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Dëvar Torah – Parashath Va-Yétzé' (Genesis XXVII, 10 -- XXXII, 3)Our parasha tells the story of Ya'aqov's ("Jacob's") sojourn with his uncle and father-in-law, Lavan. As we read at the end of last week's parasha (XXVII, 42 -- XXVIII, 9), Rivqa ("Rebecca") persuaded Ya'aqov to flee to her brother in Charan both to escape from the wrath of his brother 'Esav and to find himself a proper wife. Just as Avraham had opposed the marriage of Yitzchaq to any daughter of the depraved Canaanites (XXIV, 3), so too did Rivqa consider any such prospect repugnant.When Ya'aqov arrived in Charan,...

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a...

GENDER: Masculine USAGE: English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Biblical From the Latin Iacobus. In the Old Testament, Jacob (later called Israel) is the son of Isaac and Rebecca and the father of the twelve founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. He was born holding his twin brother Esau's heel, and his name is explained as meaning "holder of the heel" or "supplanter". Other theories claim it means "may God protect". [Paraphrased] ... Snip ...

Two researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) studied the bones of camels found in an area of ancient copper mines in the Aravah Valley, south of the Dead Sea. Using radiocarbon dating and other techniques, they determined that camels were first used in the mining operations near the end of the 10th century BC. They state that this is the first evidence of domesticated camels in ancient Israel. This would be almost 1,000 years later than the time of the patriarchs, when camels first appear in the Bible. Their study was quickly used to claim that the Bible was written...

Archaeologists from Israel’s top university have used radiocarbon dating to pinpoint the arrival of domestic camels in the Middle East -- and they say the science directly contradicts the Bible’s version of events. Camels are mentioned as pack animals in the biblical stories of Abraham, Joseph and Jacob, Old Testament stories that historians peg to between 2000 and 1500 BC. But Erez Ben-Yosef and Lidar Sapir-Hen of Tel Aviv University's Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern Cultures say camels weren’t domesticated in Israel until centuries later, more like 900 BC. “In addition to challenging the Bible's historicity, this anachronism is...

Arab vandals defaced the tomb of Shimon Ben Yaakov—believed to be the burial place of the father of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. While the tomb—located near Kibbutz Eyal, just off Route 6—is not one of the most popular tombs of forefathers, it is frequented on a more or less daily basis by Jews. …

A friend of mine pointed out the meaning of "Jacob" in zero's speech. I had no idea that he was a great prophet in the quran. Look it up and see.

The Palestinian Authority is renewing an archaeology dig in Shechem, which the Bible records was bought by Jacob (Yaakov). The director of the PA's Department of Antiquities, Hamdan Taha, says the dig will help in “writing or rewriting the history of Palestine.” Muslim clerics often have rewritten the Bible, claiming that the “binding of Isaac (Yitzchak)" actually refers to Ishmael. Clerics in the Palestinian Authority and the entire Muslim world also have frequently argued that the Holy Temples never existed and that Rachel's Tomb at Bethlehem actually is an ancient Muslim holy site. Shechem appears to be next in line....

On Jacob's Wrestling With God "He Who Allows Himself to Be Blessed by God ... Renders the World Blessed" VATICAN CITY, MAY 25, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. The Pope continued with his new series of catecheses on prayer, reflecting today on prayer in the Patriarch Jacob's life. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today I would like to reflect with you upon a text from the Book of Genesis that narrates a rather particular episode in the history of the...

Genesis 32:30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." GENESIS 32:28-31 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast revailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said: Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel (Pineal): for I have seen God...

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has confirmed Stearns County investigators are at a property in the area where Jacob Wetterling was abducted more than 20 years ago. Neighbors report seeing several unmarked law enforcement vehicles Wednesday morning at the property in St. Joseph. A sheriff's office squad car is parked at the entry to the driveway. The sheriff's office tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that, "an investigation is occurring today, but details of that investigation are restricted by a Stearns County court order." The sheriff's office would not release any other details about the investigation and gave no indication when more details would...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem ~ OriginsJacob Wrestles With The AngelBy Eugene Delecroix Genesis Chapter 32 Jacob's Fear of Esau 1. Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him. 2. Jacob said when he saw them, "This is God's [a]camp." So he named that place [b]Mahanaim. 3. Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4. He also commanded them saying, "Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: 'Thus says your servant Jacob, "I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until...

WASHINGTON,- The U.S. Social Security Administration said Jacob was the top baby boy name for the 11th year in a row in 2009 while Isabella took the top position for girls. The administration said Ethan took the second spot among boys, followed by Michael, Alexander, William, Joshua, Daniel, Jayden, Noah and Anthony. Jayden and Noah were new to the list this year, officials said. Emma, last year's top name for girls, was No. 2 on this year's list, followed by Olivia, Sophia, Ava, Emily, Madison, Abigail, Chloe and Mia. The officials said Mia was new to this year's Top 10....

In chapter 46 of Genesis, Jacob and the rest of the 70 family members set out to reunite with Joseph (who is now vice-regent of Egpyt). Verse 28 tells us Jacob "sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out the way before him to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen." As I finished the verse I wondered why Jacob chose Judah -- who was the fourth oldest son -- and not Reuben, the eldest. In that culture it was virtually always the first born who had honors such as that placed on him. I believe the...

One surefire way to avert a nuclear holocaust. If you were a Jew in Europe in 1941, and you actually knew that Hitler was developing the means to carry out his threat to exterminate the Jews, what would you do? Dismiss the danger as overstated? Try to arouse the nations of the world to stop him? Or take upon yourself to employ every means possible -- both physically and spiritually -- to avert the catastrophe? If you are a Jew in 2007, and you actually know that Ahmadinejad is developing the means to carry out his threat to exterminate the...

If you want to know what a bureaucracy does, suggests PJ O'Rourke, watch it when it does nothing. If you want to know what people think about life, watch them when death sticks out his calling card. Many act like it ain't happening. They dress the dead in tuxes and ballroom dresses and do the dead's hair and apply them with make-up. We're here to celebrate a life, they chirp, while the elephant in the room swishes his large head. They exchange stories of (I'm not making this up) the deceased's delicious flanken and chicken soup (we called them Godzilla...

The Israeli decision to respond forcefully to Hezbollah's assault on its soldiers and its citizens has been met with near-universal condemnation. The world is a lot more comfortable with an Israel that does not fight back. And so are a lot of Jews. Steven Spielberg's movie "Munich" made the argument that when Israel kills terrorists it risks becoming like the terrorists. But it is a specious argument that suggests that a country is more moral when it allows evil to triumph. Would Israel be doing the right thing by allowing murderers to get away with murder? But we are getting...

WE LOST THE REFERENDUM It was a landslide. They had that referendum on illegal immigration yesterday and the answer was clear. People don’t care. I’m not saying that as a criticism, or as accusation, but as an observation. If yesterday’s Republican Primary in Utah’s third congressional district was a test of the country’s sentiment on illegal immigration, it is unarguably clear that people aren’t that bothered by it. At least they’re not in Utah. Congressman Chris Cannon pounded the living snot out of challenger John Jacob. It wasn’t even close. John Jacob lost in every county, jurisdiction and precinct. At...

After a huge push from the illegal alien lobby, Chris "King of Amnesty" Cannon defeated Team America endorsed Candidate John Jacob 56-44% in Utah's 3rd congressional district.While we are obviously disapointed in the result, the campaign was still a victory for the cause of secure borders. Cannon accredits his win to "extremists" who backed Jacob (i.e. us) and turned off voters. This couldn't be further for the truth. If he didn't have to hide from his pro-illegal record, Cannon would have coasted to victory. In order to defeat a political novice, Cannon had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars...

Jacobs Concedes, Cannon Moves on to General Election June 27th, 2006 @ 11:12pm SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon, challenged by a political newcomer who accused the five-term incumbent of being soft on illegal immigration, was leading in Utah's Republican primary Tuesday with more than half of precincts reporting. Cannon led John Jacob 58 percent to 42 percent, or 19,575 votes to 14,395 votes, with 313 of 623 precincts reporting. That includes 100 percent of returns from Juab, Beaver and Millard counties. The 3rd Congressional District race focused primarily on who stands taller in opposition to Bush's...