(Genesis-32:3-36:43)

(Haftara: Hoshea 11:7-12:13)

1. [32:25] “And Ya’akov remained alone”. Rashi says that Ya’akov forgot some jars and returned for them. Then he was alone. Ya’akov is considered in many ways to be the greatest of the 3 fathers. Shoudn’t he have been more concerned with spiritual matters than with his physical property?

2. [32:25] “…and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.” The midrash says that the man that Ya’akov was wrestling with was the angel of Esav. There are commentators who say that the wrestling was going on in Ya’akov’s mind. What does the angel symbolize?

3. [33:10] “I saw your face like seeing the face of God, and you liked me.” What caused Ya’akov to change his approach to Esav to the point where he could say this?

4. [33:17] “…and he built a house, and for his cattle, he made booths. Therefore he named the place “Booths”.” This pasuk makes it seem as if Ya’akov’s cattle were more important to him than his own family. Why did Ya’akov name his new home after the domicile of his cattle?

5. [Haftara: Hosea 12:12, 12:7 ] “ …their altars will be mounds…” “Keep mercy and justice…” God’s main complaint here seems to be against idolatry (12:12). However, God asks Israel to practice mercy and justice (12:7). Why is the practice of idolatry considered injustice?

Commentary

The great dreams are the foundation of the world…the prophets dream…the poets dream while awake…the great thinkers dream of the perfected world…we all dream….The crudeness of conventional life, which is wholly immersed in materialism, removes the light of the dream from the world…Then the vision of the dream will return and it will become a clear revelation.

–R. A. Y. H. Kuk, 1865-1935, Lithuania and Israel.

This study page is dedicated to the memory of Gad Eliahu ben David and Kochava—Eli Zucker

And this study page is dedicated to the memory of Sarah Bella bat Yitzchak Kummer, Chaim Yosef Yechiel ben Eliyahu Kummer and Eliyahu and Margaret Kummer