The same Midrashic passage also describes our relationship with G-d as that of a child to his father, a sister to her brother, a bride to her groom, a vineyard to its watchman, among others. “He is my shepherd, ‘Shepherd of Israel, listen’ and I am His sheep, ‘And you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture.’” “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine, he who shepherds among the roses.” The voice of this verse, explains the Midrash, is that of the community of Israel, speaking of her relationship with G-d. What are we to learn from the fact that the nation of Israel was founded in such sheepish surroundings?
Soon Jacob is a shepherd himself, caring for sheep, receiving his wages in sheep, breeding sheep with special markings, dreaming of sheep, amassing a fortune in sheep, and finally leading his flocks back to the Holy Land where he will present his brother Esau with a huge gift comprised largely of… sheep.īetween flocks, we also read of Jacob’s marriages to Leah and Rachel and the birth of eleven of his twelve sons, progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob arrives in Charan, and the first sight to greet him is that of several flocks of sheep congregated around a sealed well the second is his future wife, Rachel (the name is Hebrew for “sheep”), shepherding her father’s sheep.
The Torah portion, Vayeitzei (Genesis 28:10–32:3), is veritably glutted with sheep: Laban’s sheep and Jacob’s sheep white sheep, dark sheep, spotted sheep, speckled sheep, sheep with rings around their ankles.
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