Five Books: Parashat Vayishlach
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Description
The eighth portion of Torah begins a pair of complex confrontations - Jacob reunites with his brother Esau after their acrimonious separation in last week's Parasha, while a more mysterious encounter forces Jacob to wrestle, literally, with his relationship with the divine. Jacob is renamed 'Israel', and a series of births and deaths remind us that this family is evolving. But it is a terrible encounter at Shechem that may change this family and its future for ever. What does it take to be Jewish? And what boundaries must we draw from ourselves? This week's Parasha lets us dive into all of this.
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