Final Version (traduction française à la “Is it not known that Esau hates Jacob?” fin du texte en anglais) A message by Rabbi Dr. Alexander Grodensky 31 May 2026-15 Sivan 5786, Temple Neuf, Strasbourg There is a word in Genesis 33 that has a question mark...
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Final Version (traduction française à la “Is it not known that Esau hates Jacob?” fin du texte en anglais) A message by Rabbi Dr. Alexander Grodensky 31 May 2026-15 Sivan 5786, Temple Neuf, Strasbourg There is a word in Genesis 33 that has a question mark built into it. When Jacob and Esau meet again, after twenty years of separation, after the stolen blessing, after Esau’s expressed wish to kill his brother – the text tells us that Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, fell on his neck, and kissed him. [ ַׄו ִׄיָּׄשּׁ ֵ ׄקׄה ׄוּvayishakehu]. “And he kissed him.” And above each letter of that word – [ ַׄו ִׄיָּׄשּׁ ֵ ׄקׄה ׄוּvayishakehu] – the scribes of the Torah place a small dot. Six tiny dots, hovering over the word like a question. The scholars call them puncta extraordinaria. The dotted word. The word the tradition could not decide about. What was that kiss? Was it the moment, when two brothers, after a lifetime of rivalry, finally recognized each other? Or was it theater, an embrace t
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