Summary
Jacob wrestles with a “man” (possibly an angel) and reunites with his brother Esau in a dramatic encounter. Dinah is raped, and her brothers avenge her. Rachel dies in childbirth. Isaac dies and is buried by both Jacob and Esau.
Aliyah-by-Aliyah Summary
1st Aliyah: Genesis 32:4-13
Jacob sends messengers to Esau, and they report that Esau is coming with 400 men to meet him. Jacob is afraid and decides to divide everything he has. He splits everything and everyone into two camps in case Esau attacks one. Jacob prays to God for safety.
2nd Aliyah: Genesis 32:14-30
Jacob selects presents for Esau and instructs servants to deliver them in batches, hoping to assuage his brother’s anger. Jacob spends the night alone across the Jabbok River from everyone else. During the night, Jacob wrestles with a man (possibly an angel). As dawn approaches, Jacob refuses to give up and asks the man to give him a new name: Israel.
3rd Aliyah: Genesis 32:31-33:5
Jacob was left with a limp, which the TorahRefers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, also called the Five Books of Moses, Pentateuch or the Hebrew equivalent, Humash. This is also called the Written Torah. The term may also refer to teachings that expound on Jewish tradition. Read more tells us is why Jews do not eat the sciatic nerve, the gid hanashe. Jacob looks up and sees Esau and his men approaching. Jacob bows to Esau, and Esau runs to greet Jacob, hugging and kissing him.
4th Aliyah: Genesis 33:6-20
Jacob introduces his family and servants to Esau. Esau asks about all of the presents, and Jacob urges him to accept them in order to regain his favor. Esau rejects this offer saying that he has enough and that seeing Jacob is like seeing the face of God. Esau starts back to Seir and Jacob arrives in Shechem.
5th Aliyah: Genesis 34:1-35:11
Dinah goes out to visit the “daughters of the land.” Shechem, son of the local prince, sees and rapes her, declares that he loves her, and seeks to marry her. Jacob hears what happened. Hamor, Shechem’s father, tries to arrange the marriage. Jacob’s sons (Dinah’s brothers) require all of Hamor’s men to become circumcised. Three days after they are all circumcised, Simon and Levi go through the city, kill everyone, and remove Dinah from Shechem’s house. Jacob’s other sons plunder the town. Jacob rebukes his sons for their actions and removes all foreign idols from his followers. God reiterates that Jacob is now known as Israel.
6th Aliyah: Genesis 35:12-36:19
God affirms that the promise to Abraham and Isaac continues with Jacob. Jacob names the place where God spoke to him Beth-el. Rachel dies while giving birth to Benjamin. Reuven sleeps with Bilhah, and Israel (Jacob) finds out. Isaac dies at 180 years old and is buried by both Jacob and Esau. This is followed by a detailed genealogy of Esau’s descendants.
7th Aliyah: Genesis 36:20-43
The genealogy of Esau continues. (Maftir: Genesis 36:40-43) A brief summary of the clans that descend from Esau.
Triennial Breakdown
Note: For more information about the tradition of spreading the Torah readings over a 3-year cycle see here.
| Aliyah | Year 1: 32:4-32:6 | Year 2: 34:1-35:15 | Year 3: 35:16-36:43 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 32:4-32:6 | 34:1-34:4 | 35:16-35:26 |
| 2 | 32:7-32:9 | 34:5-34:12 | 35:27-35:29 |
| 3 | 32:10-32:13 | 34:13-34:17 | 36:1-36:8 |
| 4 | 32:14-32:22 | 34:18-34:23 | 36:9-36:19 |
| 5 | 32:23-32:30 | 34:24-34:31 | 36:20-36:30 |
| 6 | 32:31-33:5 | 35:1-35:11 | 36:31-36:39 |
| 7 | 33:6-33:20 | 35:12-35:15 | 36:40-36:43 |
| Maftir | 33:18-33:20 | 35:12-35:15 | 36:40-36:43 |
Triennial Summaries
Year 1: Jacob prepares for his meeting with Esau, wrestles a “man” and is greeted by Esau with a hug and a kiss.
Year 2: Dinah is raped and her brothers avenge her.
Year 3: The genealogy of Esau’s descendants is recorded.
Haftarah Summary
Haftarah: Obadiah 1:1-21
There is a call to battle against Edom (Esau and his descendants) because they didn’t come to Jacob’s (the people of Israel) rescue when Jerusalem was attacked.
See our Haftarah breakdown here.
