Vayishlach: Bnei Yaakov at Beis-El and Bnei Yisrael at Sinai (Part 1: Questions)

This week's article contains questions: "traditional" questions as well as the literary analysis questions taken up by "the Gush Tanakh Method." If you have answers or ideas, please let me know!

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For more on the “Gush Tanakh Method,” check out Judaism Demystified Episode 86: J.J. Kimche “Assessing the Gush Tanakh Method”

Vayishlach: Bnei Yaakov at Beis-El and Bnei Yisrael at Sinai (Part 1: Questions)

This year, my attention was drawn to a brief section of verses towards the end of Vayishlach. Shimon and Levi had just massacred the city of Shechem in retaliation for Dinah’s abduction. Yaakov rebuked them, saying, “You have caused me trouble, making me repugnant to those who dwell in the land, the Canaanites and the Perizites. And I am but few men; if they gather upon me and strike me, I and my house will be destroyed!” (Bereishis 34:30). This serves as the impetus for Yaakov’s move at the beginning of Bereishis 35:

(1) God said to Yaakov, “Get up and ascend to Beis-El and dwell there, and make there an altar to God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Eisav.” (2) Yaakov said to his household and to all who were with him, “Remove the foreign gods which are in your midst, purify yourselves, and change your garments. (3) Let us get up and ascend to Beis-El, and I will make there an altar to the God Who answered me on the day of my distress and Who was with me on the way in which I went.” (4) They gave to Yaakov all the foreign gods which were in their hands and the rings which were in their ears, and Yaakov buried them under the terebinth that was by Shechem. (5) They traveled and a terror from God was upon the cities that surrounded them, and they did not chase after the sons of Yaakov. (6) Yaakov came to Luz that was in the land of Canaan, which is Beis-El, he and all the people who were with him. (7) He built there an altar and called the place “El Beis-El” (“God of Beis-El” or, according to Rashi, “God is in Beis-El”) because there Hashem was revealed to him when he fled from his brother Eisav. (8) Devorah, Rivka's nurse, died and she was buried below Beis-El,⁠ under the oak; and he named it Alon Bachoos (“The Oak of Weeping”).

These verses raise several questions:

(1) Why does Yaakov command his household to dispose of these foreign gods at this time? Rashi (ibid. 35:2) explains that these gods came from the spoils of Shechem. Yet, it seems that Yaakov only instructs his household to rid themselves of these idols in response to Hashem’s command to “ascend to Beis-El … and make an altar there.” Yaakov’s directive precedes his mention of the altar, suggesting that the idol purge was intended as preparation for the ascent. Would he have given them this instruction if Hashem hadn’t commanded him to build an altar? If so, why does the Torah frame it as a response to Hashem’s command? If not, would Yaakov have tolerated his household keeping these idols, and why?

(2) Why are the foreign gods buried instead of destroyed? The Torah later commands us to “deal with [idolatry in the Land] like this: break down their altars, dash their pillars to pieces, cut down their Asheirah-trees, and burn their engraved images in fire” (Devarim 7:5). While Yaakov lived before the giving of the Torah and wasn’t bound by this halacha, one might still expect him to destroy these idols. Wouldn’t destruction serve as a clearer rejection of avodah zarah (idolatry) and a more secure safeguard against others reclaiming the idols?

(3) Why does Yaakov describe the altar differently to his household? God commands him to build “an altar to God Who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Eisav.” Yet, when Yaakov relays this to his family, he describes it as “an altar to the God Who answered me on the day of my distress and Who was with me on the way in which I went.” Yaakov changes several details: (a) he refers to Hashem’s intercession as “answering me” instead of “appearing to me,” (b) he broadens the specific “when I fled from my brother Eisav” to the more general “on the day of my distress,” and (c) whereas Hashem focuses on the event of His appearance, Yaakov adds that God was also “with [him] on the way in which [he] went.” However, when Yaakov ultimately builds the altar, the Torah’s narration aligns with Hashem’s original phrasing: “[Yaakov] built there an altar … because there Hashem was revealed to him when he fled from his brother Eisav.” This suggests that Yaakov and Hashem shared the same perspective about the altar, but Yaakov deliberately altered the description when speaking to his household. What motivated this change?

(4) Why is Devorah’s death mentioned here? The simple explanation is chronological—she died after they reached Beis-El, so her death is recorded at this point. Still, this single verse feels out of place and interrupts the narrative of Yaakov’s journey and his family’s preparation for Beis-El. Additionally, two burials under trees are mentioned in the same passage: the burial of the idols under the terebinth (tachas ha’eilah) and the burial of Devorah under the oak (tachas ha’alon)? Is there a connection between these two events?

These were, for lack of a better term, the “normal” questions I asked. However, I also found myself pondering a different type of question than what I usually explore—one rooted in the literary parallels between Yaakov’s actions in this parashah and the events surrounding Sinai. Some of these parallels appear in the core narratives themselves, while others emerge from events surrounding the Revelation at Sinai, both before and after. This includes the preparations described in Parashas Yisro, the altar-building at the end of Parashas Mishpatim (see Rashi on Shemos 24:1), and the Sin of the Golden Calf in Parashas Ki Tisa. Here is a list of the parallels I found:

1. Yaakov is told “Get up and ascend to Beis-El’ (the House of God)” (Bereishis 35:1). At Sinai, “Moshe ascended to God” (Shemos 19:3).

2. Yaakov instructs his family, “purify yourselves, and change your garments” (35:2). Hashem instructs Moshe, “Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and they shall wash their garments” (19:10)

3. Yaakov builds “an altar to the God who answered me” (35:3). At Sinai, “Moshe would speak and God would answer him with a voice” (19:19).

4. Yaakov’s building of the altar is preceded by, “they traveled … and Yaakov arrived at Luz” (35:5). The Revelation at Sinai is preceded by, “they traveled from Refidim and arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai” (19:2).

5. “he and all the people who were with him” (35:6) arrived at Luz prior to the building of the altar. “and all the people in the camp trembled” (19:16) prior to the Revelation at Sinai.

6. This episode ends with: “and he built there an altar” (35:7) followed by, “God appeared to Yaakov again when he came from Paddan Aram, and He blessed him” (35:8). The episode of the Revelation at Sinai ends with Hashem commanding: “an earthen altar you shall make for Me … in every place where I cause My name to be proclaimed, I will come to you and bless you” (20:20).

7. Later in the same chapter, when Rachel is afraid she’ll die in childbirth, her midwife says to her, “Do not fear, for this one, too, is a son for you” (35:17). After the Revelation, when Bnei Yisrael are afraid they’ll die from hearing God’s voice, Moshe tells the people, “Do not fear, for in order to try you God came, and in order that His fear be upon you, that you not sin” (20:16).

8. After Hashem speaks to Yaakov, “God went up from him in the place where He had spoken to him” (35:13); immediately thereafter, “Yaakov erected a monument (matzevah) in the place where He had spoken with him, a monument of stone, and he offered a libation over it and poured oil on it” (35:14). Before Hashem speaks to Bnei Yisrael, He tells Moshe, “Go up to Hashem,” after which “[he] built an altar at the bottom of the mountain [where Hashem spoke to them] and twelve monuments (matzeivah) for the twelve tribes of Israel” (24:4).

9. Our parashah begins when Yaakov is told “Get up and ascend to Beis-El (the House of God)” (35:1). The parashah of the Golden Calf begins when “the people congregated against Aharon and said, ‘Get up and make us a god’” (32:1).

10. In rejecting avodah zarah, Bnei Yaakov give to him “all the foreign gods which were in their hands and the rings which were in their ears” (35:4). In moving towards avodah zarah, Bnei Yisrael “took off the golden rings that were on their ears and they brought them to Aharon” (32:3)

You may not find all these parallels equally compelling, but to my mind, there is enough evidence to suggest that the Torah is highlighting a thematic connection between Yaakov’s actions in our parashah and the events surrounding Sinai. The question is: What can we learn from these parallels? I wasn’t able to arrive at any definitive answers to my questions or theories about the parallels, but I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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I don’t plan on writing Part 2 unless I find answers. If you have any ideas, please share them!

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