At the end of Parshat Toldot, Breisheet 28:3-4, right before Yaakov left to go to Padan Aram, Yitzchak gave the following blessing to Yaakov: “And may God bless you, make you fruitful and make you numerous and may you be a congregation of peoples. May God grant you the blessing of Avraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may possess the land of your sojourns which God gave to Avraham.”

In Parshat Vayetze, Yaakov has a dream where God reaffirms this blessing, Breisheet 28:13-15 “…and God said: ‘I am the God of Avraham your father and God of Yitzchak; the ground upon which you are lying, to you will I give it and to your descendents. Your offspring shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out powerfully westward, eastward, northward and southward; and all of the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your offspring. Behold, I am with you; I will guard you wherever you go, and I will return you to this soil; for I will not forsake you until I have done what I have told you’”.

In Parshat Vayishlach, Yaakov returns to the Land of C’naan. At that point, God changes Yaakov’s name to Yisrael and once again reaffirms the blessing that he gave to Yaakov before he left the Land, Breisheet 35:11-12: “And God said to him, ‘I am E-l Sha-dai. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a congregation of nations shall descend from you, and kings shall issue from your loins. The Land that I gave to Avraham and to Yitzchak, I will give it to you; and to your offspring after you I will give this Land…”

Why do the blessings of having children and inheriting the land have to be reiterated so many times?

The first time, in Toldot, Yitzchak gave the blessing. In order for us to know that Yitzchak didn’t make a mistake by giving it to Yaakov (when maybe it should have gone to Esav) it was important for God to give that blessing directly to Yaakov.

In Vayetze, God wanted to make it clear to Yaakov that He will protect him, Esav will not harm him and that He will bring him back to the Land where the ultimate promise will be fulfilled.

In Vayishlach, now that Yaakov has returned to the Land and brought his children with him, he receives the final affirmation that the Land belongs to him and his offspring. Yaakov made peace with Esav who went back to Seir, the land that he was destined to inherit.

God’s promises to Yaakov’s offspring are promises to us. The Land of Israel is our land to live in, build up and possess!