Parashat Vayetzei 5786

by Rabbi Margie Cella

Heading towards Haran, Jacob stopped for the night in the desert. He dreamed of a ladder with angels ascending and descending on it. God promised the land on which he was lying to him and his descendants.

In Haran, Jacob encountered his cousin Rachel at the well and was immediately smitten with her. She brought him home, where he was welcomed by his uncle Laban. Jacob offered to work for Laban for seven years to marry Rachel. However, Laban gave Jacob his daughter Leah instead. In exchange for another seven years, Laban gave Rachel to Jacob as well.

In fairly rapid succession, Jacob had four sons with Leah, two with Rachel’s handmaiden Bilhah, two with Leah’s handmaiden Zilpah, then two more sons and a daughter with Leah. Finally, God remembered Rachel, and she gave birth to Jacob’s eleventh son, Joseph.

Jacob was now ready to take his large family back home. Twenty years had passed. Isaac was still alive, and Jacob wanted to see him. But in order to do so, he would first have to make peace with his brother. Not knowing whether or not Esau still wanted to kill him, Jacob set out for Canaan. We will see in next week’s parashah how worried Jacob was about this potential reunion.

As a rabbi, I often hear about relatives, especially siblings, who have become estranged from one another. Many times they think that they will reconcile before one of them dies. More often than not, they do not. Once a death occurs there is no chance of reconciliation.

Putting aside old differences is hard to do. Is there someone in your life—a relative, a friend—that you need to reconnect with?

Oseh Shalom, Maker of Peace, help us all to restore important connections and make peace with our loved ones.