Post by alon on Nov 15, 2018 9:16:12 GMT -8
This week’s readings: Par’shah 7
Date of reading: 17 November 2018/9 Kislev 5779
Name of Par’shah: Vayetze (He went out)
Par’shah: B’resheet 28:10-32:3(2)
Haftarah: Hoshea 12:13(12)-14:10(9)
Brit Chadashah: Yochanan 1:43-51
D’rash: Our reading this week now focuses on Ya’akov, who is the third generation of G-d’s plan to create a nation set apart to Himself. Because of the deteriorated situation between Ya’akov and his brother ‘Esav, Ya’akov sets out by the command of his father, Yitz’chak, to obtain a wife from his kinsman in Haran, and spends the next 20 years with his uncle Lavan, fourteen to work for his two wives, Le’ah and Rachel, and six to build up wealth for his growing family. At the end of this time, G-d is calling Ya’akov back to the land that He has promised to him, Yitz’chak, and Avraham. While a major theme of being set apart largely focuses on these three patriarchs, we can see that their wives also are to be commended for their commitment to G-d and His ways.
We begin with Avraham’s wife Sarah: Recall her statement to her husband regarding Yitz’chak, “Throw this slave girl out! And her son! I will not have this slave girl’s son as your heir along with my son Yitz’chak!” (B’resheet 21:10). One can sense the intensity of her words. Though it appears to be a cruel thing to do, G-d instructs Avraham to listen to his wife, since Yitz’chak would be the chosen heir---yet Yishma’el, too, would be blessed by G-d and become a nation. We can see in Sarah’s statement the same passion of being set apart to Him as Yisra’el would be after conquering the land of Kena’an, when G-d would command them to, “…demolish their altars, smash their standing-stones and cut down their sacred poles;” (Sh’mot 34:13). Sometime after Sarah’s death, when Avraham remarried, all the sons he had through K’turah were sent with grants eastward to the land of Kedem (Arabia, Mesopotamia, etc.), away from Yitz’chak (B’resheet 25:5-6). In the Brit Chadashah, emissary Sha’ul uses the words of Sarah in a positive way to illustrate a point regarding
(Galatians 4:21-31). Though Yishma’el was related to Avraham, he was not to Sarah. When one comes to faith in Yeshua and afterwards, he or she must with the same passion cast out those things, whether good or bad, that would hinder us from drawing closer to G-d.
Next, we come to Rivkah: Recall in a previous par’shah that when asked if she would return with Avraham’s servant to become Yitz’chak’s wife and thus a part of G-d’s plan, she simply said, “I will.” (B’resheet 24:58). When the twins she was carrying were struggling within her, she inquired of G-d regarding the matter, telling her that each would become a nation but that the younger would be chosen over the older (B’resheet 25:22-23). Years later, when the time came for Yitz’chak’s blessing, she intervened, albeit in a deceptive way, to make sure G-d’s will would be fulfilled. Remember previously that Sarah also tried, by her own efforts, to lend a helping hand for G-d in obtaining the son of promise through her slave girl. Despite the deception, one can appreciate Rivkah’s zeal for the will of G-d. We can see her concern after the blessing was given when she comments to her husband:
B’resheet 27:46---“…I’m sick to death of Hitti women! If Ya’akov marries one of the Hitti woman, like those who live here, my life won’t be worth living.”
This also was a concern with Avraham (B’reshheet 24:2-4) since being set apart to G-d required future wives who were to be evenly yoked with their chosen sons (2 Corinthians 6:14-16). When the firstborn son, ‘Esav, took two Hitti women to be his wives it was a source of embitterment to both Rivkah and Yitz’chak (B’resheet 26:34-35).
Our current par’shah reading now brings us to Le’ah and Rachel. Though their father served foreign gods (B’resheet 31:19, 30), they themselves acknowledged and followed the one true G-d that their husband Ya’akov served. When they bore sons, they credited Adonai for their ability to do so. It is also likely that they were aware of, or at least became aware of Him when their aunt Rivkah had earlier made the decision to become part of the family of Avraham. Their final break with their father and family came after twenty years of marriage when Ya’akov began to sense Lavan’s and his sons’ distancing and cooling attitude towards him and this is when G-d spoke to him that it was time to return to the land of his ancestors (B’resheet 31:1-3). Being the good husband that he was he sent for his wives while tending the flocks to have a family meeting and explained to them the current situation and that it was time to move. Keep in mind that Le’ah and Rachel had never been to Kena’an and Ya’akov may have wondered if their response would be favorable to this major life change. B’resheet 31:14-16 reveals that they, too, were having similar feelings:
Rachel and Le’ah answered him, “We no longer have any inheritance from our father’s possessions; and he considers us foreigners, since he has sold us; moreover, he has consumed everything he received in exchange for us. Nevertheless, the wealth which G-d has taken away from our father has become ours and our children’s anyway; so whatever G-d has told you to do, do.”
In short, they simply confirmed and made Ya’akov’s decision to move back to the land of promise that much easier.
Before concluding, an explanation is in order should one make an accusation how Rachel could serve Adonai and then steal the foreign gods that belonged to her father before they moved to Kena’an. Though commentaries give various reasons, the one seemingly most plausible is mentioned in an article written by Moshe Greenberg that possession of the household gods meant possession of authority and leadership which Rachel may have believed would rightfully belong to Ya’akov; not exactly a bad heart motive. She overstepped her bounds, though, since this would have been Lavan’s decision to make. Remember that when one comes to faith in Yeshua, excess “baggage” usually comes along and often lingers long after that decision. Even Yisra’el, after forty years in the wilderness and after conquering Kena’an had to be exhorted by Y’hoshua to put away the foreign gods in their midst if they were to be fully committed to Adonai (Y’hoshua 24:14-23). Emissary Sha’ul counseled the Corinthians to administer serious correction to the believer that was living in sin with his stepmother (1Corinthians 5:1-13). I would also say that many of us who became Messianics did not cut off our consumption of pork or our celebration of pagan holidays right away. We are all given grace as we slowly make the necessary changes. Rachel, too, along with the rest of Ya’akov’s household was firmly commanded by him sometime after this incident to put away the foreign gods they had before settling in Beit -El (B’resheet 35:1-4).
Therefore, these women deserve their place in history, being the mothers of Israel, G-d’s chosen, set apart nation and are named in the blessings spoken over daughters on the eve of Shabbat:
“May G-d make you like Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel and Le’ah”
References: Various commentaries; Another Look at Rachel’s Theft of the Terephim by Moshe Greenberg, University of Pennsylvania; Scriptures taken from the Complete Jewish Bible, copyright 1998 by David H. Stern
MRD
Date of reading: 17 November 2018/9 Kislev 5779
Name of Par’shah: Vayetze (He went out)
Par’shah: B’resheet 28:10-32:3(2)
Haftarah: Hoshea 12:13(12)-14:10(9)
Brit Chadashah: Yochanan 1:43-51
D’rash: Our reading this week now focuses on Ya’akov, who is the third generation of G-d’s plan to create a nation set apart to Himself. Because of the deteriorated situation between Ya’akov and his brother ‘Esav, Ya’akov sets out by the command of his father, Yitz’chak, to obtain a wife from his kinsman in Haran, and spends the next 20 years with his uncle Lavan, fourteen to work for his two wives, Le’ah and Rachel, and six to build up wealth for his growing family. At the end of this time, G-d is calling Ya’akov back to the land that He has promised to him, Yitz’chak, and Avraham. While a major theme of being set apart largely focuses on these three patriarchs, we can see that their wives also are to be commended for their commitment to G-d and His ways.
We begin with Avraham’s wife Sarah: Recall her statement to her husband regarding Yitz’chak, “Throw this slave girl out! And her son! I will not have this slave girl’s son as your heir along with my son Yitz’chak!” (B’resheet 21:10). One can sense the intensity of her words. Though it appears to be a cruel thing to do, G-d instructs Avraham to listen to his wife, since Yitz’chak would be the chosen heir---yet Yishma’el, too, would be blessed by G-d and become a nation. We can see in Sarah’s statement the same passion of being set apart to Him as Yisra’el would be after conquering the land of Kena’an, when G-d would command them to, “…demolish their altars, smash their standing-stones and cut down their sacred poles;” (Sh’mot 34:13). Sometime after Sarah’s death, when Avraham remarried, all the sons he had through K’turah were sent with grants eastward to the land of Kedem (Arabia, Mesopotamia, etc.), away from Yitz’chak (B’resheet 25:5-6). In the Brit Chadashah, emissary Sha’ul uses the words of Sarah in a positive way to illustrate a point regarding
(Galatians 4:21-31). Though Yishma’el was related to Avraham, he was not to Sarah. When one comes to faith in Yeshua and afterwards, he or she must with the same passion cast out those things, whether good or bad, that would hinder us from drawing closer to G-d.Next, we come to Rivkah: Recall in a previous par’shah that when asked if she would return with Avraham’s servant to become Yitz’chak’s wife and thus a part of G-d’s plan, she simply said, “I will.” (B’resheet 24:58). When the twins she was carrying were struggling within her, she inquired of G-d regarding the matter, telling her that each would become a nation but that the younger would be chosen over the older (B’resheet 25:22-23). Years later, when the time came for Yitz’chak’s blessing, she intervened, albeit in a deceptive way, to make sure G-d’s will would be fulfilled. Remember previously that Sarah also tried, by her own efforts, to lend a helping hand for G-d in obtaining the son of promise through her slave girl. Despite the deception, one can appreciate Rivkah’s zeal for the will of G-d. We can see her concern after the blessing was given when she comments to her husband:
B’resheet 27:46---“…I’m sick to death of Hitti women! If Ya’akov marries one of the Hitti woman, like those who live here, my life won’t be worth living.”
This also was a concern with Avraham (B’reshheet 24:2-4) since being set apart to G-d required future wives who were to be evenly yoked with their chosen sons (2 Corinthians 6:14-16). When the firstborn son, ‘Esav, took two Hitti women to be his wives it was a source of embitterment to both Rivkah and Yitz’chak (B’resheet 26:34-35).
Our current par’shah reading now brings us to Le’ah and Rachel. Though their father served foreign gods (B’resheet 31:19, 30), they themselves acknowledged and followed the one true G-d that their husband Ya’akov served. When they bore sons, they credited Adonai for their ability to do so. It is also likely that they were aware of, or at least became aware of Him when their aunt Rivkah had earlier made the decision to become part of the family of Avraham. Their final break with their father and family came after twenty years of marriage when Ya’akov began to sense Lavan’s and his sons’ distancing and cooling attitude towards him and this is when G-d spoke to him that it was time to return to the land of his ancestors (B’resheet 31:1-3). Being the good husband that he was he sent for his wives while tending the flocks to have a family meeting and explained to them the current situation and that it was time to move. Keep in mind that Le’ah and Rachel had never been to Kena’an and Ya’akov may have wondered if their response would be favorable to this major life change. B’resheet 31:14-16 reveals that they, too, were having similar feelings:
Rachel and Le’ah answered him, “We no longer have any inheritance from our father’s possessions; and he considers us foreigners, since he has sold us; moreover, he has consumed everything he received in exchange for us. Nevertheless, the wealth which G-d has taken away from our father has become ours and our children’s anyway; so whatever G-d has told you to do, do.”
In short, they simply confirmed and made Ya’akov’s decision to move back to the land of promise that much easier.
Before concluding, an explanation is in order should one make an accusation how Rachel could serve Adonai and then steal the foreign gods that belonged to her father before they moved to Kena’an. Though commentaries give various reasons, the one seemingly most plausible is mentioned in an article written by Moshe Greenberg that possession of the household gods meant possession of authority and leadership which Rachel may have believed would rightfully belong to Ya’akov; not exactly a bad heart motive. She overstepped her bounds, though, since this would have been Lavan’s decision to make. Remember that when one comes to faith in Yeshua, excess “baggage” usually comes along and often lingers long after that decision. Even Yisra’el, after forty years in the wilderness and after conquering Kena’an had to be exhorted by Y’hoshua to put away the foreign gods in their midst if they were to be fully committed to Adonai (Y’hoshua 24:14-23). Emissary Sha’ul counseled the Corinthians to administer serious correction to the believer that was living in sin with his stepmother (1Corinthians 5:1-13). I would also say that many of us who became Messianics did not cut off our consumption of pork or our celebration of pagan holidays right away. We are all given grace as we slowly make the necessary changes. Rachel, too, along with the rest of Ya’akov’s household was firmly commanded by him sometime after this incident to put away the foreign gods they had before settling in Beit -El (B’resheet 35:1-4).
Therefore, these women deserve their place in history, being the mothers of Israel, G-d’s chosen, set apart nation and are named in the blessings spoken over daughters on the eve of Shabbat:
“May G-d make you like Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel and Le’ah”
References: Various commentaries; Another Look at Rachel’s Theft of the Terephim by Moshe Greenberg, University of Pennsylvania; Scriptures taken from the Complete Jewish Bible, copyright 1998 by David H. Stern
MRD
and almost incomplete story. Leah was unloved but in my mind it feels like she was vindicated because we are told G-d noticed and she is the one buried with Jacob. I don't know, like I said, the whole situation just seems 
