Friend or Foe?
Yaakov was on the home stretch of his journey back from Lavan's house. He had mixed feelings about going home. On one hand, he was happy to be returning at last to his own land with his wives and children. But on the other hand, he didn't know what Eisav might have in store for him. Would he be forgiving-or still full of hate? Yaakov feared that, even after 20 years, Eisav might still be fighting mad.
It was time to find out just what Eisav was up to. Yaakov sent messengers to dig up some answers-and the news they came back with was not pretty. They had spotted Eisav coming toward Yaakov, backed by an army of 400 men!
War! Yaakov was terrified-but he knew he needed to keep his wits about him. It was time to take serious action. He came up with a three-part plan...
Help!
1) Yaakov prayed like he'd never prayed before! He pleaded with HaShem, "Remember Your promise to make the descendants of Avraham as many as the sand of the sea! Please save me and my family from Eisav and his army!"
And It Wasn't Even His Birthday
2) Yaakov prepared gifts galore for Eisav. He told his servants to get ready to greet Eisav with herd after herd of goats, sheep, camels, cows, and donkeys.
To make this more-than-generous gift seem even MORE generous, he told the servants to spread out and leave space between them. That way, Eisav would first see just one herd... then another... and another... and he would feel like he was getting gifts with no end in sight.
Yaakov figured that such a fabulous present might be just the thing to put Eisav in a good mood.
Don't Take Any Chances
3) Yaakov divided his people into two groups. Each group headed in a different direction, so that even if Eisav did attack, at least some of his family would be able to escape safely.
Fight in the Night
Yaakov and his crew crossed over the Yabok River, and then Yaakov realized that he had left some of his jars back on the other side. He told his family he'd be back soon, and then headed back across the water.
Suddenly, a man seemed to come out of nowhere- and attacked Yaakov! It was actually Eisav's guardian angel, who had come to challenge Yaakov to a wrestling match. All that night Yaakov wrestled with the angel and the angel could not overcome him.
Some Nerve!
Finally, the angel gave up-but he had left his mark on his enemy, by throwing Yaakov's hip joint out of its socket. Ouch! That left Yaakov with a limp-and started a tradition that we have until this very day, not to eat that same part of an animal (the gid hanasheh, or sciatic nerve), in recognition of Yaakov's struggle.
When the sun came up, the angel begged Yaakov to let him go.
"It's time for me to go up and sing songs of praise to HaShem," the angel explained.
"Not so fast", replied Yaakov, "First admit to me that I did the right thing by taking my father's blessing, instead of Eisav having it. Also, from you I want a special blessing. Then I will let you go".
"Yes, what you did was right," said the angel. "And as far as the blessing... what is your name?"
"Yaakov."
"From now on you will also be called Yisrael. That means - You fought with an angel of HaShem, as well as with men, and won!" (That's a lot of meaning in one Hebrew word!)
"Ah! And by the way, what is your name?"
"My name? Why do you need to know that? It's enough that I am giving you my blessing."
With that, the angel left, and Yaakov hurried back to his family, across the river-still limping because of his hip.
Long Time No See
Yaakov looked up and saw the enemy he had been dreading for so long-his brother, Eisav! With 400 men! They were getting closer every second. There was nowhere to hide, and no time to lose.
Quickly, Yaakov came up with a game plan. His strategy was to position the two maidservants, Bilha and Zilpa, in the front with their sons behind them. Then came Leah and her sons (Dinah was with them, too, safe and sound in a special box to protect her). All the way in the back, in the most protected spot, was Rachel, hidden by her son, Yosef.
Yaakov courageously went ahead of all of them, and honored Eisav by bowing down before him seven times. He came closer and closer with each bow until he was standing right in front of his wicked brother.
And then...
The Moment of Truth
Eisav ran toward Yaakov... and hugged him! The prayers, presents, and battle plan all helped to prevent Eisav from exploding with rage when he met up with his brother.
The brothers both cried, and Eisav even kissed Yaakov's neck.
Was this for real? Could the wicked Eisav be so affectionate? Had he changed his ways? At least on the outside, it seemed to be true. And perhaps Eisav did feel a burst of sincere love for his twin brother after all those years of separation.
Son #12
After the spine-tingling meeting with Eisav, Yaakov was grateful that he and his family were safe and alive. They traveled on toward Chevron-Yitzchak's hometown. On the way there, Rachel gave birth to her second son, named Binyamin-the only one of the tribes to be born in the land of Israel. Sadly, as Binyamin was born, Rachel took her last breath and passed away. Yaakov buried her and built a large stone monument on the side of the road. Today, Kever Rachel (Rachel's Tomb) is considered one of the holiest places in Israel, and Jews from all over the world come to pray there.
Family Reunion
After the long, hard journey, Yaakov finally arrived at his father Yitzchak's house. Yitzchak was so happy to spend his final years with his grandchildren. When Yitzchak was very, very old-180 years, to be exact-he passed away, after a long and full life. He was buried next to his wife, Rivkah, in Me'erat HaMachpeila. Now Yaakov's sons, the next generation of leaders, get ready to play their part in the unfolding story of the Jewish people. This gets a little complicated... after all, where there are siblings, there is jealousy...
