Summary of parashat Vaietzé
Jacob left his birthplace in Beersheba and traveled to Haran. On the way, he came across "the place" and slept there, dreaming of a ladder connecting heaven and earth, with angels ascending and descending it. God appeared to him and promised that the land on which he lay would be given to his descendants. In the morning, Jacob erected the stone on which he had rested his head as an altar and a monument, vowing that it would be God's house.
Jacob stayed in Haran, where he worked for his uncle Laban, tending his sheep. Laban agreed to give him his younger daughter, Rachel, whom Jacob loved, to marry as payment for seven years of work. But on their wedding night, Laban gave him his older daughter, Leah, instead—a deception Jacob only discovered the next morning. Jacob married Rachel as well, a week later, after agreeing to work for Laban for another seven years.
Leah has six sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, and one daughter, Dinah, while Rachel is barren. Rachel gives Jacob her servant, Bilhah, to bear children for Rachel, and two more sons, Dan and Naphtali, are born. Leah does the same with her servant, Zilpah, who gives birth to Gad and Asher. Finally, Rachel's prayers are answered, and Joseph is born.
Jacob had been in Haran for fourteen years and longed to return home, but Laban persuaded him to stay, offering him his sheep as payment for his labor. Jacob prospered, despite Laban's repeated attempts to ruin him. After six years, Jacob secretly left Haran, fearing that Laban would not allow him to leave with the family and wealth he had worked so hard for. Laban and Jacob made a pact on Mount Gal-Ed, and Jacob continued his journey to the Holy Land, where he was found by angels.
