Vayishlach 2025/5785

(18) Jacob arrived safe in the city of Shechem which is in the land of Canaan—having come thus from Paddan-aram—and he encamped before the city.

(1) שלם SAFELY (literally, whole, perfect, unimpaired) — unimpaired in body (health) because he was cured of his lameness; whole as regards his possessions for he was not short of anything even though he had given that gift (for his remaining cattle soon bore other young; cf. Rashi on Genesis 30:43); and perfect in his knowledge of the Torah for whilst he was in Laban’s house he had not forgotten what he had before learned (Shabbat 33b). (2) עיר שכם — the word עיר is equivalent to לעיר to the city of. Similarly we have (Ruth 1:19) “until they came בית לחם” — “to Bethlehem". (3) בבאו מפדן ארם WHEN HE CAME FROM PADAN-ARAM — This is stated here in the same way as a person says to his neighbour, “that man there has come from between the teeth of the lion and has returned unhurt”. Similarly here: he came whole from Padan-aram — from Laban and from Esau who had come to attack him on his journey.

“And Yaakov Avinu came to … Shchem, … and he graced the faces of the city ….” (Bereshit, 33:18) (Vayichan et p’nei ha’eer is normally translated, “and he camped before the city.”)

“The faces of the city” means its honored citizens, and “the faces of the city” at that time were Shchem and Hamor. The term vayichan (meaning “pitched,” but also meaning “graced”) means that their grace was aroused in his sight (he liked them). This relates to what is found in the writings of the holy Ari”zal (Shaar haGilgulim, Ch. 50) that “Shchem was later reincarnated into Zimri ben Salu son of Dinah.”

[MJF: He reincarnates as his own son! You don't know who your parents are..your grandfather?..Also consider Zimri & Cosbi, the holiness of it - Zimri as a prince and a warrior. Also Zimri as sexually problematic - as rapist with Dina, and a public sexual transgressor with Cosbi]

Therefore his soul desired her now also, as it said (Bereshit 34:8), “My son Shchem’s soul desired your daughter.” This means that he did not want to marry with the women of Canaan, only Dinah; and in this he found favor in the sight of Yaakov, for he was somewhat connected to Yaakov Avinu.

(13) God parted from him at the spot where [God] had spoken to him;

[MJF: Birrur - sifting through, sorting out the borer of shabbat melacha, eg I want blue socks from the drawer - I'm sifting through what I want. So this process is sifting through what's holy and what's not holy]

“And E-lohim ascended from him in the place where He spoke with him.” (Bereshit, 35:13)

For God showed Yaakov that he needed to undergo further birrurim (clarifications), and this is, “and God ascended from him,” as if he still needed to hold on to Him. “In the place where He spoke with him” means concerning the same financial matters with which the Torah was now dealing, for they were not yet complete. The same intention concerns what was said of Avraham (Bereshit, 17:22), “and E-lohim ascended from upon Avraham,” after the section discussing brit milah, for here too he needed to undergo further birurim with the trial of the binding of Yitzchak. There, however, it does not say “in the place where He spoke with him,” for the needed birurum and the immediate subject were not the same.

(21) Israel journeyed on, and pitched his tent beyond Migdal-eder.

THE PAIN OF LOSING RACHEL

[MJF: Symbolic translations

“Dwelling” = acceptance

Tower” and eider (a heard)= tekifut (unbridled strength)]

"God had a deep intent with the death of Rachel" = eg it had a big purpose.

Ask what the gift is.

VERY POWERFUL IDEA HERE: we cannot ask *WHY* Hashem is doing something to(for) us, but we must ask *WHAT* the "depth" is - eg what do we have to learn? What is the benefit/blessing here?

“And Yisroel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eider.” (Bereshit, 35:21)

This concerns what is written in the Midrash (Ruth Rabba, 2:7), “even after all the tribulations and adventures of Yaakov Avinu, the death of Rachel was more difficult on him than all of them.” It is the way of the Tsaddikim, and especially Yaakov Avinu, to strengthen himself and not to question the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, for certainly everything is for the good. This is why it says here after the death of Rachel, “and he pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eider,” meaning that he strengthened himself and did not question the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He.

Both “tower” and eider (a heard) are terms denoting tekifut (unbridled strength), and truly God had a deep intent with the death of Rachel, as mentioned in the holy Zohar (Bereshit, 175a). This is as it said (Bereshit, 35:22), “and it was, when Yisroel dwelt in the land …” “Dwelling” signifies acceptance, as he accepted it and did not at all question God’s attributes, for surely God intended a depth in this that was above his apprehension.

Then afterwards, God showed him that it was proper to ask for the depth to be revealed, for a man needs to ask for this. Even though questioning His attributes is forbidden, nevertheless he must ask God to show him what He wanted to effect with this depth [MJF: ask God what the *gift* is], for it is the way of God not to conceal anything for those who long for His mercy.

He showed him this in the incident with Reuven, and after (in the same verse), “and the sons of Yisrael were twelve.” This means that God opened for him the meaning of the order of the enumeration of the tribes, for every time the twelve tribes are mentioned they are enumerated in a different order, and each order is a study in itself for those who turn themselves to words of Torah.

Therefore we come to this order now, after the death of Rachel.

This is the order of the tribes according to its various enumerations in sixteen places.
1. Order of their births in Parshat Vayetze: Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Dan, Naftali, Gad, and Asher, Yissachar, Zevulun, Yosef, and Binyamin.
2. The order of coming to their father in Parshat Vayishlach; Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, Yosef, Binyamin, Dan, Naftali, Gad, Asher.
3. The order of their coming to Egypt in Parshat Vayigash; Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, Gad, Asher, Yosef, Binyamin, Dan, Naftali.
4. The order in which their father blessed them in Parshat Vayechi: Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Zevulun, Yissachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naftali, Yosef, Binyamin.
5. The order in Parshat VeEle Shemot; Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, and Binyamin, Dan, Naftali, Gad, Asher, and Yosef was …
6. In Parshat Vayera; Reuven, Shimon, Levi.
7. Those who were assigned to count Israel in Parshat Bamidbar; Reuven, Shimon, Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, Efriam, Menashe, Binyamin, Dan, Asher, Gad, Naftali.
8. The order of their numbers in Parshat Bamidbar; Reuven, Shimon, Gad, Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, Efriam, Menashe, Binyamin, Dan, Asher, Naftali.
9. The order of the banners; Banner of Yehuda Yissachar Zevulun—East. Banner of Reuven Shimon Gad—South. Banner of Efriam Menashe Binyamin—West. Banner of Dan Asher Naftali—North.
10 The order of the princes with their offerings in Parshat Nasso; Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, Reuven, Shimon, Gad, Efriam, Menashe, Binyamin, Dan, Asher, Naftali.
11. The order of the journeying of the banners in Parshat Beha’aloteicha; Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, and the sons of Gershon went … Reuven, Shimon, Gad, and the Kehatites went … Efriam, Menashe, Binyamin, Dan, Asher, Naftali.
12. The order in Parshat Shlach, that Moshe sent (to spy the land); Reuven, Shimon, Yehuda, Yissachar, Efriam, and Binyamin, Zevulun, Menashe, Dan, Asher, Naftali, Gad.
13. According to the order of the allotment of the land, Parshat Pinchas; Reuven, Shimon, Gad, Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, Menashe, Efriam, Binyamin, Dan, Asher, Naftali.
14. “A prince of each tribe shall inherit the land,” Parshat Maasei; Yehuda, Shimon, Binyamin, Dan, Menashe, Efriam, Zevulun, Yissachar, Asher, Naftali
15. In Parshat Tavo, “these shall stand to bless”; Shimon, and Levi, Yehuda, Yissachar, Yosef and Binyamin, and these … Reuven, Gad, Asher, Zevulun, Dan, Naftali.
16. The order in which Moshe blessed them in Parshat Ve’Zot HaBracha; Reuven, Yehuda, Levi, Binyamin, Yosef, Zevulun, Yissachar, Gad, Dan, Naftali, Asher.

Here the tribes are enumerated sixteen times, with various changes in their places, and each one is a study in itself. According to this the members of the great assembly codified the sixteen praised (in the blessing immediately following the morning recitation of Shema) of Emet v’yatsiv, “true and upright,” and the initiated will understand.

This is the order of the tribes according to its various enumerations in sixteen places.

1. Order of their births in Parshat Toldot

Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Dan, Naftali, Gad, and Asher, Yissachar, Zevulun, Yosef, and Binyamin.

2. The order of coming to their father in Parshat Vayishlach

Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, Yosef, Binyamin, Dan, Naftali, Gad, Asher.

3. The order of their coming to Egypt in Parshat Vayigash

Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, Gad, Asher, Yosef, Binyamin, Dan, Naftali.

4. The order in which their father blessed them in Parshat Vayechi

Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Zevulun, Yissachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naftali, Yosef, Binyamin.

5. The order in Parshat VeEle Shemot

Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, and Binyamin, Dan, Naftali, Gad, Asher, and Yosef was …

6. In Parshat Vayera

Reuven, Shimon, Levi.

7. Those who were assigned to count Israel in Parshat Bamidbar

8. The order of their numbers in Parshat Bamidbar

8. The order of their numbers in Parshat Bamidbar

Reuven, Shimon, Gad, Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, Efriam, Menashe, Binyamin, Dan, Asher, Naftali.

9. The order of the banners

Banner of Yehuda Yissachar Zevulun—East. Banner of Reuven Shimon Gad—South. Banner of Efriam Menashe Binyamin—West. Banner of Dan Asher Naftali—North.

10. The order of the princes with their offerings in Parshat Nasso

Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, Reuven, Shimon, Gad, Efriam, Menashe, Binyamin, Dan, Asher, Naftali.

11. The order of the journeying of the banners in Parshat Beha’aloteicha

Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, and the sons of Gershon went … Reuven, Shimon, Gad, and the Kehatites went … Efriam, Menashe, Binyamin, Dan, Asher, Naftali.

12. The order in Parshat Shlach, that Moshe sent (to spy the land)

Reuven, Shimon, Yehuda, Yissachar, Efriam, and Binyamin, Zevulun, Menashe, Dan, Asher, Naftali, Gad.

13. According to the order of the allotment of the land, Parshat Pinchas

Reuven, Shimon, Gad, Yehuda, Yissachar, Zevulun, Menashe, Efriam, Binyamin, Dan, Asher, Naftali.

14. “A prince of each tribe shall inherit the land,” Parshat Maasei

Yehuda, Shimon, Binyamin, Dan, Menashe, Efriam, Zevulun, Yissachar, Asher, Naftali

15. In Parshat Tavo, “these shall stand to bless”

Shimon, and Levi, Yehuda, Yissachar, Yosef and Binyamin, and these … Reuven, Gad, Asher, Zevulun, Dan, Naftali.

16. The order in which Moshe blessed them in Parshat Ve’Zot HaBracha

Reuven, Yehuda, Levi, Binyamin, Yosef, Zevulun, Yissachar, Gad, Dan, Naftali, Asher.

Here the tribes are enumerated sixteen times, with various changes in their places, and each one is a study in itself. According to this the members of the great assembly codified the sixteen praised (in the blessing immediately following the morning recitation of Shema) of Emet v’yatsiv, “true and upright,” and the initiated will understand.

(31) These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites.

ISRAEL & THE NATIONS

ISRAEL + EISAV LOOK THE SAME EXTERNALLY: only the Tzaddik can clarify what the difference is beneath the surface.

“And these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned a king to the children of Israel.” (Bereshit, 36:31)

In this Parsha the Holy One, blessed be He, began to show the ever so fine birrurim (birrurs) between Israel and the nations of the world. The kelipa (“shell” or evil force) of Edom is the greatest of them all, as there is only a slight and fine difference between it and Israel, for immediately after Israel begins his life, Eisav begins his (as Rashi notes that the first seed to conceive was Israel, then Eisav).

Thus we see a great difference between Israel and all the nations of the world. Even with the Ishmaelites, even though they are of the seed of Avraham, still there is a great difference, because from the mother’s side they have no connection to Israel. Yet compared to Israel we see no visible difference, for they both appear clean regarding their mother, but it was the will of the blessed Creator that Yaakov would be the chosen one, and this is as it is written (Malachi, 1:2), “Is not Eisav Yaakov’s brother?” “Brother” meaning that the two were equal, or that at the time of conception when the level of one over the other is unrecognizable for as of yet there are no mitzvot and good deeds, no sin or transgression, and both are from Yitzchak and Rivka. Yet nevertheless, “and I loved Yaakov and hated Eisav,” meaning that it was only God’s will.

This is as it is written (Yechezkel, 23:20), “for their flesh is that of asses, and their urine of horses.” That is to say, that at the moment of conception God made it clear that this drop will be in the purity of Kedusha (holiness), and the other the urine of horses. Even though nothing evil was recognized in Eisav, he is anyhow compared to a pig (Vayikra Rabba, 13:5). It is written in the Gemara (Bechorot 8a), “an apple tree grows after sixty days, and so too does a pig give birth after sixty days.”

For the letter samech (which is sixty) is in the form of a bow, and a bow is a refuge of strength, meaning that Eisav says that he finds a refuge of strength in God since he was born from Yitzchak and Rivka just like us, for Israel is likened to an apple. Yet God is the one who clarifies that with Eisav it is only on the surface, while Israel is truly cleaving to God. And whoever is knowledgeable in the names of the kings can see this explicitly.

Genesis 32,4. “I have remained a stranger at ‎Lavan’s” (all the time); my late father of blessed memory, ‎commented on Rashi’s interpretation of Yaakov having ‎chosen the word ‎גרתי‎, that he referred to the numerical value of ‎the letters in this word being 613, a symbol of the 613 ‎commandments of the Torah that Yaakov observed even while in ‎Padan Aram. He supposedly emphasized to Esau that in spite of ‎his having acquired considerable wealth, none of it had been at ‎the expense of Esau, as his father’s blessing which was: “may the ‎Lord give you from the dew of heaven and the fat parts of the ‎earth” (Genesis 27,28) had not been fulfilled. Should Esau counter ‎that the reason Yitzchok’s blessing had not been fulfilled was that ‎he, Yaakov, had not observed the commandments, this was not ‎so. Esau knew that his father’s blessings were conditional on a ‎certain mode of conduct by Yaakov, and that is why he had told ‎him (Genesis 27,40) ‎והיה כאשר תריד ופרקת עול מעל צוארך‎, (according ‎to Rashi) “if the Israelites will fail to observe the ‎commandment, you will be able to shake off his yoke from your ‎neck.” Yaakov hints to his brother that in spite of having ‎observed the commandments he does not own any land, so that ‎his father’s blessings could not have been fulfilled. Yaakov ‎reassures Esau that he has no reason to revenge himself for ‎Yaakov having obtained this blessing.‎

Genesis 32,11. “please save me from my brother, i.e. ‎from Esau;” Esau represents the negative side of the ‎emanations, Satan, the angel of death, the evil urge within us. ‎Yaakov prays that his brother should not turn out to be a Satan ‎in disguise, just as the evil urge sometimes portrays something ‎sinful as if it were a good deed, a ‎מצוה‎, so as to enable us to ‎salvage our conscience when following his advice.‎

Genesis 32,12. “seeing that You have said to me that ‘I ‎will keep doing good for you.’” The meaning of the ‎repetition ‎היטב איטיב‎ is that the “goodness” that G’d will perform ‎for Yaakov is of the kind that everyone around him can recognize ‎as such. There are acts of loving kindness performed by G’d for ‎individuals who recognize them as such, as for instance, when G’d ‎answered a prayer of theirs; on the other hand, prayers in which ‎the petitioner asked for something that no one else was aware of ‎as being an object of that person’s longing, even when fulfilled, ‎will not be seen by outsiders as benevolent acts of G’d. Something ‎that appears to be a curse when viewed by one person, is viewed ‎as a blessing by another person. Yaakov reminds G’d that He had ‎promised him the kind of help that would be recognized by one ‎and all as a special blessing.‎

Another way of understanding the line ‎ואתה אמרת היטב איטיב ‏עמך‎, is that even when G’d shares out His largesse to both the ‎Jewish people and the gentiles, there is always a difference. When ‎this “largesse” is bestowed on the Jewish people the intent is ‎invariably for their benefit. When it is dispensed to the gentiles, ‎the gentiles may see in it something positive, whereas in the long ‎run it is something that works to the detriment of the recipients.‎
Let us explain this apparent paradox by referring to ‎Deuteronomy 7,10, where Moses speaks of G’d “paying” the ‎sinner to his “face.” Moses touches on the subject known to us ‎under the heading of ‎צדיק ורע לו, רשע וטוב לו‎, “why does it appear ‎often that the person we perceive as a just person suffers a great ‎deal in this world, whereas the patently wicked person appears to ‎enjoy every day of his life on earth.” Moses describes the reward ‎in store for the wicked, for they too have performed some good ‎deeds for which G’d owes them a reward,- as “payment,” ‎משלם‎. He ‎has to do it while the wicked person is alive as he has no afterlife ‎to look forward to. The righteous who has an eternity of life on a ‎different plane to look forward to, need not lose some of this by ‎being ‘paid” by G’d for his good deeds while here on earth. ‎Yaakov, when referring to ‎היטב איטיב‎, refers to G’d bestowing ‎such “good” on him for the sake of the good itself, not as ‎‎“payment” for good deeds performed. Gentiles, i.e. pagans, have ‎no claim to that kind of “good.”‎

Genesis 32,17. “when my brother Esau will meet you ‎and ask you to whom these herds belong, etc;” it is a rule ‎that when a person approaches G’d with a request, that the evil ‎urge within him tries to convince him that he is entitled to make ‎whatever request from G’d that he has in mind, and that certain ‎privileges on this earth are part of this entitlement as part of his ‎serving the Lord. The evil urge, in its wisdom, acts as if it had ‎been defeated by not immediately protesting that individual’s ‎request by pointing out to G’d that person’s shortcomings. At a ‎later stage, when such a person has already established a more ‎intimate relationship vis a vis his Creator so that he realizes that ‎his service of the Lord is not meant to secure him rewards on ‎earth, but is meant to provide a sense of satisfaction for his ‎Creator that one of His creatures fulfils his purpose in life, he has ‎reached the stage where the evil urge, also known as Esau, ‎encounters such a G’d-serving person head on. The “angels” of ‎Yaakov, are a euphemism for this person’s thoughts. At that ‎point, attempting to interfere with progress of such a personality ‎towards spiritual perfection, Esau, i.e. the evil urge, asks these ‎‎“angels” who are the creations of the person’s performance of ‎G’d’s commandments, where they are headed, i.e. ‎אנה תלך‎. The ‎person is advised (the point of the Torah relating this encounter) ‎to blunt such questions by saying that they have been created by ‎‎“your servant Yaakov;” he is told to assuage the evil urge by ‎saying that his good deeds are a “gift” to him (the evil urge), ‎seeing that the evil urge is also one of G’d’s creatures and as such ‎entitled to some recognition.‎

Genesis 32,25. “when he realized that he could not ‎overcome him he injured his hip joint.” The subjects ‎alluded to here are the three parts of the universe, 1) the world of ‎the disembodied spirits, angels, collectively known as ‎שרפים‎ 2) the ‎inert “stars,” planets and galaxies in outer space, and 3) the living ‎creatures in our own “lower” part of the universe. In our part of ‎the universe, i.e. in man, the head represents the domain of the ‎angels in the “upper” part of the universe, the part of man that ‎enables him to recognize his Creator.
The heart (within man) symbolizes the region we call outer ‎space, home to galaxies in the domain known as ‎עולם הגלגלים‎, the ‎world of the orbiting planets and galaxies. According to the ‎‎Sefer Yetzirah, heart, soul, enable man to recognise the ‎recurring seasons, and what makes up a year by observing them ‎in motion and realizing that a Creator must have directed their ‎orbits. Finally, the thighs of man ‎ירכים‎, represent the “lower ‎universe,” a domain in which G’d must be served by means of His ‎creatures having faith in their Creator. ‎ירכים‎, thighs, are viewed as ‎tools by means of which man is able to recognize the presence ‎and power of a Creator. ‎ירכים‎ is another word for ‎רגלים‎, which ‎does not only mean “legs,” but is related to ‎הרגל‎, habit, the ‎danger that man serves G’d only from rote, lip service. When ‎Yaakov is described as “the sun was shining for him”, ‎ויזרח לו ‏השמש‎, this is a hint that from that point on Yaakov worshipped ‎G’d also by means of his intellect. His faith henceforth was more ‎or less secure against arguments by the evil urge that could have ‎confused him in his faith. The word ‎י-עקב‎, was an allusion to his ‎serving G’d as an ‎עקב‎, an appendix, similar to the heel; once he ‎had the name ‎ישראל‎ added to his name, he had acquired the ‎letters ‎ראש‎, (head) as part of his name, signifying the far loftier ‎spiritual plateau that formed the basis of his faith.‎‎

Genesis 32,26. “He said: ‘’let me go for dawn is ‎breaking’”. A look at Rashi on this line reveals that he ‎considers this a request by the spiritual alter-ego of Esau to take ‎his turn in the heavenly choir praising the Lord in the world of ‎the ‎שרפים‎, disembodied creatures, every morning. The Midrash, ‎‎(Bereshit Rabbah 78,2 and Chulin 91) commented that this ‎‎“angel’s” turn to recite these praises of the Lord had not ‎previously occurred so that he was most disturbed not to miss ‎this opportunity of doing so. We need to understand why this ‎angel’s turn to recite these praises of the Lord had come just ‎then.‎
It seems that the spiritual representatives in heaven of all the ‎nations sing the praises of the Lord. The timing of their doing so, ‎usually coincides with whenever one of the nations on earth ‎whom they represent in the celestial spheres, had performed an ‎act of kindness for the Jewish people. This enables their ‎respective representative at the heavenly court to act as a ‎powerful advocate on behalf of their charges down on earth. Esau ‎at that time had done a kindness for Yaakov, which enabled his ‎celestial representative to stake his claim to take his turn in the ‎lineup waiting to sing these praises in the heavenly choir. As this ‎had been the first time Esau had done something kind for Yaakov, ‎his spiritual representative had never yet had an opportunity to ‎be part of that choir.‎

Genesis 32,28. “He said: ‘your name will no longer be ‎Yaakov, but Israel, for you have contended both with celestial ‎forces and with human forces and you have prevailed.’” ‎There are people who constantly remain attached to G’d even ‎while they are engaged in conversation with human beings. There ‎are other people, who while engaged in a conscious effort to serve ‎the Lord, concentrate on this to the exclusion of everything else; ‎these people while engaged in mundane activities, such as ‎business conversations with their peers, cannot at the same time ‎remain conscious of their duties towards their Creator. The first ‎type of person deserves the title: “Israel;” as the letters ‎ישר‎, ‎‎“upright,” as well as the letters ‎ראש‎, “head,” are part of that title. ‎The second category of person, (observant Jew) is called ‎יעקב‎, i.e. ‎י-עקב‎, meaning that his attachment to G’d is ‎עקב‎, “secondary,” ‎just as a heel is a secondary and not a primary organ. Esau’s ‎celestial representative acknowledged that Yaakov was a person ‎for the first category, since in his dealings with man he never lost ‎sight of his primary duties to his G’d.‎

Genesis 32,30. “Yaakov named the site of this ‎encounter ‘Peniel’, for I have seen the Divine face to face and I ‎have remained alive.” There are people who serve the Lord ‎in order that He in turn will shower them with all His goodness. ‎There are other persons, on a higher level than the first category, ‎who serve the Lord because of their awareness that G’d, by reason ‎of His greatness, deserves to be served, and that it is a privilege to ‎be allowed to serve Him. They do not even think in terms of what ‎they may stand to gain by doing so. As a result of their ‎wholehearted devotion to G’d, G’d in turn “faces” them in ‎acknowledgment of their selfless service, i.e. He relates to them ‎פנים אל פנים‎. Surviving such an experience is something ‎extraordinary, and that is why Yaakov, realising this, exclaims: ‎ותנצל נפשי‎, “my life was saved.”‎

‎ The Torah writes in 33,20: ‎ויקרא לו א-ל אלוהי ישראל‎, “He ‎‎(G’d) called him ‘a G’d Who is the G’d of Yisrael.’” (Compare ‎‎Megillah 18) How do we know that G’d bestowed such a ‎‎“title” on Yaakov? Does it not almost sound blasphemous? ‎‎[Rabbeinu Bachya, see my translation page 519 ‎already deals with this problem. Ed.]‎
In order to explain this puzzling verse, we must state ‎categorically that the word ‎א-ל‎ is most certainly not meant to ‎convey that the bearer of that title should be regarded as ‎someone to be worshipped. We need to answer why the Torah ‎chose this occasion for bestowing such a strange sounding title ‎on Yaakov/Yisrael, and if so why only on this occasion? The word ‎אל‎ generally refers to someone powerful and aggressive.‎
We have mentioned on several occasions that the ‎‎tzaddik is powerful enough to bring about cancellation of ‎decrees issued by G’d. (Compare also Moed Katan 16 on the ‎subject where G’d Himself is quoted as saying: ‎מי מושל בי? צדיק‎ ‎‎“Who has the power to rule over me? the righteous.”) This ‎‎“ruling” over G’d, is restricted to the ability of the righteous to ‎cancel evil decrees directed at the people of Israel by G’d. ‎Accordingly, our verse answers the question: “who is it who called ‎Yaakov “el,” i.e. someone righteous enough to be able to overturn ‎harmful decrees against the Jewish people?” Answer; ‎אלוקי ‏ישראל‎, “the G’d of Israel.”‎

Another way of understanding this line is: “who was it that ‎called Yaakov “El”, i.e. someone equipped with the power to ‎overturn Divine decrees,?” Answer: None other than the G’d of ‎Israel Himself. The emphasis is on the limitation of the ‎‎tzaddik’s power to nullify Divine decrees. If such a decree ‎emanated directly from Hashem, a tzaddik may be able ‎to overturn it. If the decree in question originated in the mind of ‎a tzaddik or even an accredited prophet without the person ‎having been commanded by G’d to relate this decree to the ‎people, another tzaddik is not empowered to cancel it. ‎‎[When Elijah decreed famine for the population of the ‎land of Israel, seeing that G’d had not authorized him to do this, ‎no other prophet could have cancelled this decree. (Kings I 17,1) ‎Ed.]‎

Genesis 34,1. “Dinah, Leah’s daughter left her house ‎unaccompanied;”Bereshit Rabbah 79,1comments on ‎this: “like mother like daughter;” this is a reference to the ‎forwardness of Leah when she informed her husband Yaakov that ‎it was her turn to host him, on account of the mandrakes of her ‎son Reuven, etc. (Genesis 30,16). According to Rashi ‎quoting B’rachot 60, the fetus from which Dinah was born ‎was originally meant to produce a male child. Leah’s prayer was ‎intended to prevent her sister from being put to shame, as if the ‎fetus in Leah’s womb would be born as a male, Rachel would wind ‎up with fewer sons than even Yaakov’s hand maids. As a result of ‎her prayer Dinah, i.e. a female, was born‎ ‎ ‎בת לאה‎, these words, that on the face of it do not tell us ‎anything we did not know, allude to this hidden aspect of Leah’s ‎pregnancy on this occasion. It was her prayer that resulted in ‎Dinah being born as a female. When the Torah continues with: ‎וירא אותה שכם וגו'‏‎, ”Shechem ,son of Chamor saw her, etc;” ‎this is an allusion to the fact that if Leah had not prayed for this ‎child to be a daughter, the whole incident of the rape would have ‎been prevented as Shechem would not have had an opportunity ‎to set eyes on a daughter of Yaakov.‎

Genesis 35,13. “G’d rose from over him from the site at ‎which He had spoken with him.” Rashi comments that he ‎does not know what the words “from the site He had spoken with ‎him” are to teach us. [We would have known that G’d rose ‎from that site without these words. Ed.]‎
It would appear that we can gain an insight from the words of ‎‎Bereshit Rabbah 47,6 on Genesis 17,22 when a similar term is ‎used for G’d returning to the celestial spheres after speaking with ‎Avraham. The Midrash there understands the word ‎ויעל ‏‎, as ‎a hint that the patriarchs were the carriers, support of the Divine ‎chariot, Avraham having been the first one. If so, our verse would ‎indicate that Yaakov had by now also qualified to be another such ‎support of G’d’s chariot. Our sages stated that in order to ‎function as such “supports,” the patriarchs had to be on holy ‎soil, in the Land of Israel. When G’d had told Yaakov to return to ‎the land of his fathers, He had implied that once he did so, he too ‎would qualify as one of the supports of the ‎מרכבה‎, “the Divine ‎chariot.” (Compare Rashi on 31,3)‎