Delivered: December 1, 2012 by Al Kohn
Parashat: Vayishlach – Genesis 32:4 – 36:43

Many years after his marriages to Rachel and Leah, Jacob received word from God that it was time to return home. Jacob sent messengers ahead to meet his brother Esau.

“Tell him that his servant Jacob has been with Laban until now. Tell him that I have acquired herds and flocks and servants. Tell him I seek favor in his eyes.”

The messengers soon returned.

“Your brother is coming to meet you, but there are 400 men with him.”

Jacob was very much afraid of his brother (because Jacob had deceived their father into giving him the special first-born blessing that was meant for Esau). So Jacob divided his camp saying,

“If Esau strikes down one camp, the other will escape.”

Thereupon Jacob said,

“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, God who says to me to return to my country and that the Almighty will do good to me. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, for I fear he shall kill me and my family, even though you promised to make my descendants like sand in the sea.”

That night Jacob set aside gifts for Esau from his herds and property. He instructed his servants to go one by one, with space in between, to present Esau with these gifts. While the servants were bringing Jacob’s gifts to Esau, Jacob moved his wife and children to yet another camp. Jacob was left alone in camp and someone wrestled with him until the break of day. When the one that wrestled with Jacob saw that it was impossible to win, that one touched the upper joint of Jacob’s thigh and it was dislocated. Then the one that was fighting against Jacob said,

“Let me go for day is breaking.”

But Jacob responded,

“I will not let you go unless you bless me.” “What is your name?” asked the wrestler.

“Jacob.”

“Then your name shall no longer be Jacob but Israel, for in prevailing in this fight you have become the commanding power before God and men.”

Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked and lo! Esau was coming with 400 men. Jacob immediately lined up his families: the maidservants and their children, followed by Leah and their children, and then Rachel and Joseph at the end. Then Jacob went ahead of them and bowed to the ground seven times until he came close to his brother. Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, fell upon his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

Jacob was very much afraid of his brother or certainly quite worried what harm would come to him. But does it do any good to worry?

People worry because they face various problems in life. In other words, problems make people worry. People worry because worrying is part of life. There is plenty to worry about since we can’t control the world around us or other people.

Worrying is a sad state of feeling which can cause serious health and psychological disorders such as normal to chronic headache, low appetite or indigestion problems, difficulty in falling asleep, blood pressure, loosing concentration and bad habits such as alcohol and drug addictions.

Here are some Worry quotes that I found:

Don ‘t hurry. Don’t worry. You’re only here for a short visit. So don’t forget to stop and smell the roses – Walter Hagen

Speak from your heart and don’t worry about how it’s going to be taken and ask with the intention of it doing the highest good for everyone involved – Dr. Gary Arthur

There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever – Mahatma Gandhi

If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It’s the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep – Dale Carnegie

The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work – Robert Frost

You can’t start worrying about what’s going to happen. You get disturbed enough worrying about what’s happening now – Lauren Bacall

Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight. – Benjamin Franklin

If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today. – Joseph Cossman

If you treat every situation as a life and death matter, you’ll die a lot of times – Dean Smith

A hundred load of worry will not pay an ounce of debt – George Herbert

Worry, doubt, fear and despair are the enemies which slowly bring us down to the ground and turn us to dust before we die – Douglas MacArthur

It is not the cares of today, but the cares of tomorrow, that weigh a man down – George MacDonald

Fear can keep us up all night long, but faith makes one fine pillow. – Philip Gulley

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength. – Corrie Ten Boom

Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything. – Mary Hemingway

I agree with the statement that God cares about us more than anybody does, even more than we care for ourselves. So we should have faith in God and throw our worries away.

AS A SONGWRITER ONCE PENNED, “DON’T WORRY AND BE HAPPY.” SHABBAT SHALOM!!