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Vayishlach ח ַל ְׁשִּיַו
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Vayishlach is the Torah’s eighth portion. Throughout the Torah, the
number eight represents eternity and transcendence, for they are one
level above the natural physical plane associated with the number
seven. Therefore, it is no surprise to find the number eight or issues
associated with it alluded to in this portion.
Parenthetically, in this context, it is interesting to note that
Vayeitzei, the Torah’s seventh portion, contains many references
to the number seven. The portion begins with Jacob leaving Beer
Sheva, the “Well of Seven,” and continues with Jacob’s dream about
the ladder that according to one opinion had seven rungs. Many
commentators explain the import of a seven-rung ladder and Jacob
beginning his journey from the “Well of Seven.”
After meeting Rachel, Jacob agrees to work for seven years in
order to marry her. Then, after Laban tricks him into marrying
Leah first, he agrees to work for seven more years to marry Rachel.
Leah ultimately bears him seven children and in keeping with the
association of seven with the natural world much of the portion deals
with Jacob’s life and trials in this mundane world.
The first allusion to the number eight in Vayishlach appears in
the first verse, when Jacob sends messengers to inform his brother
Esau that he has returned. Since the Hebrew word for “messengers”
also means angels, Rashi comments that Jacob sent “real angels,”
malachim mamash. What at first seems to have been a mundane act is
transformed by Rashi’s commentary into a spiritual one, indicating
that Jacob’s struggle with Esau will have to be fought on the spiritual
plane, represented by the number eight. Indeed, as we will see, in our
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Toldot
the long and convoluted relationship between Jacob’s descendants,
4 the Jewish people, and Esau’s descendants the Romans. The Rabbis
refer to both the Roman Empire and Christianity – adopted by the
Roman Empire and transformed into a religious force to be reckoned
with – as Esau’s progeny. The love-hate relationship between Esau
and Jacob contains within it the seeds of the history that will come
to pass and is so much more than merely the story of two feuding
brothers.
The Talmud is replete with stories recounting discussions between
the Roman rulers and aristocracy and the Jewish Sages that illustrate
both “the love” – a great measure of respect – and “the hate,” an
attitude marked by disdain. Many important Romans converted
to Judaism and at the height of the Roman Empire ten percent of
Rome’s population was Jewish. Yet Rome destroyed the Second
Temple and left the Land of Israel decimated and in ruins. Over
much of the last two thousand years, this saga has been told through
the ongoing and sometimes tortured relationship between Judaism
and Christianity.
The Torah also uses the relationship between Jacob and Esau to
symbolize the archetypal battle between good and evil by declaring
a perpetual war between the nations of Israel and Amelek. The latter
nation was fathered by Amalek, a direct descendant of Esau and a
representative of his darkest side. This ongoing saga and archetypal
confrontation is alluded to by every nuance in the Jacob and Esau
story and manifests its spiritual energy throughout history.
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