Practice Parashat Vayishlach with TropeTrainer
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Parashat Vayishlach - פָּרָשַׁת וַיִּשְׁלַח
Vayishlach (“He Sent”) follows Jacob and his family as Jacob wrestles with a man (commonly understood as an angel), is renamed Israel, and reconciles with his brother, Esau. Jacob’s daughter, Dina, is raped by a Hivite prince, and her brothers sack a city in response. Rachel dies as she gives birth to Jacob's youngest child, Benjamin.
Torah Portion: Genesis 32:4-36:43
Parashat Vayishlach is the 8th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. Next read on November 28th, 2026 / 18 Kislev 5787
- Annual Reading
Read Annually
1:
32:4 - 32:13· 10 p’sukim
2:
32:14 - 32:30· 17 p’sukim
3:
32:31 - 33:5· 8 p’sukim
4:
33:6 - 33:20· 15 p’sukim
5:
34:1 - 35:11· 42 p’sukim
6:
35:12 - 36:19· 37 p’sukim
7:
36:20 - 36:43· 24 p’sukim
Maftir:
36:40 - 36:43· 4 p’sukim
Haftarah:
Obadiah 1:1 - 1:21· 21 p’sukim
- Triennial Year 1
December 6th, 2025
1:
32:4 - 32:6· 3 p’sukim
2:
32:7 - 32:9· 3 p’sukim
3:
32:10 - 32:13· 4 p’sukim
4:
32:14 - 32:22· 9 p’sukim
5:
32:23 - 32:30· 8 p’sukim
6:
32:31 - 33:5· 8 p’sukim
7:
33:6 - 33:20· 15 p’sukim
Maftir:
33:18 - 33:20· 3 p’sukim
Alternate Haftarah Part 1:
Obadiah 1:10 - 1:18· 9 p’sukim
Alternate Haftarah Part 2:
Obadiah 1:21 - 1:21· 1 p’sukim
- Triennial Year 2
November 28th, 2026
1:
34:1 - 34:4· 4 p’sukim
2:
34:5 - 34:12· 8 p’sukim
3:
34:13 - 34:17· 5 p’sukim
4:
34:18 - 34:23· 6 p’sukim
5:
34:24 - 34:31· 8 p’sukim
6:
35:1 - 35:11· 11 p’sukim
7:
35:12 - 35:15· 4 p’sukim
Maftir:
35:12 - 35:15· 4 p’sukim
Alternate Haftarah:
Jeremiah 30:10 - 30:22· 13 p’sukim
- Triennial Year 3
December 18th, 2027
1:
35:16 - 35:26· 11 p’sukim
2:
35:27 - 35:29· 3 p’sukim
3:
36:1 - 36:8· 8 p’sukim
4:
36:9 - 36:19· 11 p’sukim
5:
36:20 - 36:30· 11 p’sukim
6:
36:31 - 36:39· 9 p’sukim
7:
36:40 - 36:43· 4 p’sukim
Maftir:
36:40 - 36:43· 4 p’sukim
Alternate Haftarah Part 1:
Amos 1:1 - 1:1· 1 p’sukim
Alternate Haftarah Part 2:
Amos 1:11 - 2:3· 8 p’sukim
About Parashat Parashat Vayishlach
At its heart, Vayishlach is a portion about transformation and reckoning with the past. Jacob's nighttime wrestling match at the Jabbok River is the spiritual climax of his life: emerging wounded but renamed Israel ("for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed"), he steps into a new identity that will become the name of an entire people. The portion holds reconciliation and rupture in tension, pairing the unexpectedly peaceful reunion with Esau against the trauma of Dinah and the violent retribution at Shechem. It also weighs fear against faith, honor against vengeance, and loss against legacy, as God reaffirms the covenant at Bethel and the narrative carries the promise forward through Rachel's death in childbirth, the burial of Isaac, and the genealogy of Esau's Edomite descendants.
The Haftarah
In most communities today, both Ashkenazi and Sephardi, the haftarah for Vayishlach is the entire Book of Obadiah (Obadiah 1:1-21), the shortest book in the Hebrew Bible at a single chapter of 21 verses. The thematic link extends the Jacob-Esau story across generations: Obadiah prophesies judgment against Edom, the nation descended from Esau, condemning its cruelty toward its "brother" Israel and foretelling Edom's downfall and Israel's restoration. Just as Jacob ultimately prevails in his confrontations with Esau in the parashah, Obadiah expresses confidence that Israel will prevail over Edom. Worth noting: some older Ashkenazi printings and customs assigned Hosea 11:7-12:12 to Vayishlach (a reading more directly tied to the Jacob narrative), but this is widely regarded as a printer's error or later innovation that was reversed, and contemporary practice in nearly all communities is Obadiah. Some Conservative congregations following a triennial cycle may read an abbreviated selection.
Notable passages and verses
The portion's most famous moment is Jacob being renamed Israel after wrestling with the mysterious "man," traditionally understood as an angel or divine being (Genesis 32:29) - the origin of the name borne by the entire Jewish people. The same episode is the source of a still-observed dietary law: the prohibition against eating the sciatic nerve (gid ha-nasheh), commemorating the injury to Jacob's hip (Genesis 32:33). Jacob's gracious words to Esau, "to see your face is like seeing the face of God" (Genesis 33:10), are also widely quoted. Structurally, by the most common verse count Vayishlach is reckoned as having 153 verses, the most of any weekly portion in the Book of Genesis (verse counts can vary slightly by tradition).
Frequently asked questions
What is Parashat Vayishlach about?
Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4-36:43) tells of Jacob's return to the Land of Israel after twenty years with Laban. Its defining episodes are Jacob's nighttime wrestling match with a mysterious being and his renaming as Israel, his reconciliation with Esau, the troubling story of Dinah and the sacking of Shechem, God's reaffirmation of the covenant at Bethel, and the death of Rachel in childbirth as she bears Benjamin. The portion closes with Isaac's death and the genealogy of Esau's Edomite descendants. With TropeTrainer you can hear and practice this reading with its trope (cantillation).
What is the haftarah for Vayishlach?
In most communities today, both Ashkenazi and Sephardi, the haftarah is the entire Book of Obadiah (Obadiah 1:1-21), the shortest book in the Hebrew Bible. It connects to the portion through the Jacob-Esau relationship: Obadiah prophesies the downfall of Edom, the nation descended from Esau, for its cruelty toward Israel. Some older Ashkenazi customs read Hosea 11:7-12:12 instead, but this is now rare. TropeTrainer lets you hear and practice the haftarah with its trope.
What are the themes of Vayishlach?
Major themes include personal transformation and divine encounter (Jacob becoming Israel), reconciliation and unresolved conflict within a family, the tension between fear and faith, sexual violence and questions of honor and vengeance (the Dinah narrative), and the continuation of the covenantal promise across generations. With TropeTrainer you can hear and practice the chanting of this portion with trope.
Why was Jacob renamed Israel in Vayishlach?
After wrestling through the night with a mysterious figure, traditionally understood as an angel or divine being, Jacob is told, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed" (Genesis 32:29). The new name marks his spiritual maturation and becomes the name of the entire people. The same episode gives rise to the dietary prohibition against eating the sciatic nerve. TropeTrainer lets you hear and practice this reading with its trope.
Where to go next
Open a sample Torah reading with full Hebrew text, trope marks, and audio to see how TropeTrainer works.
See the complete list of weekly parashot with links to every reading and detail page.
Work through guided lessons on Torah trope cantillation, from basic symbols to advanced phrase patterns.