הצילני נא מיד אחי מיד עשו . The Zohar comments on this verse (Sullam edition page 21) that when someone prepares a prayer it is important that he chooses his words carefully. At first glance we would think that an appeal to G–d such as "save me!" would be sufficient; Jacob added the words "from my brother” so that he would not be misunderstood as requesting to be saved from Laban. In the event that G–d could use the term "brother" in a wider sense, [as Jacob himself had done in Genesis 29,4 for instance, Ed.] he added the word "from Esau," to make certain G–d knew whom he had in mind. He added what it was exactly that he needed to be saved from, i.e. an onslaught against his family. One must not rely on the fact that G–d is well aware of our unspoken thoughts. I believe that since the very letters used in prayer are holy, they are able to penetrate the outer shell of Heaven and penetrate to G–d's throne.

קטנתי מכל החסדים . Jacob was afraid that his merits had decreased due to the many favors G–d had already showered upon him. If even our patriarch Jacob felt that way, what shall we sinners say, who are so much inferior to our patriarchs? A person must therefore live very frugally so that he does not squander the few merits he has accumulated, even if he performed a lot of charitable deeds, etc.

והיה המחנה הנשאר לפליטה . Bereshit Rabbah advises, based on this verse, that one should never put all one's wealth into a single type of investment.

ויותר יעקב לבדו . Rabbi Eliezer in Chulin 91a learned from here that Jacob crossed the river in order to retrieve small insignificant utensils, and that righteous people are wont to endanger their lives over minor possessions. They do not do so out of excessive greed; because they are so careful not to acquire something that rightfully belonged to someone else, all the things they do acquire assume significance for them.

ויאבק איש עמו עד עלות השחר . Rabbi Yitzchak learns from here that a Torah scholar must not go out at night unaccompanied.

ויחן את פני העיר . Two scholars, Rav and Shemuel, opine in Shabbat 33a, that Jacob introduced coinage in the district. The other scholar, Shmuel, holds that Jacob introduced the concept of "markets," (concentrated shopping opportunities). Rabbi Yochanan said that Jacob established public baths. The difference in the opinions expressed stems from the meaning of the word Vayichan. One sage related that word to the root Cheyn, grace, something aesthetically appealing. As a result, he believed that public baths are what Jacob instituted. The other Rabbi concentrated on the expression Peney. The Midrash Hagadol on Genesis 41,56 in which the Torah describes the famine as: והרעב היה על פני כל הארץ, "The famine was on the face of the whole land," comments that the extra word פני teaches that the famine began with the rich who are called פנים. This is the reason that Rav interpreted that Jacob introduced coinage as a sign of his appreciation of being able to settle in the land. Shmuel, who explained that Jacob introduced a new marketing technique by arranging fairs, took his cue from the word העיר. What we learn from the above is that if someone claims to be a G–d-fearing individual, he needs to demonstrate this in three different areas of life, just as Jacob did.

The Torah testified that Jacob arrived in the city of Shechem “שלם,” whole in body, i.e. the result of using baths, but also, and more importantly, whole in body since he had not committed any transgression involving his body.

"Whole" in his financial resources, i.e. in his financial dealings with others.

Finally, he was "whole" in his Torah, i.e. a reference to a wholesome soul, character. Having perfected his own character, Jacob was able to make contributions to the improved well-being of the society within which he resided.

ותצא דינה בת לאה . The lesson we learn from this incident is how careful women have to be to conduct their affairs as far as possible within the privacy of the home. This rule does not only apply to married women but also to unmarried girls. If Dinah, a daughter of such illustrious parents as Jacob and Leah, was not safe from an attack on her virginity, daughters of less illustrious parents certainly need to be guarded carefully.

We must not spend time wondering how such a misfortune could have happened and what errors if any her parents had committed. We must remember that Dinah's nature was like that of a male who is in the habit of going out into the field; this is how she conducted herself. Our sages have explained that as a fetus Dinah grew in her mother's womb as a male child, and that it was Leah's prayer which led to her being born as a female (Berachot 60).

ותדבק נפשו בדינה . We find a statement in Bereshit Rabbah 80,7, that three expressions are used to describe G–d's love or attachment for Israel. The expressions are: דביקה, חשיקה, and חפיצה. The first expression is used in Deut. 4,4; the second expression is used in Deut. 7,7; the last expression is used in Malachi 3,12. The Midrash continues that we learn this lesson from this wicked person Shechem, of whom all these three kinds of feelings for Dinah are reported in 34,3-19 [actually the expression ויאהב is also used for his feelings.] Shechem's attachment to Dinah was of a terrestrial nature, designed to gratify his cravings in this world, and he wanted to achieve realization by means of these three kinds of "love."

What kinds of feelings does one need to develop to realize one's craving for the sublime state of the World to Come? Surely one needs to deepen these feelings many times over in order to express appreciation of one's desire for that ultimate communion with G–d adequately! The author mentions that he has written about this subject elsewhere.

הסירו את אלהי הנכר . Man must make an effort to return to G–d wholeheartedly at all times, and to remove from his home all alien and forbidden objects, foods, etc. Anything that is displeasing in the eyes of G–d is called Avodah Zarah, a form of alien deity. We must keep our homes pure so as to conform with the Torah's command to the Jewish soldier: והיה מחניך קדוש, "ensure that your camp is holy" (Deut. 23, 15).