Pictorial Tour of Historical Sites in Parshas Vayishlach

Anash.org Feature: Tour the ancient sites mentioned in Parshas Vayishlach with “Picturing the Parsha” featuring unique and exclusive photos with detailed descriptions by Tanach explorer and photographer Sholom Raskin.

By Anash.org reporter

In each Parsha of Sefer Bereishis, we encounter new places where our Avos traveled and settled. Wouldn’t it be incredible to see what those sites look like today?

Tanach explorer and photographer Sholom Raskin has a curiosity and fascination with real-life locations of the stories from Tanach. During his time in Eretz Yisroel, he intensely explored hundreds of historical and archeological sites and documented it all.

In this weekly column on Anash.org throughout the weeks of Sefer Bereishis, Sholom presents photos of ancient sites mentioned in the parsha. Under each picture, there will be a caption with the Perek and Posuk that is being referenced and a short explanation of what the picture is about.

A printable PDF allows for easy printing of the photos and descriptions for reading on Shabbos and showing it at the Shabbos table.

Click here to download the PDF.

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List of places in Parshas Vayishlach:

32:23 – I took a bus from Yerushalayim to Beit She’an. The driver took the route that is parallel to the Yarden River. The bottom of the picture is the Jordanian border. The valley between the mountains in the center left of the picture is where the Yabok River is (about 40 miles northeast of Yerushalayim). If you were standing right here about 3600 years ago, you could have seen a long line of animals Yaakov Avinu was gifting to Esav.

32:25 – These are the mountains north of the Yabok River. If you were standing on top of those mountains about 3600 years ago, you could have seen Yaakov Avinu wrestle with the Malach.

33:18 – View of the city of Shechem (About 30 miles north of Yerushalayim).

34:2 – This is the Balata refugee camp in Shechem. Balata is a major hub for terrorism, with many suicide bombers originating from here. The western part of Balata, is built on top of a part of the ancient city of Shechem. Meaning, the area where Dinah was kidnapped, is today producing terrorists trying to kill Yidden C’V.

35:1 – (the sign is mistaken, it is not Perek 25, it is Perek 35). Beit-El is about 12 miles north of Yerushalayim. In the archaeological park in Beit-El, there are signs with Pesukim mentioning Beit-El written on them.

35:6 – (the sign is mistaken, it is not Perek 25, it is Perek 35).

35:7 – (the sign is mistaken, it is not Perek 25, it is Perek 35).

35:8 – The 1000-year-old oak tree (see the above picture).

35:19 – This is what Kever Rachel looks like from the outside today. Kever Rachel is about 4 miles south from the center of Yerushalayim (you can take a city bus there).

35:20 – The Kever of Rachel Imenu.

35:29 – The monuments to Yitzchok Avinu and Rivkah Imenu inside of Meoras Hamachpela, located in Chevron (about 17 miles southwest of Yerushalayim). (The actual cave is directly underneath the monuments to Avraham and Sarah). This part of Meoras Hamachpela is only open to Muslims and is used as a Mosque. A few times during the year, Yidden are allowed inside (this is a screenshot from a video I took).

35:29 – The monuments to Yitzchok Avinu and Rivkah Imenu inside of Meoras Hamachpela, located in Chevron (about 17 miles southwest of Yerushalayim). (The actual cave is directly underneath the monuments to Avraham and Sarah). This part of Meoras Hamachpela is only open to Muslims and is used as a Mosque. A few times during the year, Yidden are allowed inside (this is screenshot from a video I took).

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SholomTravels.com, an online travel guide by Sholom Raskin, contains a comprehensive list of places mentioned in Tanach and where they are mentioned; 115 locations based on tiers, location in Eretz Yisroel, archaeology, history, nature, and viewpoints; an interactive Google Maps page; as well as hundreds of pictures and videos.