Parshat Vayishlakh: Showing Mercy....if when we don't want to!
This week’s parashah /portion is Vayishlach (Bereshit/Genesis 32:4-36:43) . It contains within three important central events in the narrative of the patriarchs and matriarchs of Bereshit /Genesis. First, Jacob prepares to reunite with his brother Esau decades after he had stolen his blessing and his birthright. The night before the reunion Jacob wrestles with a man/angel. At sunrise, before, before leaving Jacob, he blesses him and gives him the name Israel, meaning one who has struggled with the divine. Not long after this we read the disturbing incident of the rape of Dinah, Jacob’s only daughter. She is raped by Shechem, the regional prince, who then asks to marry her, because he supposedly loves her. Jacob and his sons agree to this on the condition that Shechem and all the men of his community agree to be circumcised. While they are recovering, her brothers Shimon and Levi lead an attack and slaughter Shechem and all the men of his community. They do so supposedly in defense of