Torah Lesson 6
Jacob and Esau
INTRODUCTION
The story of Jacob and Esau is the story of the struggle between two brothers—one being born into the
“birthright of the first-born” and one being destined to steal it. In this lesson, the students will learn that
there was conflict between the brothers, based on unfairness, and they will explore how issues of unfairness and conflict might be resolved, particularly within families.
Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut, in The Torah: A Modern Commentary, teaches, “In many cultures the first-born
son—but not a first-born daughter—has had preferred inheritance and status, succeeding his father as
head of the family. In Canaan as in various Near Eastern countries, he received a double portion of inheritance and was given a seat of honor.”1 In the case of Jacob and Esau, the birthright is more than a place
of honor among the immediately family—it is the right to be the Patriarch for the entire Israelite people. Our text tells us that Rebekah called out to God when Jacob and Esau were in her womb, and God
told her, “Two peoples are in your belly; two nations shall branch off from each other [as they emerge]
from your womb. One people shall prevail over the other; the elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis
25:23). Thus we learn that the birthright of the first-born would not be a simple matter for the family
of Isaac and Rebekah.
This lesson introduces the Jewish value of sh’lom bayit, peace in one’s home. The term comes from
midrash (in this case, the writings of the sixteenth-century rabbi the Maharal of Prague) and refers to
domestic tranquility and the belief that all members of a family have a responsibility to work toward the
creation of a peaceful home. For Jacob and Esau, this is particularly difficult, as they are indeed destined
to quarrel with each other in the unfolding story of the Jewish people. In the end, however, they both
come to terms with their differences—albeit many years later—providing an important message about
acceptance, if not love, of family members.
This lesson includes a number of activities and may require more time than is available to complete it. If
that is the case, you can choose to do either the art project (Representational Drawing or Handmade
Midrash) or the music activity (I’ll Always Be Your Friend).
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
• Torah is an ongoing dialogue between the text and its students.
1W.
Gunther Plaut, The Torah: A Modern Commentary, rev. ed. (New York: URJ Press, 2005), p. 183.
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• Torah is real in our daily lives; it goes with us wherever we are.
• Developing the skills to study Torah is essential to integrating Torah into our lives.
• I am part of the ongoing story of Torah and the Jewish people.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
1. What does Torah have to say to me and my world?
2. How can Torah study help me in my everyday life?
3. Why is the Torah different from other books?
4. What is the story of Torah?
5. What does it mean to be part of the story of Torah and the Jewish people?
6. How can I play an active role in the story of Torah?
QUESTIONS
TO
BE ADDRESSED
1. What happened between Jacob and Esau that caused trouble in their family?
2. How do Jacob and Esau provide us a model of accepting people in spite of differences and conflicts
we may have with them?
EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING
• Students will help Jacob and Esau problem-solve by giving them advice.
• Students will decorate the image of a heart with a picture or sentence about making peace with someone they love. They will affix an image of a heart to their Genesis Traveler.
LESSON OVERVIEW
• Set Induction (10 minutes)
• Teaching the Story (20 minutes)
• Art Project: Representational Drawing or Handmade Midrash (15–20 minutes)
• I’ll Always Be Your Friend (15 minutes)
• Conclusion (15 minutes)
Jacob and Esau
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MATERIALS NEEDED
• CHAI Level 1 CD, track 8, “I’ll Always Be Your Friend.”
• Two puppets, stuffed animals, or paper bags.
• Four Hebrew word posters (pages 70–73).
• Construction paper.
• Glue/glue stick.
• Image of a house, one per student (in student workbook).
• Letter to parents (page 81).
READING RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS
Genesis 25:19–34, 27:1–28:9, 32:4–33:17 (pp. 74–80)
Arcus, Lorraine Posner. Torah Alive! An Early Childhood Torah Curriculum. New York: URJ Press, 2004.
Steinbock, Steven E. Torah: The Growing Gift. New York: UAHC Press, 1994.
LESSON VOCABULARY
J¨rr§ n¦
midrash
,°hC oIk§J
sh’lom bayit
“Midrash” can have several different meanings. In general, the term
refers to a particular type of Rabbinic literature that derives moral
or legal lessons from even the smallest word in the Bible. Midrashim
have also been used by the Rabbis to explain something that is not
obviously understood within the text (one of the most famous
examples would be the story of Abraham smashing the idols).
There are several collections of this literature, dating from the second century B.C.E. through the Middle Ages, and this collectively is
often called “the midrash.” A verse from this literature is called “a
midrash.” For more information, see Barry W. Holtz, Back to the
Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts (New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1986), or other general Jewish reference books.
Literally means “peace in the home.” The term comes from our
midrash (the writings of the sixteenth-century rabbi the Maharal of
Prague) and refers to domestic tranquility and the belief that all
members of a family have a responsibility to work toward the creation of a peaceful home.
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LESSON PLAN
SET INDUCTION (10 MINUTES)
1. Sing or play the class welcome song.
2. Say together the blessing for Torah study.
3. Point to the Genesis Journey Map and review the stories that the students have learned. Point to the
Jacob and Esau poster and explain that this will be the next story that they will learn about.
4. Ask the students, “Did you ever say, ‘That’s not fair!’?” Ask them in what situations they have said
this, and share one of your own examples, if possible. Point out that there are times when people in
the same family feel that something one of the other people in the family did was not fair, and that
today they will hear a story from the Torah about two brothers, Jacob and Esau, and what happened
when something wasn’t fair between them.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Teaching the Story (20 minutes)
There are two possible approaches to this learning activity: using puppets to tell the story or reading the
story found below (see Option 2) while students follow along in their student workbooks (pages 20–21).
The use of the puppets is strongly recommended, since it enables the students to engage in a problemsolving process that really brings them into the story in a very concrete way. If, for some reason, you are
not able to do the puppet approach, use the alternative approach. Wherever possible, however, use ideas
from the puppet script to increase student interaction.
Option 1: Puppet Storytelling
You can use any two puppets to represent Jacob and Esau. If regular puppets are not available, you can
make simple ones using paper bags, or even white socks with faces decorated on them. Use the script
found below, but feel free to enhance it in any way that will work for your class.
Puppet Script
Jacob: Hi! My name is Jacob, in Hebrew it’s Yaakov. Do any of you kids have a Hebrew name?
Allow for a little conversation about the students’ Hebrew names, if they have them.
I have a brother named Esau, which in Hebrew is Eisav. We are twins, but we are very different.
I like to be at home, inside, studying and sometimes cooking, but my brother always likes to be
outside and he’s a little wild, to tell you the truth.
Esau [interrupts]: Jacob! I’m so mad at you! You tricked Dad into giving you things he was supposed to give me because I’m older than you! Grr! I could kill you!
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Jacob: You’re so angry, you’re scaring me, Esau. I know you are angry, but I think I did the right
thing, even though it seems mean now. It’s all going to work out someday, and everything will
be fine when we are older.
Esau: How can you know that?
Jacob: I read about it in the Torah!
Esau [thinks about that]: Well, I believe the Torah, too [pauses, thinks some more], but I’m still so
angry I could kill you!
Jacob [turns to class and asks]: Kids, what should I say now? What should I do?
Allow some time for class discussion about this.
Teacher: Well, what Jacob really did was to run away. Many, many years later, when the brothers were grown-up and had married and had children, Jacob went to meet Esau.
Older Jacob [to class]: I’m worried. What if Esau is still so angry? What do you think I should
say to him?
Allow time for class responses. Then Esau comes and the brothers see each other. They hesitate a moment and
then embrace.
Esau: Jacob, I’m glad to see that things turned out well for you in your life.
Jacob: I’m glad to see that things are good for you, too, Esau. I’m glad we made up.
Esau: Me, too.
Jacob and Esau [to class]: Shalom, and thanks for your help!
Option 2: Reading the Story
Read the story found below. Have the students follow along by reading or looking at the pictures in their
student workbooks.
Jacob and Esau were twin brothers, but very different. Jacob liked to study and be at home, while
Esau was a little wild and always liked to be outside. One day, Jacob tricked Esau into giving
him something very important that Esau was supposed to get because he was the older brother.
This made Esau furious! Esau was so angry that he threatened to kill his brother Jacob, so Jacob
ran away. Many years later, the brothers lived in different places and had married and had children. Jacob decided to try to make peace with his brother, but he was still a little afraid that Esau
would still be angry with him. When they saw each other, they were both filled with such joy
that they hugged and kissed! Jacob was happy that Esau had done well in his life, and Esau was
happy that Jacob had done well in his. They finally said good-bye and went on their separate
ways, glad that there was now peace (shalom) between them.
Art Project: Representational Drawing or Handmade Midrash (15–20 minutes)
Give your students the opportunity to decide if they want to draw a picture of the reconciliation
between Jacob and Esau, or if they want to create what is known as “handmade midrash” about
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the scene. A handmade midrash is a visual interpretation of a text created by tearing different colored paper and gluing them together. The students will think critically about the text and about
how they want to represent it. You might find it useful to make a handmade midrash yourself
before teaching the students.
1. Introduce the word “midrash” to the students and tell them that it is a Hebrew word. Explain to the
students that a midrash is a story rabbis and other people can write to explain something that happens in the Torah. Explain to the students that a midrash can be a written story (like they may have
learned in the Abraham and Sarah story), or it can be a picture or a drawing. Tell the students they
will be creating their own midrash picture using strips of paper or by drawing.
2. Give each student a whole piece of construction paper and place pieces of construction paper of every
possible color in the center of the tables. Provide glue and markers as well.
3. Ask the students to make a picture about the time when Jacob and Esau made up as brothers when
they were older, either by drawing it or by tearing pieces of paper any way they want and pasting them
onto the larger sheet of construction paper.
4. When they are done, ask volunteers to show their work and to explain what is going on in the scene
(i.e., what Jacob and Esau do and say).
5. You can collect the students’ artwork and hang it in the classroom.
I’ll Always Be Your Friend (15 minutes)
1. Explain to the students that they are going to learn a song that uses four Hebrew words that have to
do with the story of Jacob and Esau. Tell the students that after you teach the four words, you are
going to ask them what they think these words have to do with our story.
2. Teach the students the following four Hebrew words by showing them the word posters (pages
70–73). Hold up each poster and say the Hebrew word. Have the students repeat after you. After you
have taught all four words, hold up the posters one at time and see if they can remember them. You
can make a game out of the repetition by flipping quickly from word to word and seeing if the students can keep up with you. The four Hebrew words are: ck lev (heart); s®h² yad (hand); j¨t ach (brother);
and rc¨j chaver (friend).
3. Ask students, “What do you think these four words have to do with our story?” (Possible answers: the
story is about brothers, they love each other with all of their heart, they become friends in the end; they hold
hands when they hug.)
4. Teach students the song “I’ll Always Be Your Friend” from the CD. Explain to the students that the
“B” before a word in Hebrew means “in” or “to” and the “L” sound before a word in Hebrew means
“to,” so the Hebrew part reads, “Hand to hand, heart to heart, brother to brother, friend to friend.”
5. Ask students, “What does this song teach us about Jacob and Esau?” (Possible answer: It is about realizing that even when you fight, you are still family.)
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CONCLUSION: SH’LOM BAYIT (15 MINUTES)
1. Explain to students that in Judaism we have the idea of sh’lom bayit (peace in your home). Even if
someone in your family makes you angry, you eventually remember that you are still family. We know
that our biblical family sometimes fought, but in the end they remembered that they were family and
tried to make sh’lom bayit, peace in their home.
2. Ask students, “What things can you do to make peace in your home? What if you are fighting with
your brother or sister? What if you do not want to do what your parents are telling you to do?”
(Possible answers: say I am sorry; get along; do what my parents need, even if I don’t want to.)
3. Ask students to turn to page 23 in their workbook. Remind students that at the end of each story that
they learn in class they will decorate a large version of an item for their Genesis Traveler. When they
have completed decorating the item, they will receive a small image of the item to actually put on their
Genesis Traveler on the back of their book.
4. Ask students, “Why do you think that we would add a heart to our Genesis Traveler to help us
remember the story Jacob and Esau?” (Even though they fought, they still loved each other. A heart makes
us think of love. In our home we need to remember that even when we fight, we still love each other.)
5. Ask students to draw or write in the heart a way of “making peace” with someone they love. When
students have completed decorating their heart, have them cut out the heart image from page 31 of
their workbooks. The students should color in the image of the heart. If you have posted the My
Genesis Travelers on a bulletin board, take them down and hand them to the students. If not, have
them open their workbooks to the My Genesis Traveler page. Give the students glue or glue sticks and
have them paste the image of the heart over the dotted outline of the heart on the My Genesis Traveler
page.
6. If time allows, ask the students to share their drawings.
7. Sing or play the class good-bye song.
8. Hand out the parent letter (page 81).
CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life
Hand
Yad
s²h
Copyright © 2007 URJ Press
CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life
Heart
Lev
ck
Copyright © 2007 URJ Press
CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life
Brother
Ach
j¨t
Copyright © 2007 URJ Press
CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life
Friend
Chaver
rc¨j
Copyright © 2007 URJ Press
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Background:
Torah Text about Jacob and Esau
Genesis 25:19–34, 27:1–28:9,
32:4–33:17
Genesis 25:19–34
25:19] This is the line of Isaac son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac. 20] Isaac
was 40 years old when he took as his wife Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the
Aramean of Paddanaram, the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21] Isaace pleaded
with the Eternal on behalf of his wife, for she was childless, and the Eternal acceded
to his entreaty, so his wife Rebekah became pregnant.
22] The children pressed against each other inside her. She thought: “If this is so,
why do I exist?” So she went to inquire of the Eternal. 23] The Eternal One said
to her:
Two peoples are in your belly;
two nations shall branch off from each other [as they emerge] from your womb.
One people shall prevail over the other;
the elder shall serve the younger.
24] When the time came for her to give birth, lo—she had twins in her belly!
25] The first came out reddish all over, as though covered with a hairy mantle, so
they named him Esau; 26] his brother, following, came out holding Esau’s heel,
so they named him Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born. 27]
When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but
Jacob was a homespun man, keeping to the tents. 28] Isaac favored Esau,
because he [Esau] put game in his mouth, but Rebekah favored Jacob.
29] [One day,] when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the [hunting]
field. He was famished, 30] and he said to Jacob, “I’m famished; let me gulp
down some of that red stuff!” (That is why he was named Edom.) 31] Jacob
said, “Sell me your birthright here and now.” 32] And Esau said, “Here I am
going to die; what good is the birthright to me?” 33] But Jacob said, “Confirm
it to me by oath here and now.” So he swore it to him, and sold his birthright to
Jacob. 34] Jacob then gave Esau bread and lentil stew. He ate, drank, got up,
and left. Thus did Esau disdain his birthright.
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Genesis 27:1–28:9
27:1] When Isaac had grown old and his eyesight had dimmed, he called his elder
son Esau, saying to him, “My son!” “Here I am,” he answered. 2] “Look now,”
said he. “I have grown old, [and] for all I know I may die any day. 3] So pick
up your weapons—your quiver and your bow—and go out to the countryside and
hunt me some game. 4] Then you can make me tasty dishes such as I like and
bring [them] to me and I will eat, so that I can give you my heartfelt blessing
before I die.”
5] As Isaac was speaking to his son Esau, Rebekah was listening; and when Esau
went to the countryside to hunt for some game to bring [him], 6] Rebekah said
this to her son Jacob, “Look—I heard your father speaking to your brother Esau,
saying, 7] ‘Bring me game and make me tasty dishes, that I may eat—and
[then] bless you before the Eternal before my death.’
8] “Now, son, listen to me, to what I am instructing you: 9] Go to the flock
and bring me two tender kids, and I will make them into tasty dishes for your
father, such as he likes. 10] You will bring them to your father and he will eat,
so that he may bless you before his death.” 11] But Jacob said to his mother
Rebekah, “Look—my brother Esau is a hairy man and I am a smooth-skinned
man; 12] should my father feel me I will seem to him like a cheat, and I will
bring a curse on myself, not a blessing!”
13] His mother then said to him, “Any curse that you get will be on me, son—just
listen to me and go get [them] for me!” 14] So he went and got them and brought
[them] to his mother, and his mother made tasty dishes, such as his father liked.
15] Rebekah now took the finest of her elder son Esau’s garments that she had in
the house, and dressed up her younger son Jacob. 16] The skins of the kids she
wrapped on his hands and over the smooth part of his neck, 17] and she put the
tasty food and the bread that she had made into her son Jacob’s hand.
18] Going then to his father, he said, “Father!” and he replied: “Here I am; which
son of mine are you?”
19] Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your first-born; I have done as you told
me; pray get up and sit and eat of my game so that you can give me your heartfelt
blessing.” 20] Isaac then said to his son: “How is it that you were able to find
[game] so quickly, my son?” And he replied, “The Eternal your God made it happen for me.” 21] “Pray come near me,” said Isaac to Jacob, “so that I can feel
you, son. Are you really my son Esau, or are you not?”
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22] Jacob approached his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is the
voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau!” 23] He did not recognize
him, however, because his hands were hairy, like the hands of his brother Esau—
and as he was [preparing to] bless him, 24] he said, “Are you really my son
Esau?” “I am,” he answered. 25] He said, “Bring [it] near me and I will eat of
my son’s game, so that I can give you my heartfelt blessing.” He brought [it] to
him and he ate; he brought him wine and he drank. 26] His father Isaac then
said to him, “Pray come near and kiss me, son.”
27] As he came near and kissed him, [Isaac] smelled the scent of his clothes and
blessed him, saying:
“See, my son’s scent is like the scent of a field
blessed by the Eternal.
28] God give you of heaven’s dew,
of earth’s bounty;
abundant grain and new wine.
29] Let peoples serve you,
nations bow down to you.
Be a ruler to your brothers,
and let your mother’s sons bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed;
may those who bless you be blessed.”
30] Just as Isaac finished blessing Jacob, at the very moment that Jacob was in the
act of leaving his father Isaac’s presence, his brother Esau came in from his hunt.
31] He too made tasty dishes that he brought to his father and he said to his
father, “Let my father get ready to eat of his son’s game, so that you can give me
your heartfelt blessing.” 32] But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” So
he replied, “I am your son, your first-born, Esau!” 33] Isaac now began to shudder—a shuddering exceedingly great—and he said, “Who then hunted game and
brought [it] to me and I ate of it all before you came? I blessed him—and blessed
he will remain!”
34] When Esau heard his father’s words, he broke into an exceedingly loud and
bitter howl and said to his father, “Bless me! Me too, father!” 35] But he said,
“Your brother came with deceit and took away your blessing!”
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36] He replied, “Is he not named Jacob? Twice now he has cheated me—he took
my birthright and now, look, he has taken my blessing!” And he added, “Did you
not reserve a blessing for me?” 37] Isaac responded by saying to Esau, “Look—
I have appointed him your master, and given him all his kin to be his servants, and
have supported him with grain and new wine; come, now, what am I to do, my
son?”
38] “Do you have but one blessing, father?” said Esau to his father. “Bless me! Me
too, father!” And Esau cried out and wept. 39] His father Isaac then responded
and said to him:
“Lo, among the fat places of the earth shall your dwelling be,
and with heaven’s dew from above.
40] By your sword shall you live,
your brother shall you serve.
But when you move away,
You shall break his yoke off your neck.”
41] Esau now bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had
conferred upon him, and Esau formed this resolve: “The days of mourning for my
father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42] When Rebekah
was told her elder son Esau’s words, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to
him, “Look—your brother Esau is plotting to avenge himself by killing you. 43]
Now, son, listen to me: get going and flee to my brother Laban in Haran. 44]
You can stay there a while until your brother’s rage cools down; 45] when your
brother’s anger turns away from you and he forgets what you did to him, I will
send to bring you back from there—why should I be bereft of the two of you in a
single day?”
46] So Rebekah said to Isaac, “I abhor my life because of the daughters of the
Hittites; if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of the Hittites—like these from
among the daughters of the land—what would my life be worth?” 28:1] Isaac
then summoned Jacob and blessed him and gave him this instruction: “Do not
take a wife from among the daughters of Canaan. 2] Get ready, go to Paddanaram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take yourself a wife from
among the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3] And may God
Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful and numerous, so that you become a
host of peoples, 4] and give you the blessing of Abraham—you along with your
descendants—to possess the land in which you have sojourned, that God gave to
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Abraham!” 5] Thus did Isaac send Jacob away; he went to Paddan-aram, to
Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, brother of Rebekah, mother of Jacob and
Esau.
6] When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddanaram, there to take a wife for himself, blessing him and instructing him: Do not
take a wife from among the daughters of Canaan, 7] and that Jacob had heeded his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram, 8] Esau understood that his
father Isaac looked with disfavor at the daughters of Canaan, 9] so he went to
Ishmael and took as his wife Mahalath daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, sister
of Nebaioth, adding her to his [other] wives.
Genesis 32:4–33:17
32:4] Jacob now sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of
Seir, in the countryside of Edom. 5] He instructed them as follows: “Say this to
My lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob: With Laban have I stayed and have
lingered until just now. 6] I came to own cattle, donkeys, sheep, and male and
female slaves, and I am sending my lord this message [in the hope] of pleasing
you.’” 7] When the messengers came back to Jacob, they said, “We went to your
brother Esau, and he, too—accompanied by four hundred men—is marching to
meet you.”
8] Jacob was terrified. So anxious was he, that he divided the people who were
with him—and the flocks, the herds, and the camels—into two camps. 9] He
thought: “If Esau advances on the first camp and strikes it, the remaining camp
will be able to escape.” 10] Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham and
God of my father Isaac, Eternal [God] who says to me, ‘Return to your native land
and I will make things go well with you’! 11] I am unworthy of all the proofs of
mercy and all the faithfulness that You have shown Your servant. For I crossed this
Jordan with [nothing but] my walking stick, and now I have become [these] two
camps! 12] Save me, I pray, from my brother’s hand, from Esau’s hand! I am
afraid of him, lest he advance on me and strike me, mother [falling] on child. 13]
Yet You said, ‘I will make things go well with you and make your descendants like
the grains of sand along the seashore, which are too many to be counted.’”
14] After spending the night there, he chose an offering for his brother Esau from
what was at hand— 15] 200 goats and 20 he-goats, 200 ewes and 20 rams,
16] 30 milch camels and their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 she-asses and 10
he-asses. 17] He put his slaves in charge of each drove separately, saying to his
slaves, “Pass before me and leave some distance between one drove and the next.”
18] He instructed the first as follows, “If my brother Esau meets you and asks you,
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‘To whom do you belong, where are you going, and whose are these ahead of you?’
19] say, ‘These are your servant’s, Jacob’s; it is an offering sent to my lord Esau;
and in fact he is following close behind us.’” 20] He instructed the second, too,
and third as well, and all [the others] who were to follow the droves, saying, “This
is what you shall tell Esau when you find him. 21] And say as well, ‘And in fact
he is [coming] behind us.’” For he reasoned, “I will win him over with an offering
in advance; then, when I face him, he may pardon me.” 22] And so the offering went on ahead, while he remained in camp that night.
23] That same night, Jacob got up, took his two wives, his two maidservants, and
his eleven children, and crossed at a ford of the Jabbok [river]. 24] After taking
them across the stream, he sent across all that he owned.
25] Now Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the rise of dawn.
26] When [the man] saw that he could not overcome him, he struck Jacob’s hipsocket, so that Jacob’s hip-socket was wrenched as [the man] wrestled with him.
27] Then he said, “Let me go; dawn is breaking!” But [Jacob] said, “I will not let
you go unless you bless me!”
28] The other said to him, “What is your name?” and he said, “Jacob.” 29]
“No more shall you be called Jacob, but Israel,” said the other, “for you have struggled with God and with human beings, and you have prevailed.” 30] Then
Jacob asked, “Pray tell me now your name.” But he said, “Why do you ask my
name?” And then he took his leave of him.
31] Jacob therefore named that place Peni’el—“For I have seen God face-to-face,
yet my life has been spared.” 32] The sun shone on him as he was leaving
Penu’el, and he was limping on account of his thigh. 33] To this day that is why
the people of Israel do not eat the thigh muscle that is in the socket of the hip,
because he struck Jacob’s hip-socket at the thigh muscle.
33:1] When Jacob was looking into the distance, he beheld Esau coming with his
four hundred men, so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two
maids. 2] He placed the maids and their children in front, Leah and her children next, with Rachel and Joseph last. 3] He himself went on ahead of them
and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
4] Esau, though, ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and
kissed him. And they burst into tears.
5] When Esau looked around and saw the women and the children, he said,
“Who are these? Yours?” [Jacob] answered, “The children with whom God has
favored your servant.” 6] Then the lesser wives with their children approached
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CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life
and bowed down; 7] Leah, too, approached with her children and bowed down;
afterward, Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed down.
8] Esau said, “What, is all this camp that I came across yours?” And Jacob replied,
“Yes, [it is all meant] to find favor in the sight of my lord.” 9] Esau said, “I have
an abundance, my brother; let what is yours be yours.” 10] Jacob said, “No,
please, if I have truly found favor in your sight, take the offering from my hand;
for to see your face is like seeing the face of God; and you have [already] shown
me favor. 11] Please accept my gift of blessing that has been presented to you;
God has been gracious to me, and I have all [that I need].” [Jacob] kept on pressing him until [Esau] accepted.
12] [Esau] then said, “Let us start on our way. I will go at your side.” 13] But
[Jacob] answered, “My lord knows that the children are delicate, and that I have
to think about the sheep and cattle that are nursing. If they drive them hard a single day, the small cattle will perish! 14] Let my lord go on ahead of his servant;
as for myself, let me proceed on my way at my own pace, [following] the footsteps
of the livestock in front of me and [following] the footsteps of the children, until
I catch up to my lord near Seir.”
15] Esau said, “Pray let me then leave behind with you a portion of the force that
accompanies me.” But [Jacob] said, “Why should my lord show me such favor?”
16] So that day Esau started back on his way to Seir, 17] while Jacob went on
to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock; that is
why the place was called Succoth.
CHAI: Learning for Jewish Life
Dear Parents,
Today, our class learned about the story of Jacob and Esau, twin brothers who were very different
and whose clash within the family results in a long period of separation. Jacob, the younger twin,
tricks their father Isaac into giving him the birthright and the blessing due to his older brother,
Esau. Upon learning of this deception and theft, Esau threatens to kill Jacob and Jacob flees. The
brothers reunite and reconcile many years later.
In class, we spoke about the Jewish value of sh’lom bayit, peace in one’s home, which refers to
domestic tranquility and the belief that all members of a family have a responsibility to work
toward the creation of a peaceful home. For Jacob and Esau, this was particularly difficult, as
they were destined to quarrel with one another in the unfolding saga of the Jewish people. In the
end, however, they both came to terms with their differences—albeit many years later—providing
an important message about acceptance, if not love, of family members.
We hope that you will make questions of sh’lom bayit part of your family’s ongoing conversation.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
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