December 6, 2025: Torah Portion Parashat Vayishlach - "And He Sent"

In this study, we will explore the Torah Portion Vayishlach - "And He Sent"

• Torah Portion: Genesis 32:3-36:43

• Haftarah: Obadiah 1:1-21

• Brit Chadashah (New Testament): Hebrews 11:11-20; Matthew 26:36-46

📜Torah Portion Vayishlach - "And He Sent":

Torah: Bereshit (Genesis) 32:4–36:43

Parashah Summary:

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau (Genesis 32):

After 20 years in exile, Jacob returns to the Land and fears Esau’s rage. He sends messengers with a humble greeting and gifts.

Jacob divides his camp for protection and prays for deliverance. This parashah highlights overcoming fear, prayer, and transformation.

Jacob then wrestles with the Mysterious Man. Jacob is alone at night and wrestles with a man until sunrise. Jewish and Messianic commentary describe the “man” as: An angel, a manifestation of the Divine, a pre-incarnate appearance of the Messiah (a common Messianic view).

Jacob receives a new name: Israel — “one who struggles with God and prevails.”

This is a turning point of identity, destiny, and covenant renewal.

Reconciliation With Esau:

Jacob bows seven times; Esau unexpectedly runs to embrace him. This reconciled moment echoes future possibilities of restoration and forgiveness.

Jacob refuses to follow Esau, choosing to settle in Succoth and then Shechem.

Dinah and Shechem (Genesis 34):

Dinah is violated, and her brothers Simeon and Levi retaliate violently. Jacob rebukes them for risking the family’s safety.

This chapter raises complex questions on justice, vengeance, and covenant responsibility.

Jacob Returns to Bethel (Genesis 35):

God commands Jacob to return to Bethel and build an altar. Jacob buries all foreign gods under an oak tree.

God reiterates the covenant promises: fruitfulness, nations, and the land.

Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin.

Isaac dies at 180 years, and Esau and Jacob bury him together.

The Genealogy of Esau (Genesis 36):

Lists the descendants of Esau, establishing the nation of Edom.

Messianic Teaching: The Night God Wrestles With You

There are nights in life when the darkness feels heavy, when fear is louder than prayer, and when the future feels uncertain. Vayishlach is a picture of those nights. It is the story of a man who reaches the end of himself and discovers that God is already waiting for him there.

Jacob is standing on the threshold of his destiny. Behind him is Laban, a season of deception, survival, and struggle. Ahead of him is Esau, the brother he deceived and fears will kill him. Inside him is a storm of anxiety. Everything in him whispers, “You are not enough. You are not ready. You are not worthy.”

In that moment, God steps into the night.

1. When God Meets You in the Dark:

Jacob is left alone. The noise is gone. The distractions are gone. Only his heartbeat remains. And suddenly, he is attacked. A Man grabs him in the dark.

But the goal is not to destroy him.

It is to awaken him.

Not to condemn him.

But to transform him.

Jacob wrestles until dawn. The struggle marks him permanently. He will walk with a limp for the rest of his life. Yet the limp becomes a sign of victory, not defeat.

There are battles that injure you but also elevate you.

There are wounds that become testimonies.

There are midnights where God Himself wrestles the fear out of you until faith rises.

Sometimes God lets you struggle, not because He wants to break you, but because He wants to rebuild you.

2. The Question That Changes Everything: “What Is Your Name?”

In the middle of the wrestling, the mysterious Man asks Jacob, “What is your name?”

God already knew his name. But Jacob needed to say it. He needed to confess who he had been.

“I am Jacob.”

I am the one who grasped.

I am the one who deceived.

I am the one who ran.

I am the one afraid of my past.

I am the one hiding.

And God answers, “You are no longer Jacob. You are Israel.”

This is the heart of the Messianic message:

Your past does not get the final word.

Your wounds do not define you.

Your failures do not name you.

YESHUA gives you a new identity, one rooted in covenant and destiny! HalleluYAH!!

3. The Morning After the Fight:

When the sun rises, Jacob limps toward Esau. He is wounded, but he is also changed.

He is weaker in the flesh but stronger in the spirit. He is marked, but he is also anointed.

And as he approaches, Esau does something shocking. He runs to Jacob and embraces him! What Jacob feared for twenty years is dissolved in a single moment of mercy.

This teaches us something essential:

While Jacob was wrestling with God, God was working in Esau’s heart! God was preparing the reconciliation Jacob thought was impossible.

This is why we do not walk into the future with fear. God enters the hearts, situations, and tomorrows we cannot control.

Aliyah (Going Up) Breakdown:

1st Aliyah — Genesis 32:4–13:

Jacob sends messengers to Esau.

They return with news that Esau is coming with 400 men.

Jacob becomes afraid and divides his camp, turning to prayer.

Lesson Learned: Overcoming fear

2nd Aliyah — Genesis 32:14–30:

Jacob prepares a large gift for Esau. That night, Jacob is left alone and wrestles with a “man” until daybreak. His hip is struck. He refuses to let go until he receives a blessing.

His name is changed to Israel.

Lesson Learned: How did he overcome fear? By wrestling with God in prayer.

3rd Aliyah — Genesis 32:31–33:5:

Jacob limps as he meets Esau. Instead of anger, Esau embraces Jacob. Peace is restored between the brothers.

Lesson Learned: His breakthrough came. Restoration of relationship. He humbled himself. Humility broke the yoke of hatred between the two brothers.

4th Aliyah — Genesis 33:6–20:

Jacob introduces his family and travels to Shechem. He builds an altar to God:

“El Elohei Yisrael — God, the God of Israel.”

Lesson Learned: He makes an altar for the Lord. We need to learn to make altars for ADONAI, to do a prophetic act, in worship unto the Lord. It's a physical manifestation of worship before God, a sacrifice of gratitude, and praise the Him. You can lay a memorial stone to remember what the Lord has done for you.

Sometimes we can carry that stone with us, to remind us of His goodness towards us!

The blessing and covenant is reaffirmed in the place you make an altar of gratitude.

5th Aliyah — Genesis 34:1–17:

The incident with Dinah: Shechem violates Dinah and seeks to marry her.

Jacob’s sons respond deceitfully.

Lesson Learned: Jacob said Simeon and Levi brought trouble to him.

Jacob said:

“You have brought trouble on me, making me odious to the inhabitants of the land…”

Genesis 34:30

This stayed with Jacob his entire life.

Simeon became the smallest tribe, and Levi was scattered.

Levi was redeemed by standing up for ADONAI during the golden calf incident. (Exodus 32:1-20)

When Jacob blessed his sons years later, in Genesis 49, he spoke this over Simeon and Levi:

“Simeon and Levi are brothers; instruments of violence are their swords.

Let my soul not enter their council…Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;

and their wrath, for it is cruel.” Genesis 49:5–7

Important Truth:

Jacob did not curse the men — he cursed their anger. He did not condemn them as people. He condemned the spirit of violence they partnered with. This was not a curse on their identity, but on their uncontrolled anger and violence.

6th Aliyah — Genesis 34:18–35:11:

Simeon and Levi avenge Dinah. God instructs Jacob to go to Bethel.

Jacob commands his household to remove foreign gods.

At Bethel, God confirms the name “Israel.”

Lesson Learned: Jacob said of Simeon and Levi:

“I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.” Genesis 49:7

This is exactly what happened: Simeon became the smallest tribe. They were absorbed inside the territory of Judah. They lost influence because of the violent legacy.

Levi was scattered — but redeemed. Levi later aligned with YHWH during the golden calf incident. They stood on the Lord’s side when no one else did.

Because of that, Levi became the priestly tribe. They were scattered not as punishment but as ministers across Israel. The “curse” was completely reversed into a calling.

What was once violence became a holy service.

7th Aliyah — Genesis 35:12–36:43:

Blessing and covenant reaffirmed.

Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin.

Reuben sins with Bilhah.

Isaac dies.

Esau’s genealogy is listed.

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📜Haftarah for Vayishlach:

Obadiah 1:1–21

Theme: Judgment on Edom (Esau’s descendants) for violence against Jacob.

Connection: The Esau–Jacob tension echoes through generations.

Why this Haftarah?

Obadiah speaks judgment against Edom, the nation descended from Esau.

This parallels the conflict between Jacob and Esau in the parashah.

Key Themes:

• Pride of Edom: They exalt themselves in the rocky mountains but will be humbled.

• Violence Against Jacob: Edom is judged for standing by during Israel’s suffering.

• The Day of the LORD: A universal day of justice.

• Restoration of Israel: The Kingdom will be the LORD’s; deliverance will come from Zion.

Messianic Insight:

The final verse speaks of saviors (deliverers) ascending Mount Zion:

"The deliverers will go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom will be the LORD’s." Obadiah 1:21

This verse refers to the deliverers ascending Mount Zion, indicating a future judgment and restoration for Edom. This is seen as a foreshadowing of Messiah’s ultimate deliverance and His future kingdom.

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📜Brit Hadashah Study (Messianic Readings):

Matthew 26:36–46 — Yeshua Wrestling in Gethsemane; just as Jacob wrestled physically, Yeshua wrestles spiritually.

Both moments happen at night, in solitude, before a moment of sacrifice.

Yeshua prevails by submitting His will: “Not My will, but Yours.”

"And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39

Luke 18:1–8 — The Widow and the Unjust Judge

A lesson in spiritual perseverance, paralleling Jacob’s insistence:

“I will not let You go until You bless me.” Faith requires persistence in prayer and seeking justice.

Ephesians 6:10–18 — Wrestling in the Spirit

Paul says: “We wrestle not against flesh and blood.” Ephesians 6:12

The spiritual armor parallels Jacob’s night struggle and his preparation.

Identity in Messiah strengthens believers the same way Jacob received a new name.

Key Messianic Themes in Vayishlach:

1. Transformation of Identity:

Jacob becomes Israel. In Messiah, believers also receive a transformed identity.

2. Fear to Faith:

Jacob fears Esau; God calls him to trust the covenant. Messiah calls us to the same walk of trust.

3. Reconciliation:

The embrace of Jacob and Esau previews the healing of ancient wounds— in families, in Israel, and ultimately between nations.

4. Spiritual Warfare:

Jacob wrestles all night; Yeshua wrestles in Gethsemane; believers wrestle in prayer.

5. Covenant Faithfulness