Skip to main content

Parsha Overview: Vayishlach – Yaakov, Eisav & more

This is a basic overview of the continuation of Yaakov’s story in a very traditional “Q&A” format, which can be easily reworked for young kids of any age. Answers in brackets are the usual or traditional answers, but be open to anything your child might have to say.  Adapted from the Vayishlach pages of Parsha Pages for Sefer Bereishis.

 

 Yaakov was finally on his way back to eretz Canaan…

imageWho did he send ahead? (malachim, angels)

The malachim came back with some scary news… (Eisav is coming to fight!)

How many men did Eisav have with him?  (400 – that’s a LOT)

How did Yaakov feel when he found out?  (frightened! – wouldn’t you?)

 

Yaakov did three things to get ready to meet Eisav.

 

1.       He davened to… (Hashem)

2.       He sent … (presents to Eisav)

3.       He got ready … (for war)

How can we learn from Eisav?  (when we’re scared or worried, we should daven – and get ready)

 

Yaakov and his family crossed the stream at night to get to where Eisav was.

 

Why did Yaakov go back to the other side by himself?  (to collect small bottles he’d left there)

What can we learn from Yaakov?  (a tzaddik is always careful about his things)

While Yaakov was alone, he met someone… (the malach of Eisav)

 

image Yaakov and the malach wrestled, alone, at night.

 

Did anybody get hurt?  (Yaakov got hurt – on his thigh)

Yaakov asked for a bracha, and got a new… (name, Yisrael)

Who else in the Torah got a new name?  (Sara, Avraham, Yehoshuah, others…)

 

In the morning, it was time for Yaakov to meet with Eisav.

 

What did Eisav do when he saw Yaakov?  (hugged and kissed him – how lovely!)

Did he really mean it?  (no,  he did not!)

Did Yaakov go back to live near Eisav?  (no, he did not!)

Why did he stay separately?  (because he wanted his family to be tzaddikim, not like Eisav!)

 

Some bad people came from the city of Shechem!

 

Who did they take away from Yaakov’s family?  (they took Dina)

What did the prince want to do?  (to marry her)

Did Yaakov let him marry Dina?  (no, he did not!)

Who went to get Dina back?  (her big brothers – Shimon and Levi)

 

Yaakov already had 11 sons, but there was still one more to come…

 

image Which wife had one last baby for Yaakov?  (Rachel)

What was his name?  (Binyamin)

What happened to Rachel after that?  (she died)

Where was she buried?  (Kever Rachel – and we still know where it is today!)

 

רחל אימנו שאי קולך, שוב שפכי דמעה לפני קונך,

בזכותך ושבו בנים לגבולם.

Rachel our mother, raise your voice, pour out your tears again before your Maker…

in your merit, may your children return from their exile.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

I love your comments!

Popular posts from this blog

לימודי קודש/Limudei Kodesh Copywork & Activity Printables

Welcome to my Limudei Kodesh / Jewish Studies copywork and activity printables page.  As of June 2013, I am slowly but surely moving all my printables over to 4shared because Google Docs / Drive is just too flaky for me. What you’ll find here: Weekly Parsha Copywork More Parsha Activities More Chumash / Tanach Activities Yom Tov Copywork & Activities Tefillah Copywork Pirkei Avos / Pirkei Avot Jewish Preschool Resources Other printables! For General Studies printables and activities, including Hebrew-English science resources and more, click here . For Miscellaneous homeschool helps and printables, click here . If you use any of my worksheets, activities or printables, please leave a comment or email me at Jay3fer “at” gmail “dot” com, to link to your blog, to tell me what you’re doing with it, or just to say hi!  If you want to use them in a school, camp or co-op setting, please email me (remove the X’s) for rates. If you just want to say Thank You, here’s a
27 comments
Read more

Hebrew/ עברית & English General Studies Printables

For Jewish Studies, including weekly parsha resources and copywork, click here . If you use any of my worksheets, activities or printables, please leave a comment or email me at Jay3fer “at” gmail “dot” com, to link to your blog, to tell me what you’re doing with it, or just to say hi!  If you want to use them in a school, camp or co-op setting, please email me (remove the X’s) for rates. If you enjoy these resources, please consider buying my weekly parsha book, The Family Torah :  the story of the Torah, written to be read aloud – or any of my other wonderful Jewish books for kids and families . English Worksheets & Printables: (For Hebrew, click here ) Science :  Plants, Animals, Human Body Math   Ambleside :  Composers, Artists History Geography Language & Literature     Science General Poems for Elemental Science .  Original Poems written by ME, because the ones that came with Elemental Science were so awful.  Three pages are included:  one page with two po
10 comments
Read more

What do we tell our kids about Chabad and “Yechi”?

If I start by saying I really like Chabad, and adore the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, z"l, well... maybe you already know where I'm headed. Naomi Rivka has been asking lately what I think about Chabad.  She asks, in part, because she already knows how I feel.  She already knows I’m bothered, though to her, it’s mostly about “liking” and “not liking.”  I wish things were that simple. Our little neighbourhood in Israel has a significant Chabad presence, and Chabad conducts fairly significant outreach within the community.  Which sounds nice until you realize that this is a religious neighbourhood, closed on Shabbos, where some huge percentage of people are shomer mitzvos.  Sure, it’s mostly religious Zionist, and there are a range of observances, for sure, but we’re pretty much all religious here in some way or another. So at that point, this isn’t outreach but inreach .  Convincing people who are religious to be… what? A lot of Chabad’s efforts here are focused on kids, including a
Post a Comment
Read more