Parshat Vayishlach

This week's parsha opens with a description of the damaged relationship of Yakov and Esav and the attempts made in order to repair the relationship between the two. As a part of an attempt to improve the relationship with his brother, Yakov sends many gifts of livestock, delivered by his servants with strict instructions of how to present the gifts. Yakov is pedantic, emphasising that the servants should know who they serve, their purpose and what lies ahead. The verse reads:

וַיְצַ֥ו אֶת־הָרִאשׁ֖וֹן לֵאמֹ֑ר כִּ֣י יִֽפְגָּשְׁךָ֞ עֵשָׂ֣ו אָחִ֗י וִשְׁאֵֽלְךָ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לְמִי־אַ֙תָּה֙ וְאָ֣נָה תֵלֵ֔ךְ וּלְמִ֖י אֵ֥לֶּה לְפָנֶֽיךָ׃

He instructed the one in front as follows, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, ‘Whose man are you? Where are you going? And whose [animals] are these ahead of you?’

What is striking is how these questions enable a clarity of mind that facilitates clear and successful outcomes. Clarity is borne of questions.

This week is the Chafifa Seminar, the national executive turnover for Hineni. We hope that the central questions of the seminar are and continue to be questions grounded in service, selflessness and vision.