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Jacob's upcoming encounter with his estranged brother Esau is a masterclass in diplomacy, and it holds surprising lessons even for emperors. In Genesis 32:5, Jacob instructs his me...
The passage begins with Jacob, poised to meet his brother Esau after years of separation. “Jacob sent messengers” (Genesis 32:4). But it's not just a simple act of diplomacy. The R...
Our ancestor Jacob certainly did. When he sends messengers ahead to his brother Esau, the report they bring back plunges him into fear. But within that fear, we find a fascinating ...
It turns out, even our greatest heroes struggled with this. We find ourselves in Bereshit Rabbah 76, a section of the ancient rabbinic commentary on the Book of Genesis. The scene ...
"Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn" (Genesis 32:25). A simple sentence, but pregnant with meaning. What does it mean to be alone? And who, o...
Rabbi Ḥama ben Rabbi Ḥanina suggests that Jacob wasn't wrestling just anyone; he was battling Esau’s guardian angel! Remember when Jacob says, "For therefore I have seen your face,...
It all starts with Jacob, that famous figure from the Book of Genesis. Remember when Jacob wrestles with a mysterious figure all night long? After this epic struggle, Jacob asks hi...
That’s kind of the vibe I get from the encounter between Jacob and Esau after their long separation, as described in Bereshit Rabbah 78. The verse in question is Genesis 33:14, whe...
The ancient rabbis wrestled with this idea, especially when it came to promises made to God. Let's turn to the book of Bereshit Rabbah, a classic collection of rabbinic interpretat...
