the Samaritan Torah differs, quite likely to reinforce their own religious message and elevate the prominence of Shechem.
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5. Did Dinah marry Shimon, Iyov, or both? The conflation, or else harmonization, of two midrashim, in a way that might just do injustice to their respective themes.
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6. Two noteworthy comments about the nature of peshat and derash, one from Ibn Ezra on Vayishlach.

2007

1. The Etymology of Maavar Yabbok -- related to their wresting/getting dusty, as a non-explicit etymology? Or does the etymology work in the other direction? Or was this specific unrelated word chosen because of the place name?
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2. Did Esav Kiss Yaakov? If he did, did he really mean it? Should the word be there?
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3. Esav separates from Yaakov, as Lot did from Avraham. With parallels on a peshat and derash level.
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4. Did Yaakov struggle with an angel? Or with God Himself? And the possibility of the two naming incidents of Yisrael being the same incident.
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5. Bet El and Yeravam -- and that the Torah would designate this as a holy place with a mizbeach shows the early authorship of Torah, according to Shadal.

2006

1. Im Lavan Garti ... veTaryag Mitzvot Shamarti? But he married two sisters!? So you will say he was outside Eretz Yisrael? Yet his claim is that he kept Tatyag Mitzvot when with Lavan! I claim the midrash actually means a Torah-true attitude and midot, represented by the 613 of garti, in spite of the evil Lavan's influence. And other explanations.
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2. Why No Adult Male Camels? After all, this represents a break in the pattern of the gifts to Esav. I suggest that the purpose of the camels was to provide camel milk, and having these young there boosts lactation. Having male camels there would end the lactations.

2005

1. Triple Etiologies of Place Names -- of Peniel and Machanayim. Interesting stuff.
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2. The taam elyon and taam tachton on the incident of Reuven, and how the trup alternatives follow naturally from a decision to omit the Targum.
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3. Twelve Boys and Only One Girl? Cross-listed to Vayeitzei. Was Dinah the only girl? Or perhaps not.
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4. Rachel's Triplets -- Further analysis on the textual basis of the midrash that Rachel gave birth to triplets at the time of Binyamin's birth, based in part on interpreting each occurence ofבְּלִדְתָּהּ as the birth of a daughter. Rather than other suggestions, such as Matnot Kehuna that it is a derasha on the word gam.

2004

1. Come and Hear, or Come, Then Hear? Did Dinah's brothers come because they heard the news, or did they hear the news because they came? Midrash, parsing, and trup.
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2. How to Address a Business Letter, and Yaakov's message to Esav. There is a formal form of address, discovered in extra-Biblical sources as well as elsewhere in Tanach. And the parsing which seems proposed by trup, and the traditional explanation, seems against this parse. Yet this parse was apparently known to Yehuda Nesia, and in fact does work out according to trup (looking at Wickes' rules, and against Speiser's suggestion that it does not).
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3. Dinah's Arms being exposed, caused her to be seized?
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4. Binyamin's Name -- Binyamin is named twice, once by his mother and once by his father. I suggest that the names are the same, but one is in Hebrew and the other in Aramaic. Appropriate since Lavan is haArami, the Aramean, and Rachel is his daughter. And note that the same thing happens in parshat Vayeitzei on the name Gal-ed.
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5. A Hebrew cognate in Amharic for Vayishlach -- laka, meaning "send".

2003

1. וְהָיִינוּ לְעַם אֶחָד and cross-cultural circumcision -- Adopting circumcision in order to become one people, in modern times. They better watch out!
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2. In "Dual Etymologies for Names" -- I discuss how various place names seem to have more than one reason for their naming. Specifically, מחנים (in the dual form), named at the end of Vayeitzei, is so named because Yaakov sees a single encampment of angels. But then we see in Vayishlach, shortly afterwards and in the same location, that he splits his family into two camps. I discuss a midrash on the matter in Tg Yerushalmi, and the Scriptural basis for the midrash. Tg Yonatan, Rashi, and Ramban seem to take on the issue of why there is a dual in מחנים.
   
   Another dual place name in Vayishlach is Penuel, which Yaakov first names for having seen God face to face and living to tell the tale, yet later he uses the term to say that seeing Esav's face is like seeing that of God.
   
   Also in Vayishlach is Bet El, which Yaakov seems to name multiple times, but I claim the psukim are speaking in the pluperfect, and he only names the place one time.
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3. In "Dual Etymologies for People's Names" -- I treat dual etymologies for people rather than places as I did in the first post. Turning to Vayeitzei, I find dual etymologies for Yosef and Yissacher, and give possible explanations for this.
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4. In "Shnayim Mikra VeEchad Targum?" -- I discuss two psukim that have only a single targum, and how the trup is constructed so as to omit the translation in shul. It is a pasuk about Reuven and Bilhah.
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5. In "Commentators Who Live In Glass Houses?" -- Ibn Ezra takes a contemporary, Yitzchaki, to task for kefira in the dating of the psukim about the kings of Edom. I show how Ibn Ezra's approach differs from Yitzchaki.

2002

• Rachel the Wrestler, Yaakov the Wrestler
• cross-listed from Vayeitzei