Nov 23, 20233 min read

Parshas Vayetzei

Zechus for all the soldiers on the front lines in Israel to stay safe and succeed! Zechus for the hostages to be returned safely and the wounded and grieving to recover from the terrible tragedy that occurred on Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah

Zechus Refuah Sheleima: Miriam bas Chana

Le'iluy Nishmas: Gittel a"h bas Shraga Meir Hakohen

Le'iluy Nishmas Tziporah Chana a"h bas Yaakov Avraham Eliyahu

Please contact us if you would like to sponsor as a zechus for someone

Another great Parsha with many ideas for your Parsha Party.

Parsha Overview (Feel free to skip straight to the Party below - simply click the arrow next to this text and the overview will disappear.)

VAYETZEI

Yaakov leaves his home in Beer Sheva and travels to Charan. He stops at “The Place” (which was Har Hamoriya) and lays down to go to sleep there because the sun has set. He takes 12 stones and puts them around his head as he sleeps. He has a dream of a ladder rising from the ground rising all the way up to the sky. On the ladder he sees Malachim (angels) going up and down. Hashem appears to Yaakov and promises him that the land that he is on will be given to his children. They will be many like the dust and will spread from West to East, North to South. Yaakov wakes up and realizes that the land he is on is holy and Hashem is there. He is shocked to see that the 12 stones that were surrounding his head are now joined into one stone (Medrash) and he takes the stone and builds a mizbeyach. He calls this place Bais-El. He makes a promise that if Hashem guards him on his journey, he will give Maaser to Hashem.

Yaakov journeys to the “Bnei Kedem” in Charan. He comes to a field and sees a well with a big rock on it and shepherds standing around. Only when all the shepherds arrive do they join together to lift the rock off of the well for their flock to drink. He asks the shepherds if they know Lavan and they point out for him that Rochel his daughter is arriving with his sheep. When Yaakov sees Rochel, he lifts up the big rock by himself and gives her sheep to drink. He tells her he is her cousin. When Lavan hears he comes running to Yaakov. He tells him "you are my bone and my flesh and come stay with me". Yaakov stays with him and tends to his sheep.

Lavan had 2 daughters. Leah was the older one and Rochel the younger. Leah’s eyes were “Rakos” weak while Rochel was beautiful. The medrash teaches that Leah cried that she shouldn’t marry her cousin the that was a Rasha (Esav).

Yaakov loved Rochel and tells Lavan he will work for him for seven years and in return Lavan will give him Rochel as a wife. He completes the seven years but on the wedding night, Lavan tricks him and sends Leah instead of Rochel. Yaakov had made special signs with Rochel in case Lavan would do this trick but Rochel did not want her sister Leah to be shamed and humiliated on the wedding night so she told her the secret signs. Yaakov is not happy that he was tricked and Lavan tells him he will give him Rochel also to marry the next week, as long as he will stay and work another seven years.

Hashem saw that Leah was “the hated one” and he gave her children. She has six sons: Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehuda, Yissachar and Zevulun. She also has a daughter named Dina. Rochel meanwhile was an Akara and did not have any children. She gave her maidservant Bilha to Yaakov to have children for her. Bilha gives birth to Dan and Naftali. Leah then also gives her maidservant Zilpah to Yaakov to have children for her. Zilpah gives birth to Gad and Asher.

One day Reuven goes out to the field and collects Dudaim flowers for his mother. Rochel asks Leah for the flowers in exchange for Yaakov to return to Leah’s tent.

Hashem finally answers Rochel’s tefilos and she has a son named Yosef. Yaakov now wants to return home but Lavan convinces him to stay offering him sheep in return for his work. Yaakov will get whatever cattle are speckled and spotted and the rest will belong to Lavan. Lavan tries to trick him and removed all the speckled and spotted cattle and gave them to his sons. Yaakov takes sticks and peels white spots on them. He places them into the drinking pools. The sheep would see the spotted sticks and give birth to spotted offspring. Yaakov becomes very rich. Hashem tells Yaakov it’s time to leave Lavan so he gathers his family and wealth and leaves. Lavan was out when they left and Rochel steals his “Terafim” Avodah Zarah to try and stop him from serving it. Lavan finds out that Yaakov left and runs after him. Hashem appears to Lavan in a dream and tells him not to harm Yaakov. Lavan catches up to Yaakov asking why he ran away from him. He also asks him about his Terafim and Yaakov doesn’t know that Rochel took them and curses the person that stole them. Lavan does a search for the Terafim and turns up empty handed. Yaakov gets upset at Lavan after working him for twenty years and this is how he repays him. They make a treaty that they will not harm each other and Yaakov leaves on his way. Malachim come to escort him back to the Land. When Yaakov sees the Malachim he called the place Machanayim. (Adapted partially from In a Nutshell by Chabad.org and The Medrash says)

And now for the fun part

PARSHA PARTY

SNACKS LIST

Sun Cups – Dark Chocolate peanut butter cups
Sunkists
Rock Candy
Jelly Beans
Marshmallows – minis
ChocMallows
Cocoa Pebbles/Fruity Pebbles
Donut Holes
Rugelach (“Rock”elach)
Mini Cupcakes package with sprinkles or smiley faces
Big Marshmallow
Yum Earth Pops
Ladders made out of Pretzel sticks and peanut butter or fluff.
Lined Wafer rolls -kind of have rungs of ladders.
Striped chocolate sticks/truffles
Fizz Candy / Fizz Bottles
Kedem Grape Juice
Heart candies / lollies/chocolates
Danish or Big round cake / Babka
Sippies
Aqua Chews
Wowzers - He lifted it off the well by himself
Roller Ball Candy
PowerAde
White Rock Seltzer
Cry Baby gum
Salt Water Taffy for tears
Sour belts
White candies or white chocolate
Trix Cereal
Tricky Ice Pops
Fruit Rollups – veil covering Leah
Candy lips – Rochel tells the signs to Leah
Lays Potato Chips
Laffy Taffy Mystery Swirl
7Up
Mazel Tov Candy
Baby bites
Pacifier candy
Windmill Flower shaped Candy
Flower mix candies
Linzer Tarts Cookies (Flower shape)
Animal Cookies
Bonus Chocolate bar (Milchig)
Salted Pretzel Rods
Chocolate pretzel rods
Chocolate pretzels with Sprinkles
Chocolate chip cookies
Sprinkle cookies
Striped Starlight mints
Vienese Crunch
Dunkees
Chocolate chips
Sprinkles on anything
Bricks on sticks
Nuts
Button Candy
Birthday Cake Drizzilicious Rice Cakes
Dollar Candy
Jewel Pop
Chocolate coins
GOGOs
Zazoom

THE PARSHA PARTY ANSWER LIST!

The sun sets and Yaakov stops to rest

Sun Cups – Dark Chocolate peanut butter cups
Sunkists

Yaakov lays down and puts rocks around his head

Rock Candy
Jelly Beans
Marshmallows – minis
ChocMallows
Cocoa Pebbles/Fruity Pebbles
Donut Holes
Rugelach (“Rock”elach)
Mini Cupcakes package (Set up like rocks around head. If they have sprinkles can also be used for the speckled sheep. If they are the smiley face cupcakes they can represent the Shevatim born this week)
(Big Marshmallow – for it forming into one big rock)

Yaakov Dreams of a ladder from the earth to the sky

Yum Earth Pops
Ladders can be made out of Pretzel sticks and peanut butter or fluff. Also can be made out of Twizzlers or sour sticks.
Lined Wafer rolls -kind of have rungs of ladders.
Striped chocolate sticks/truffles