Chevre, this week’s parsha is Vayishlach (וישלח). This week we have Yaakov about to meet up with Esav, his brother. He prepares his family and splits them up. He sends gifts to Esav ahead of time. He’s done everything he can to get ready and then it’s the night before they’ll meet. Yaakov had forgotten something and he goes back for it. And he finds a man, an angel and they wrestle. Yaakov overcomes, but the angel/man injures Yaakov’s leg. And Yaakov is told he’ll get a new name. The next day, all the preparations are put into effect, everything is sent out in groups. And finally when Esav and Yaakov meet, they hug each other and eventually go their separate ways.

This week was re:Invent. For the folks speaking there and running the event, there have been months of preparations. Deciding who should go, who should speak, what kiosks to have, who is going to work the kiosks. Lots of things go into this event. AWS even builds a separate wifi network to ensure that the event goes off well. I know in previous years the night before my talk or even the morning of, I was super nervous. You go over your preparations and think about the rehearsals you’ve done. And you gain confidence with this wrestling that you’ll come out on top. But there is always that 1 thing that is going to worry you. And you mitigate it as much as possible.

Inevitably, the event does not go 100% smoothly, something will break, some curve ball will get thrown your way, but you deal with it and come out the other end stronger. And for those of us watching from afar, I’m enjoying my youtube feed being filled with presentations of interest presented by friends and colleagues. And I’m super appreciative of Shabbat, where I can let all that fall away and focus on the family and friends in front of me.

Shabbat Shalom.