Parashat Wayyishlaḥ (Genesis 32:4 - Genesis 36:43) פָּרָשַׁת וַיִּשְׁלַח
SYNOPSIS:
Parashat Wayyishlaḥ contains three sidrot. In the first; Jacob prepares for his meeting with Esau, Jacob wrestles with a 'man', Jacob's meeting with Esau; in the second, Jacob settles near Shekhem, the rape of Dinah, Jacob moves to Beth-El and sets up an altar, the death of Deborah; and in the third, Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin, the death of Isaac, and Esau's descendants.
First Sidra՚ (Gen. 32:4-33:17): Jacob prepares for his meeting with Esau, Jacob wrestles with a 'man', Jacob's meeting with Esau
The parasha opens with Jacob sending messengers to Esau who lives in the land of Seir (now in Jordan south of the Dead Sea). Esau would in time established a nation in Seir and rename it Edom [אֱדוֹם derived from אָדֹם - red]. Jacobs tells the messengers that they are to inform Esau that he has been until now living with Laban and has gathered much wealth. Furthermore - since Esau wanted to kill Jacob - he asks of Esau, "to find favour in your eyes" (Gen. 32:6). The messengers return to Jacob informing him that Esau is already on his way to meet him accompanied by four hundred men. Jacob becomes fearful and anxious assuming that Esau's intention is one of conflict and not peace. Jacob prepares for possible hostile action with Esau by dividing the people and life-stock into two camps. Therefore, if one camp is destroyed at least the other can escape and survive. Jacob turns to God and utters this prayer, "God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac; YHWH the One Who said to me return to your land and to your kindred and I will deal well with you. I am too small for all the kindness and all the truth, which you have done for your servant; for with my rod I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Save me please from the hand of my brother from the hand of Esau; for I am in fear of him, lest he come and smite me, mothers and children. But you - you said, I will deal well - well with you; I will make your seed like the sand of the sea, which is too much to count" (Gen. 32:10-13). During the night Jacob sets aside a substantial gift for Esau consisting of: 200 she goats, 20 he goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 nursing camels and their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 she asses, and 10 young male asses. Jacob divides the gift into herds placing them in the hands of his servants. Each herd is to meet Esau separately and at intervals. When the first herd meets Esau the servants are to tell him that this is a gift from Jacob and he is behind us. Each subsequent group is to tell Esau the same thing. By presenting Esau with all these gifts Jacob is attempting to placate Esau and to make him favourable towards Jacob. The gifts proceed ahead of Jacob while he spends the night in the camp. Jacob rises during the night, taking his wives and children, and crosses over the Jabbok river which flows into the Jordan.
The Torah tells us that during the night, while Jacob was alone, a man wrestled with him until the dawn. Who was this man? There are various possible answers to this question. One possible answer is that the man was really an angel, this is based on Hosea 12:5. Another possible answer is that man was in fact Jacob's own self, which would turn Jacob's struggle into a psychological or spiritual one between the passing away of Jacob and the birth of Israel. When the man saw that he could not prevail against Jacob he touched the socket of Jacob's thigh dislocating it in the process. At the break of dawn the man says, "Let me go, for dawn has come up; but he said I will not let you go, unless you bless me. And he said to him what is your name; and he said Jacob. Then he said no more shall your name be called Jacob [יַעֲקֹב - he who follows; עָקֵב - heel], but rather as Israel [יִשְׂרָאֵל - he who perseveres with God]; for you persevered [שָׂרָה] with God [אֵל] and with men and have prevailed. Then Jacob asked and said please tell your name, but he said, why do you ask after my name; and he blessed him there" (Gen. 32:27-30) Jacob names the place Peniel [פְּנִיאֵל - Face of God], "For I have seen God face to face and my life-force has been saved" (Gen. 32:32). As a result of his dislocated thigh Jacob went away limping. The Torah then explains that it is for this reason that the Children of Israel do not eat the sciatic nerve.
As Jacob leaves Peniel he sees Esau approaching with his four hundred men. Jacob divides the children according to their mothers, placing the maids and their children first, Leah and her children second, and finally Rachel along with Joseph last; with himself a distance ahead of them. When Jacob meets Esau he bows to the ground seven times as a sign of submission. Esau runs to Jacob embraces him, flings himself upon his neck, and kisses him; they both weep - the brothers are reunited. Jacob then introduces his wives and children to Esau. Esau wants to know the meaning of all the gifts, Jacob tells him in order to find favour in his eyes. Esau responds that he has plenty and that Jacob - whom he calls brother - should keep his property. Nevertheless, Jacob insists that Esau should accept his gifts; eventually Esau accepts. Esau suggests that they travel on together, but Jacob makes excuses why this is not possible: the children are tender, the sheep and the oxen are suckling, and if the animals were pushed they would die. Jacob tells Esau to go on ahead of him while he will travel slowly with the children and life-stock, meeting up with Esau at Seir. Esau wants to leave some of his men with Jacob, but Jacob declines the offer. Esau sets out for Seir on the same day while Jacob travels to Succoth on the banks of the Jordan not far from Peniel. It would seem that either Jacob did not truly trust Esau or he didn't feel at ease in his company, either way, Jacob desired an end to the hostilities. Even though Jacob and Esau were twins they were still worlds apart in their outlooks on life. The sidra՚ closes with Jacob building a homestead at Succoth.
Second Sidra՚ (Gen. 33:18-35:8): Jacob settles near Shekhem, the rape of Dinah, Jacob moves to Beth-El and sets up an altar, the death of Deborah
Jacob crosses the Jordan and settles near the city of Shekhem, returning to the Land of Canaan after a twenty year absence. The Torah states that he arrived there 'unharmed, safe'; this is mentioned in response to the pact that Jacob made with God at Beth-El when he left the Land of Canaan for his uncle Laban. Jacob purchases the land where he has encamped from the Sons of Hamor the father of Shekhem and sets up an altar calling it 'God, the God of Israel'. At least ten years have now gone by and Dinah, Leah's seventh child, is now a young woman. Simeon and Levi, Leah's second and third eldest who would have been no more than eleven and nine years old respectively when Jacob returned to Canaan[1], are now young men versed in the art of war.
Dinah is friendly with some of the local girls, and one day when she is out visiting her friends she is noticed by Shekhem son of Hamor the Hivvite, the prince of the land; who falls deeply in love with her. But rather than behaving like a decent human being, he takes her by force and rapes her. Shekhem, even after the rape, still declares his love for Dinah and attempts to win her affections. Shekhem wants to marry Dinah and appeals to Hamor his father to make it so! Jacob hears that Dinah has been raped, but since his sons were in the fields with the livestock he decides to keep silent until they return. Hamor goes to speak with Jacob on Shekhem's behalf. Meanwhile the brothers have heard that Dinah has been raped and return from the fields pained and extremely angry. Hamor requests from Jacob that he permits Shekhem to marry Dinah. Hamor suggests that if the marriage takes place an alliance will be formed with the people of the city of Shekhem whereby the son's of Jacob will marry the daughters of the Shekhemites and the Shekhemites will marry the daughters of the Israelites and both groups will become one people. Whatever Jacob requests for the bride-price and the marriage-gift Hamor is willing to pay no matter how inflated it might be. However, Jacob's sons seek revenge for the rape of their sister Dinah, and they have a plan. The brothers tell Hamor that they will agree to his proposal providing that the Shekhemites first become circumcised just like the Israelites; for an uncircumcised male is a reproach to the Sons of Jacob. Hamor and Shekhem agree and speak to the men of the city, "These men they are peaceable with us and they shall settle in the land and trade in it, here the land is wide enough for them; their daughters we will take to ourselves for wives, and our daughters we will give to them. But only on this (condition) will the men consent with us to settle among us, to become one people; that every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. Their livestock and their property and all their beasts, will they not become ours; we shall consent with them, and they will settle with us" (Gen. 34:21-23). The Shekhemites listen to Hamor and Shekhem and agree to being circumcised. However, on the third day when the men of Shekhem were incapacitated by the healing pains of their circumcisions, Simeon and Levi fell upon the city and put to the sword all the males including Hamor and Shekhem. Jacob's other sons plundered the city taking sheep, oxen, donkeys, riches, children, and women; they also took Dinah from Shekhem's house and returned home. Jacob disapproves of the action taken by Simeon and Lewi, "You have brought trouble on me, making me stink among those settled in the land, among the Canaanites and among the Perizzites; I am few in number, and they will gather against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed I and my house" (Gen. 34:30). The brothers respond, "As a whore, he made our sister" (Gen. 34:31).
God tells Jacob to go to Beth-El and there he is to build an altar on the spot where God had appeared to him when he fled from Esau. Jacob tells his household and "All who were with him" (Gen. 35:2) - in other words those who had accepted YHWH as their God and had joined themselves to Jacob and his household - to put away any foreign gods that they might possess, "And purify yourselves, and change your garments" (Gen. 35:2). Jacob hides the idols and any item connected with idolatry under the oak tree that is near Shekhem (obviously some focal point). The Torah informs us that the terror of God was upon the local inhabitants hence the reason why Jacob and his household were able to travel to Beth-El without being attacked. Jacob and all the people that were with him reach Beth-El - also known as Luz - and there Jacob builds an altar on the site where God appeared to him. The sidra՚ closes with the death of Deborah - Rebekah's nurse - and her burial below Beth-El beneath an oak they called the Oak of Weeping.
Third Sidra՚ (Gen. 35:9-36:43): Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin, the death of Isaac, Esau's descendants
The beginning of the third sidra՚ details two major events after Jacob left Laban. In the first event, which occurred on the other side of the Jordan, Jacob receives the name Israel and is blessed by God before he enters Canaan. While the second, which took place in the Land of Canaan, involved the setting up and dedication of the altar/pillar. They then journey on from Beth-El heading south. Rachel who is in the last few weeks of her pregnancy goes into labour between Beth-El and Efrathah (also known as Beth-lehem), but there are major complications! With her dying breath, Rachel names her new born son Benoni [בֶּן - son, אוֹנִי - my sorrow]. Jacob renames him Benjamin [בִּנְיָמִין - son of the right (hand), i.e. strength]. Rachel is buried on the way to Beth-Lehem and Jacob erects a pillar over her grave.[2]
The Torah at this point informs us that Reuben committed adultery with Bilhah, an act that would cost him the birthright. The Torah then lists Jacob's sons according to their mothers. Jacob arrives in Hebron and settles with Isaac, who is still alive at least thirty five years after Jacob fled. And Isaac had to bless his son because he believed his days were almost over! Isaac dies at one hundred and eighty years old and is buried by Esau and Jacob.
The rest of the sidra՚ lists the descendants of Esau, the clans of the Land of Seir before Esau conquered it and gave it the name Edom, and the kings who ruled in Edom.
THE AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS:
There is much to be learned from this parasha, however there is one very poignant truth depicted in this parasha in very graphic terms: Passion without self control is destructive! Shekhem loved Dinah, but because he could not control himself the passion that stirred within him became a destructive force ensuing in her rape. Simeon and Levi loved their 'little' sister; they probably treated her like a princess. But when Dinah was raped the deep brotherly love that they felt for her and their natural desire to protect her turned into an unyielding passion for revenge, which resulted in the massacre of the adult male population of the city of Shekhem. When our emotions run wild devastation, ruin and regret are in hot pursuit. The Torah tells us that YHWH placed within us the Divine Breath, the Breath of Life (Gen. 2:7).
But what is this Divine Breath that no other creature on earth possesses?
The Torah states that we are created in the image of YHWH (Gen. 1:27). Nevertheless, as we know YHWH has no physical form, so in His image cannot mean physicality. However, we do know that YHWH has emotions and we see references to His pathos throughout the Miqra. Thus our higher emotions are the Divine "spark" within us; they are something that no other animal on this planet has in common with us. It is our emotions that have enabled us to progress as a species and appreciate the abstract, for without our emotions there would be no art, and no sense of esthetic value. This is why it is so hard for us mere humans to cope with our emotions - they are the Divine within the corporeal. Some people let their emotions run wild while others suppress them pushing them deep inside; both of which are detrimental to our well-being. The Torah teaches us that love, hate, anger, elation etc are all fine; they are all part of who we are. There is a time and place for each of our emotions, in other words there is nothing wrong with anger for instance righteous indignation. Our emotions are neither positive nor negative, love is not positive nor is hate negative; for to love what is evil is wrong while to hate that which is evil is good. Controlling our emotions without suppressing them, knowing when to release them and up to what degree is no easy task. Nonetheless, if we do not learn to harness our emotions rather than letting them control us then, as the Story of Dinah shows, terrible, terrible things can happen. On the other hand if we suppress our emotions and we do not incorporate them fully into our lives then we a disempowering ourselves and neglecting the Divine gift that makes us truly human.
[1] Jacob served Laban for 20 years; including the seven years before his marriage to Leah. This means that Reuben, Leah's eldest and Jacob's firstborn, could have been no older than thirteen (providing that Leah conceived within the first few months of marriage) when the family returned to Canaan.
[2] Today, there is a tomb near Beth-lehem, south of Jerusalem, known as 'Rachel's Tomb'. However this cannot be where Rachel was buried since it is clearly stated in the Book of Samuel, "By Rachel's grave on the border of Benjamin at Ṣelṣaḥ" (I Sam. 10:2) which is north of Jerusalem and not south.
Parashat Wayyishlaḥ contains three sidrot. In the first; Jacob prepares for his meeting with Esau, Jacob wrestles with a 'man', Jacob's meeting with Esau; in the second, Jacob settles near Shekhem, the rape of Dinah, Jacob moves to Beth-El and sets up an altar, the death of Deborah; and in the third, Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin, the death of Isaac, and Esau's descendants.
First Sidra՚ (Gen. 32:4-33:17): Jacob prepares for his meeting with Esau, Jacob wrestles with a 'man', Jacob's meeting with Esau
The parasha opens with Jacob sending messengers to Esau who lives in the land of Seir (now in Jordan south of the Dead Sea). Esau would in time established a nation in Seir and rename it Edom [אֱדוֹם derived from אָדֹם - red]. Jacobs tells the messengers that they are to inform Esau that he has been until now living with Laban and has gathered much wealth. Furthermore - since Esau wanted to kill Jacob - he asks of Esau, "to find favour in your eyes" (Gen. 32:6). The messengers return to Jacob informing him that Esau is already on his way to meet him accompanied by four hundred men. Jacob becomes fearful and anxious assuming that Esau's intention is one of conflict and not peace. Jacob prepares for possible hostile action with Esau by dividing the people and life-stock into two camps. Therefore, if one camp is destroyed at least the other can escape and survive. Jacob turns to God and utters this prayer, "God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac; YHWH the One Who said to me return to your land and to your kindred and I will deal well with you. I am too small for all the kindness and all the truth, which you have done for your servant; for with my rod I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Save me please from the hand of my brother from the hand of Esau; for I am in fear of him, lest he come and smite me, mothers and children. But you - you said, I will deal well - well with you; I will make your seed like the sand of the sea, which is too much to count" (Gen. 32:10-13). During the night Jacob sets aside a substantial gift for Esau consisting of: 200 she goats, 20 he goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 nursing camels and their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 she asses, and 10 young male asses. Jacob divides the gift into herds placing them in the hands of his servants. Each herd is to meet Esau separately and at intervals. When the first herd meets Esau the servants are to tell him that this is a gift from Jacob and he is behind us. Each subsequent group is to tell Esau the same thing. By presenting Esau with all these gifts Jacob is attempting to placate Esau and to make him favourable towards Jacob. The gifts proceed ahead of Jacob while he spends the night in the camp. Jacob rises during the night, taking his wives and children, and crosses over the Jabbok river which flows into the Jordan.
The Torah tells us that during the night, while Jacob was alone, a man wrestled with him until the dawn. Who was this man? There are various possible answers to this question. One possible answer is that the man was really an angel, this is based on Hosea 12:5. Another possible answer is that man was in fact Jacob's own self, which would turn Jacob's struggle into a psychological or spiritual one between the passing away of Jacob and the birth of Israel. When the man saw that he could not prevail against Jacob he touched the socket of Jacob's thigh dislocating it in the process. At the break of dawn the man says, "Let me go, for dawn has come up; but he said I will not let you go, unless you bless me. And he said to him what is your name; and he said Jacob. Then he said no more shall your name be called Jacob [יַעֲקֹב - he who follows; עָקֵב - heel], but rather as Israel [יִשְׂרָאֵל - he who perseveres with God]; for you persevered [שָׂרָה] with God [אֵל] and with men and have prevailed. Then Jacob asked and said please tell your name, but he said, why do you ask after my name; and he blessed him there" (Gen. 32:27-30) Jacob names the place Peniel [פְּנִיאֵל - Face of God], "For I have seen God face to face and my life-force has been saved" (Gen. 32:32). As a result of his dislocated thigh Jacob went away limping. The Torah then explains that it is for this reason that the Children of Israel do not eat the sciatic nerve.
As Jacob leaves Peniel he sees Esau approaching with his four hundred men. Jacob divides the children according to their mothers, placing the maids and their children first, Leah and her children second, and finally Rachel along with Joseph last; with himself a distance ahead of them. When Jacob meets Esau he bows to the ground seven times as a sign of submission. Esau runs to Jacob embraces him, flings himself upon his neck, and kisses him; they both weep - the brothers are reunited. Jacob then introduces his wives and children to Esau. Esau wants to know the meaning of all the gifts, Jacob tells him in order to find favour in his eyes. Esau responds that he has plenty and that Jacob - whom he calls brother - should keep his property. Nevertheless, Jacob insists that Esau should accept his gifts; eventually Esau accepts. Esau suggests that they travel on together, but Jacob makes excuses why this is not possible: the children are tender, the sheep and the oxen are suckling, and if the animals were pushed they would die. Jacob tells Esau to go on ahead of him while he will travel slowly with the children and life-stock, meeting up with Esau at Seir. Esau wants to leave some of his men with Jacob, but Jacob declines the offer. Esau sets out for Seir on the same day while Jacob travels to Succoth on the banks of the Jordan not far from Peniel. It would seem that either Jacob did not truly trust Esau or he didn't feel at ease in his company, either way, Jacob desired an end to the hostilities. Even though Jacob and Esau were twins they were still worlds apart in their outlooks on life. The sidra՚ closes with Jacob building a homestead at Succoth.
Second Sidra՚ (Gen. 33:18-35:8): Jacob settles near Shekhem, the rape of Dinah, Jacob moves to Beth-El and sets up an altar, the death of Deborah
Jacob crosses the Jordan and settles near the city of Shekhem, returning to the Land of Canaan after a twenty year absence. The Torah states that he arrived there 'unharmed, safe'; this is mentioned in response to the pact that Jacob made with God at Beth-El when he left the Land of Canaan for his uncle Laban. Jacob purchases the land where he has encamped from the Sons of Hamor the father of Shekhem and sets up an altar calling it 'God, the God of Israel'. At least ten years have now gone by and Dinah, Leah's seventh child, is now a young woman. Simeon and Levi, Leah's second and third eldest who would have been no more than eleven and nine years old respectively when Jacob returned to Canaan[1], are now young men versed in the art of war.
Dinah is friendly with some of the local girls, and one day when she is out visiting her friends she is noticed by Shekhem son of Hamor the Hivvite, the prince of the land; who falls deeply in love with her. But rather than behaving like a decent human being, he takes her by force and rapes her. Shekhem, even after the rape, still declares his love for Dinah and attempts to win her affections. Shekhem wants to marry Dinah and appeals to Hamor his father to make it so! Jacob hears that Dinah has been raped, but since his sons were in the fields with the livestock he decides to keep silent until they return. Hamor goes to speak with Jacob on Shekhem's behalf. Meanwhile the brothers have heard that Dinah has been raped and return from the fields pained and extremely angry. Hamor requests from Jacob that he permits Shekhem to marry Dinah. Hamor suggests that if the marriage takes place an alliance will be formed with the people of the city of Shekhem whereby the son's of Jacob will marry the daughters of the Shekhemites and the Shekhemites will marry the daughters of the Israelites and both groups will become one people. Whatever Jacob requests for the bride-price and the marriage-gift Hamor is willing to pay no matter how inflated it might be. However, Jacob's sons seek revenge for the rape of their sister Dinah, and they have a plan. The brothers tell Hamor that they will agree to his proposal providing that the Shekhemites first become circumcised just like the Israelites; for an uncircumcised male is a reproach to the Sons of Jacob. Hamor and Shekhem agree and speak to the men of the city, "These men they are peaceable with us and they shall settle in the land and trade in it, here the land is wide enough for them; their daughters we will take to ourselves for wives, and our daughters we will give to them. But only on this (condition) will the men consent with us to settle among us, to become one people; that every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. Their livestock and their property and all their beasts, will they not become ours; we shall consent with them, and they will settle with us" (Gen. 34:21-23). The Shekhemites listen to Hamor and Shekhem and agree to being circumcised. However, on the third day when the men of Shekhem were incapacitated by the healing pains of their circumcisions, Simeon and Levi fell upon the city and put to the sword all the males including Hamor and Shekhem. Jacob's other sons plundered the city taking sheep, oxen, donkeys, riches, children, and women; they also took Dinah from Shekhem's house and returned home. Jacob disapproves of the action taken by Simeon and Lewi, "You have brought trouble on me, making me stink among those settled in the land, among the Canaanites and among the Perizzites; I am few in number, and they will gather against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed I and my house" (Gen. 34:30). The brothers respond, "As a whore, he made our sister" (Gen. 34:31).
God tells Jacob to go to Beth-El and there he is to build an altar on the spot where God had appeared to him when he fled from Esau. Jacob tells his household and "All who were with him" (Gen. 35:2) - in other words those who had accepted YHWH as their God and had joined themselves to Jacob and his household - to put away any foreign gods that they might possess, "And purify yourselves, and change your garments" (Gen. 35:2). Jacob hides the idols and any item connected with idolatry under the oak tree that is near Shekhem (obviously some focal point). The Torah informs us that the terror of God was upon the local inhabitants hence the reason why Jacob and his household were able to travel to Beth-El without being attacked. Jacob and all the people that were with him reach Beth-El - also known as Luz - and there Jacob builds an altar on the site where God appeared to him. The sidra՚ closes with the death of Deborah - Rebekah's nurse - and her burial below Beth-El beneath an oak they called the Oak of Weeping.
Third Sidra՚ (Gen. 35:9-36:43): Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin, the death of Isaac, Esau's descendants
The beginning of the third sidra՚ details two major events after Jacob left Laban. In the first event, which occurred on the other side of the Jordan, Jacob receives the name Israel and is blessed by God before he enters Canaan. While the second, which took place in the Land of Canaan, involved the setting up and dedication of the altar/pillar. They then journey on from Beth-El heading south. Rachel who is in the last few weeks of her pregnancy goes into labour between Beth-El and Efrathah (also known as Beth-lehem), but there are major complications! With her dying breath, Rachel names her new born son Benoni [בֶּן - son, אוֹנִי - my sorrow]. Jacob renames him Benjamin [בִּנְיָמִין - son of the right (hand), i.e. strength]. Rachel is buried on the way to Beth-Lehem and Jacob erects a pillar over her grave.[2]
The Torah at this point informs us that Reuben committed adultery with Bilhah, an act that would cost him the birthright. The Torah then lists Jacob's sons according to their mothers. Jacob arrives in Hebron and settles with Isaac, who is still alive at least thirty five years after Jacob fled. And Isaac had to bless his son because he believed his days were almost over! Isaac dies at one hundred and eighty years old and is buried by Esau and Jacob.
The rest of the sidra՚ lists the descendants of Esau, the clans of the Land of Seir before Esau conquered it and gave it the name Edom, and the kings who ruled in Edom.
THE AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS:
There is much to be learned from this parasha, however there is one very poignant truth depicted in this parasha in very graphic terms: Passion without self control is destructive! Shekhem loved Dinah, but because he could not control himself the passion that stirred within him became a destructive force ensuing in her rape. Simeon and Levi loved their 'little' sister; they probably treated her like a princess. But when Dinah was raped the deep brotherly love that they felt for her and their natural desire to protect her turned into an unyielding passion for revenge, which resulted in the massacre of the adult male population of the city of Shekhem. When our emotions run wild devastation, ruin and regret are in hot pursuit. The Torah tells us that YHWH placed within us the Divine Breath, the Breath of Life (Gen. 2:7).
But what is this Divine Breath that no other creature on earth possesses?
The Torah states that we are created in the image of YHWH (Gen. 1:27). Nevertheless, as we know YHWH has no physical form, so in His image cannot mean physicality. However, we do know that YHWH has emotions and we see references to His pathos throughout the Miqra. Thus our higher emotions are the Divine "spark" within us; they are something that no other animal on this planet has in common with us. It is our emotions that have enabled us to progress as a species and appreciate the abstract, for without our emotions there would be no art, and no sense of esthetic value. This is why it is so hard for us mere humans to cope with our emotions - they are the Divine within the corporeal. Some people let their emotions run wild while others suppress them pushing them deep inside; both of which are detrimental to our well-being. The Torah teaches us that love, hate, anger, elation etc are all fine; they are all part of who we are. There is a time and place for each of our emotions, in other words there is nothing wrong with anger for instance righteous indignation. Our emotions are neither positive nor negative, love is not positive nor is hate negative; for to love what is evil is wrong while to hate that which is evil is good. Controlling our emotions without suppressing them, knowing when to release them and up to what degree is no easy task. Nonetheless, if we do not learn to harness our emotions rather than letting them control us then, as the Story of Dinah shows, terrible, terrible things can happen. On the other hand if we suppress our emotions and we do not incorporate them fully into our lives then we a disempowering ourselves and neglecting the Divine gift that makes us truly human.
[1] Jacob served Laban for 20 years; including the seven years before his marriage to Leah. This means that Reuben, Leah's eldest and Jacob's firstborn, could have been no older than thirteen (providing that Leah conceived within the first few months of marriage) when the family returned to Canaan.
[2] Today, there is a tomb near Beth-lehem, south of Jerusalem, known as 'Rachel's Tomb'. However this cannot be where Rachel was buried since it is clearly stated in the Book of Samuel, "By Rachel's grave on the border of Benjamin at Ṣelṣaḥ" (I Sam. 10:2) which is north of Jerusalem and not south.