1. (35:16-20) Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin and is buried on the road to Bethlehem.
2. (35:22) Reuben’s sin.
3. (35:22-26) A review of the sons of Jacob.
4. (35:27-29) Isaac dies and is buried in the Cave.
5. (36:1-43) A genealogy of Esau’s descendants.
The Spirituality of Welcoming
Timna was a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz…The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. (Genesis 36:12,22
- Our Rabbis taught: But the person, be he citizen or stranger, who acts defiantly [reviles the Lord; that person shall be cut off from among his people]. (Num. 15:30): this refers to Manasseh the Son of Hezekiah, who examined [Biblical] narratives to prove them worthless. Thus, he jeered, had Moses nothing to write but, And Lotan’s sister was Timna, And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz?
…Now that we have raised the question, what is the purpose of [writing], And Lotan’s sister was Timna? — Timna was a royal princess, as it is written, alluf [chief] Lotan (Gen. 36:28), alluf Timna (Gen. 36:40); and by ‘alluf’ an uncrowned ruler is meant. Desiring to convert, she went to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but they did not accept her. So she went and became a concubine to Eliphaz the son of Esau, saying, ‘I had rather be a servant to this people than a mistress of another nation.’ From her Amalek was descended who afflicted Israel. Why so? — Because they should not have rejected her [Rashi: from under the wings of the Shechinah, for they should have converted her]. (Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin Sanhedrin 99b)
- Thus have the Sages taught in the Mishnah: When a would-be convert comes to accept Judaism, a hand should be stretched out towards him to bring him beneath the wings of the Shechinah. (Midrash Leviticus Rabbah 2:9)
- [One is allowed] to remove four or five large bundles of straw or wheat: 1. [in order to make room] for guests [on Shabbat] and 2. to [prevent people] from leaving [because of over crowding] the learning community on Shabbat.
(Mishnah Shabbat 18:1)
- Rabbi Yochanan said, “Welcoming guests is as great as rising early to go to the Beit Midrash (communal study hall), as it is taught in the Mishnah: “[in order to make room] for guests [on Shabbat] and to [prevent people] from leaving the Beit Midrash.” Rabbi Dimi from Nahardea said, “Welcoming guests is greater, because the Mishnah teaches it first and then talks about making room for students.” Rab Judah said in Rab’s name: Hospitality to wayfarers is greater than welcoming the presence of the Shechinah, for it is written, And [Abraham said to the wayfarers], My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by… (Gen. 18:3)[1] (Babylonian Talmud Tractate Shabbat 127b)
- The spirituality of welcoming elevates both the guest and the host. A warm greeting eases the unspoken anxiety a guest feels at being astranger and immediately answers the first question anyone in a strange place asks: Will I be welcome here? For the host, the act of hospitality is a gesture of spiritual generosity, uplifting the soul. It is an offering of oneself, an invitation for connection between human and human, and, in that meeting, between human and God. (Ron Wolfson, the Spirituality of Welcoming)
[1] On this interpretation Abraham was speaking to God, and begged God to remain while he saw to his guests