parsha bit: Vayishlach

In this week's portion Yaakov, returning home, wrestles with an angel and then reunites with his brother the next day. Rashbam (Rabbi Samuel ben Meir, 12th century) connects these two events. He teaches that Yaakov was frightened, afraid of what his brother would do to him and his family when they met, so he planned to flee. God sent the angel to wrestle with him and injure him so that he couldn't run away. Had Yaakov had more faith in God to protect him, Rashbam says, this injury would not have been necessary.

One of the regular minyanaires pointed out something to me later. There is a lot of commentary on who the nocturnal visitor really was -- an angel, Esav's guardian angel, just a man, others. Joe mentioned Esav's angel; he then pointed out that Yaakov and Esav were twins, so in a way Yaakov was wrestling with himself. (Granted, this might work better if they were identical, not fraternal, twins.) I've previously heard the idea that Yaakov was wrestling with some aspect of himself (it was an inner struggle, in other words), but hadn't previously heard it connected to the twins relationship.

go Erik!

On Tuesday, Erik ate more than a can and a half of Fancy Feast (those are the little cans), much more than he'd been eating previously. Yesterday he only ate one can, which had me a little concerned, but I decided to proceed to larger cans anyway. (Previously my concern had been that an opened regular-sized can wouldn't keep long enough for him to finish it.)

Today he has already eaten a full regular-sized can (9 Lives). Maybe he was just bored with seafood and was holding out for chicken. :-) (I have a second regular can with me at work. I didn't expect to need it before late afternoon.)

oh dear

Dani just called to warn me that the roads are really hazardous. Dani is one of the most "optimistic" (but not reckless) drivers I know; if he thinks there's a problem, that's significant.

reading torah

I'm reading torah Shabbat morning in our minyan, so a few weeks ago I asked my rabbi if I could also read Friday night. (Most Reform congregations read Friday nights because that's when most people come.) He said yes, and I'm looking forward to it. I like reading in the morning minyan because we're all friends and there's a lot of ruach (spirit) in the group. Friday night, on the other hand, is a chance to read for the larger community.

It turns out that it'll probably be larger than usual tomorrow, too. I didn't know this when I picked the portion, but both the congregational choir and the youth choir are participating, and that usually draws more people out of the woodwork.

I had hoped to get a look at the sefer torah tonight after minyan, but partway through the drive home from work it became apparent that attending the minyan wasn't going to happen. (There wasn't time to drop off the cat at home and slide over there in time, and going straight there and taking the cat in with me seemed contra-indicated.) Maybe if I get there early enough tomorrow night I can sneak a look. If not, oh well -- I do have a tikkun to practice from, so I'm not expecting trouble. But it's always nice to get a peek to confirm.