Vayishlach

Connect the Dots...

Inspired by Soferet Avielah Barclay

Esav ran to meet him [Ya'akov], and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept. (Bereisheet/Genesis 33:4)

Here Ya'akov and Esav reunite after years of separation. They have not seen each other for decades - since Ya'akov stole Esav's blessing and Esav responded with "I'll kill him!" While we readers know that each has matured, the brothers know nothing about what to expect. Before their meeting, Ya'akov spends a tortured night, wrestling with his past, present, and future. By morning he is ready for anything - and is greeted with a hug and a kiss.

In the Torah scroll, the word vayishakehu, "and kissed him" is marked with six dots, one above each Hebrew letter. Why? The Masoretic scholars who fixed the final form of the Torah scroll marked passages they found theologically or spiritually problematic. What was the problem here, and how should we read the passage?

One theory: It's simplistic to think that deep family conflict could all dissolve in a hug. The brothers must have had mixed feelings. Perhaps the dots invite us to simultaneously translate vayishakehu in two equally plausible ways: "he kissed him" and "he raised a weapon towards him."

Another theory: In some midrashim from late antiquity, Esav represents Christianity and Ya'akov represents Judaism. During the early days of Jewish-Christian rivalry, rabbis worried that some might interpret the kiss as Christianity absorbing Judaism. Perhaps the dots hint: "read this literally only!"

A final theory: Perhaps the dots remind us to make honest, contemporary interpretations of everything we read in Torah. Keep this in mind throughout this challenging parashah!

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