Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Daily Aliya for Vayishlach, Shlishi (3rd Aliya)

Aliya Summary: The Torah informs us that we don't eat the sciatic nerve of otherwise kosher animals because of the wrestling episode mentioned in the previous section. Esav arrived. Jacob respectfully approached his brother, who then ran towards him and embraced him, as they both wept.

It is well known that the word for "and he kissed him" is written in the Torah with dots above the word. This is calling our attention to the word. Rashi tells us that there are two Traditions about the meaning of the word. One opinion is that the kiss was not sincere, that Esav still hates Yakov, and that he was only going through the motions. The other opinion is that "at this moment", Esav was overcome by sincere brotherly emotions and kissed Yakov with all his heart. We often have mixed emotions about things, and should always try to follow the appropriate emotion.

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