Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

Jacob, Rachel and Leah all have to struggle with their faith. Jacob in his dealings with his unscrupulous father-in-law. Leah with the fact that she is not loved by Jacob and Rachel with being barren. They all overcome their struggles due to their faith in God.

Each of the sons of Jacob are named and each name has a meaning. This is to teach us that each individual bring something to the table that is unique to them.

Jacob was living the life of a Yeshiva student. Suddenly he is thrown into the business world and has to deal with a dishonest businessman, his father-in-law. In the end he succeeds since he knows the tricks but can defeat Leban honestly.

In Jacob’s dream he sees angels ascending and descending a ladder. The angels represent the nations of the world and Jacob understands the dream to mean that while many nations will rise and fall, the Jewish people will continue to exist.

Thanksgiving is a unique holiday. While it has a religious background, any person of whatever religious or faith can celebrate. Let’s always remember that we live in a free country and that we can all practice whatever faith we are without government interference.

Isaac is blind to Esau’s misdeeds. Esau’s reaction is to take advantage of this. He never shows gratitude for what he is given. This teaches that when someone feels entitled, they lack gratitude.

The reason that Eisav hates Jacob is that Eisav refuses to take responsibility for his bad decisions. This is a common problem among people. We have to own our own bad decisions and learn from them.

The mistake of Isaac was that he thought that Jacob was too righteous to earn a living. That Esau, while committing sins, would support Jacob. He was wrong on both accounts. Rebecca knew better.

One of the reasons that Eisav and Jacob do not get along is that Eisav is into instant gratification while Jacob is willing to wait. The story teaches us that when you wait the results are much better.

With the Fore-fathers and Fore-mothers, we see a balance. One is extremely kind and the other puts a brake on the kindness. This is to teach us that while loving kindness is a great trait it needs to be harnessed otherwise it will descend into disaster.