Jacobs Journey Begins

Torah Study 9-25    Genesis 32:1-9. 

New chapter!

Jacobs journey.. Send messenger to Esau then response he is coming with his 400 men...

Esau...meeting.

Anxiety.  Split the camp.

Ended last chapter with the boundary between nations

Start this chapter with a new boundary of protection.

Rosenblat...

A brother offended.  Proverb... Harder to win the brother than to win a battle..

Returning home is part of our nature.  Climatic confrontation for Jacob...

He is finding his own demons within him...

V1

Departure of Lavan..wake up early... Kiss sons (grandsons) and daughters...his blessing. Sforno,  the blessing of a common person..teaches the effects of a sincere blessing.  From the heart.  A selfless blessing shows the nature of our soul that includes the Devine

Lavan he went and returned to his place..  

Midrash...he returned to his former ways. And his former state of poverty.

Eli Munk.  Jacob's influence had no long term moral impact on Laban.  Vs Jacob is continuing to improve.

V2

Ambiguous verse...angels of God encountered him.. Unusual verb for meeting...same as when he was running away where he slept on his first night out.

A lot of commentary on this.

On his way...going forward in both a physical and spiritual way.  

Rashi..who are angels?  Angels come to escort him to eretz Israel.

Raban, says the border is farther away, the angels are to protect him from the dangers in this area.

Another interpretation is that they are messengers.  

Midrash that Esau was going to fight Laban.  Or that they are messengers from Esau.

Verse numbering is controversial.  The Christian Bible starts the next chapter after Laban leaves.

Etz Chyim...points out the angels noted at the beginning and now here...indicates they were there for the whole twenty years.. Now he sees them.  

View from the point of view of the angels that there is a family that represents potential to bring Gods presence to the world.

Name of place,  Mahanaim.  God's camp or Godly camp.  He recognized the angels.

Just Jacob saw the angel.  

Hebrew grammar...means two...only two.  Dual form.  "aim" on end implies it is two or twin camps.

Camps of angels...One escort out of Israel, one escort into Israel.

Or Jacobs camp and the angels camp...both aware camps of God.

SRH. On the way to homeland looking for God...angels looking for the people to bring God.

How many angels

600000 angels.  Or 1200000 angels (double)

148 verses in the parasha numerical value of the name Mahanaim...

V4 starts new portion vayishlach.

Jacob has a strategy.

Diplomacy in this section.

Sends Malachim ...who are they? Angels, (Rashi) human messengers (r. Alter), 

Send to Esau, his brother... To land of Seir in field of Edom (red).  Word play here.

Message ... Grammatical nuances here.  To my lord Esau, ... From your servant Jacob.

Formal mode of address.   Motivated by fear.  Controversy.  Reflects back on what Rebecca was told the elder will serve the younger.

I stayed with Laban ... Temporary...he was an alien, stranger.  Or not made important by Laban, no need to hate me.  Or. Numerical value of Gartie..613...not learn from his bad influence of Laban.

Acquired an ox and donkey...use singular to mean the plural.

Omits. Mention of camels...understate his possessions so the gifts seem as even a greater gift...

Proverb... Vessel that is empty except for one coin makes a loud noise.