VaYetze “And He Went Out”
It is customary for religiously practicing Jews to read from an annual cycle of weekly Old Testament readings called Torah Portions. This is said to be the same reading schedule that was taught every Sabbath in the Synagogues during the times of Jesus in the first century.
As Christians who profess our faith in Jesus, we study the Old Testament to understand the historical, cultural, and contextual background of the history of our heritage in Jesus. This is commonly known as the Messianic teachings of Christianity and is a part of our Saturday Church in Norman, Oklahoma, and Arlington, TX.
While customs are not commandments there is beauty for believers in Jesus (Yeshua) to understand their identity as grafted into the covenants with Israel. As descendants of Abraham, all Christians are heirs according to the promise given to Abraham even before Sinai. Christians should study and learn the Torah and show respect for their Jewish brothers and sisters. It is through the study of the law that we see another level of greatness in Jesus who is the lawgiver and the greatest Torah teacher of all time.
VaYetze is the Hebrew title for “And He Went Out” and is the name for the weekly Torah portion reading for the Book of Genesis starting in chapter 28 verse 10 and going through chapter 32 verse 3.
It is also important to point out that along with the Torah portion readings and teachings, there are what are called Haftarah portions which are readings from the Bible in the books of the prophets. This week’s haftarah readings come from the book of Hosea in chapter 12 verses 13 through chapter 14 verse 10.
The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of John in chapter 1 with verses 41 through 51.
As Christians exploring the Torah portion cycle we must maintain a balance of including the Old Testament, the prophets, and the gospels in our weekly bible study.
Torah Portion Overview-
The name of the seventh reading from the Torah in the book of Genesis is called VaYetze, which means “and he went out.” The name for this Torah Portion comes from the first verse of the readings, where it says, “And Jacob went out from Beersheba.” This can be found in Genesis chapter 28 verse 10.
In this Torah Portion it shares the story of Jacob evading his brother Esau, the vision he had at Bethel, the time working for his uncle Laban, and his marriages to Rachel and Leah, who were sisters.
Due to Jacob’s multiple wives there was a competition of sorts to bear children, and Jacob is blessed with eleven sons. To conclude the Torah Portion in the Old Testament, Jacob returns to the land of Canaan and leaves Laban. Laban does attempt to stop Jacob from leaving but is unsuccessful.
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Genesis 28:10 Jacob’s dream at Bethel
Genesis 29:1 Jacob meets Rachel
Genesis 29:15 The marriage to Laban’s daughters
Genesis 30:25 Jacob prospers at Laban’s expense
Genesis 31:1 Jacob leaves with his family and belongings
Genesis 31:22 Laban overtakes Jacob
Genesis 31:43 Laban and Jacob enter into a covenant
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
Hosea 12:2 The history of rebellion
Hosea 13:1 Relentless judgment on Israel
Hosea 14:1 A plea for repentance
Hosea 14:4 Assurance of forgiveness
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
John 1:41 Andrew tells Simon of Jesus
John 1:43 Jesus calls Philip
John 1:49 Nathanael declares Jesus as King of Israel
The Book of Genesis “B’reisheet” which means “In the Beginning.”
The Old Testament is commonly referred to as the Torah. It is the most sacred of all of Israel’s Scriptures. Most of our modern Bibles include the Old Testament “Torah” as the first five books in the Bible. The name in Hebrew of the first book of the Bible (Genesis) is B’reisheet. The name “B’reisheet” comes from one of the opening phrases in the book of Genesis which means “In the Beginning.”
The Greek Septuagint is where we find the English name for “The Book of Origins” called “Genesis.”
The Book of Genesis is the story of the origin of creation. Through creation, we learn about the nature of God and His intentions for creation. In the book of B’reisheet we learn about the creation of the universe, the creation of human beings, the creation of living creatures, and then the covenants leading to the creation of the nation of Israel before the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.
The first book in the Torah and the Christian Bible also have different spellings that derive from the different sects of Judaism and the Hebrew language. Bereshit, or Bereishith are also common spellings for Genesis “B’reisheet.”
As Messianic Christians, we find the book of Genesis and the stories therein, as a historical account of how we as believers are grafted into the covenants and promises of God with our forefathers and how we can learn to walk and learn from their actions.
To Watch an overview of this week’s Torah Portion CLICK HERE
