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 and to the very promise, the word 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" (28:11,16,17,19). 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! In almost twenty years from the current scene, Ya’acov
will be making a demand (addressing his father in law), to go back to his
“place” (30:25). Being about to leave Lav’han’s estate with his wives, children
and livestock, we read: “Then Jacob rose up…” – va’ya’kam (31:17). 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,
Many years later, when the
elderly Ya'acov would pronounce blessings upon his sons on his deathbed, he
will give his favorite one, Yosef (Joseph), the longest and most complex of the
blessings. In the course of his pronouncement Ya'acov will make 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 "a 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’ya’shk 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). Shortly afterwards, Ya’acov is greeted by his uncle, Lah’van, with a kiss. “He embraced him and kissed him” (29:13) uses “va’ye’na’shek” (the more common form of this verb), with the ending being – neshek – which is also the noun for “weapon/s” or, in biblical Hebrew, also for “battle” (e.g. Ps. 140:7; 2nd Kings 10:2; Ezekiel 39:9,10 etc.). Indeed, Lah’van’s initial greeting, with a hug and a kiss, will soon turn into a relationship that is characterized by battles and struggles.
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, Lah’van, 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 so 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 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 Lav’han). 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 gnuvti” (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 – gunov 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…”)
No comments:
Post a Comment