Vayishlach - וישלח : "And he sent"
Torah : Genesis 32:4-36:43
Haftarah : Hosea 11:7-12:12
Gospel : Matthew 17-18

Thought for the Week:

Rabbi Yochanon said, "In the generation of the coming of the Son of David, disciples of the Sages will be few in number, and as for the others, they will see sorrow and grief. Many troubles and evil laws will be made, each new evil quickly coming before the other has ended." (b.Sanhedrin 97a)

Commentary:

Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor. (Genesis 35:16)

Jacob's beloved wife Rachel died while giving birth to her second son. The matter of Rachel's travail can be seen in a messianic perspective. In Jewish literature the troubled times that precede the advent of Messiah are called the birth pains of Messiah (Chevlei Shel Mashiah, חבלי של משיח). The birth pain imagery is from the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Micah, who frequently used the "woman in labor" simile. The prophet Jeremiah calls it "the time Jacob's distress":