I have always wondered why the Mishnah in Avot singled out our father Avraham as being the person who was tested ten times in his lifetime rather than concentrating on the life of our father Yaakov who, as related in this week’s Torah reading, underwent so many tests and misfortunes. Yaakov finally escapes the clutches of Lavan only to be confronted by the threat of Eisav attempting to annihilate him.
Yaakov is crippled physically, spiritually and financially by Eisav and his angel and mercenaries. Healing and recovering, Yaakov has to deal with the kidnapping and the assault of his daughter Dena by Shechem. The slaughter of the men of Shechem by Shimon and Levi is watched in powerless disapproval by Yaakov and, according to tradition, numerous armed conflicts with the local Canaanite tribes ensued.
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