VaYishlach “And He Sent 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.
VaYishlach is the Hebrew title for “And He Sent Out” and is the name for the weekly Torah portion reading for the Book of Genesis starting in chapter 32 verse 4 and going through chapter 36 verse 43.
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 Obadiah in chapter 1 verses 1 through 21.
The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of Matthew in chapter 2 with verses 13 through 23.
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 eighth Torah Portion reading comes from the book of Genesis and is called Vayishlach. Vayishlach means in English “and he sent out.” This Torah Portion name comes from the first verse of the Torah Portion reading which says, “Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.” As Jacob prepares to meet with his brother Esau as he returns to the promised land, he has an encounter with an angel while in the dark. This angel who Jacob wrestles with changes his name from Jacob to Israel. The Torah Portion continues to follow through Jacob’s life in the land of Canaan and the loss of his wife Rachel.
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Genesis 32:3 Jacob sends presents to Esau
Genesis 32:22 Jacob wrestles at Peniel
Genesis 33:1 Jacob and Esau Meet
Genesis 34:25 Dinah’s brother avenge her
Genesis 35:1 Jacob returns to Bethel
Genesis 35:16 The birth of Benjamin and the death of Rachel
Genesis 35:27 The death of Isaac
Genesis 36:1 Esau’s descendants
Genesis 36:15 Clans and Kings of Edom
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
Oba 1:5 Repaying Edom’s cruelty
Oba 1:10 Edom mistreats his brother
Oba 1:17 Israel’s final triumph
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
Matthew 2:13 The escape to Egypt
Matthew 2:19 The return to Nazareth and the death of Herrod
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
