Vayishlach
Genesis 32:4-36:43
Hosea 11:7-12:12
In this week’s portion, we find the seemingly bizarre story of our ancestor Jacob meeting “a mysterious man” in the middle of the night and wrestling with him until the break of dawn (Genesis 32: 25-33).
We know through our tradition that the words of the Torah are succinct. Therefore, there has to be a deeper and more wondrous understanding to these verses beyond the plain meanings of the words.
The verses tell us that Jacob was running from his evil brother Esau. After crossing a river Jacob remembered he had forgotten some small vessels, so he went back to retrieve them. It became dark and Jacob found himself spending the night alone.
A mysterious man wrestles with Jacob until dawn. During this match, the mysterious man hits Jacob in the upper thigh joint, causing him to limp.
However, by dawn Jacob was able to pin his opponent. The opponent asked to leave. Jacob refused to allow this unless the man would bless Jacob.
The mysterious man asked Jacob’s name, then said, “No longer will it be said your name is Jacob, but Israel; you have striven with the Divine and with men and you have overcome.” Jacob allowed him to go.
The rabbis tell us in the Midrash collection Genesis Rabbah (77:3) that this mysterious man was the ministering angel of Esau. The rabbis further tell us the descendents of Esau were Edom and the descendents of Edom were Rome.
So this battle was not just between Jacob and the angel of Esau. It was between the Jewish people and Rome.
The angel dislocates Jacob’s hip, making him limp. This is symbolic of Rome destroying the Second Temple, causing us to limp and further struggle through the night.
Night represents our long exile that Rome put us into. Thus, the story of this wrestling match is really the story of the spiritual battle that the Jewish people continue to fight against Esau and the powers of evil.
The prophet declared to our matriarch Rivka (Genesis 25:23) “Two nations are in your womb; and two regimes in your insides shall be separated; and one regime shall become strong from the other regime, [in the end] the elder shall serve the younger.”
At dawn, Esau’s angel cries, “Let me leave.” The rabbis explain the angel had to appear in heaven for the morning songs and could no longer assume the body of a man or stay on earth.
Dawn is a metaphor for the time right before the messianic period. It marks the ending of night, our present exile.
The angel blesses Jacob by changing Jacob’s name. The name Jacob connotes suffering as Jacob suffered most of the earlier days of his life.
Yisrael on the other hand connotes peace as Jacob was called chiefly Yisrael only after he arrived in Egypt and lived in peace. Yisrael also can mean yisure-kl, straight to G-d.
Thus, the name Jacob is associated with the exile while the name Yisrael is associated with the messianic period.
In the end of time (right before the messianic period), Esau and the world will recognize the Jewish people’s mission and become conscious that the Jewish people are indeed messengers of the Almighty’s word.
They will say to us “you shall be no longer called Jacob [your suffering at our hands is over], but now you shall be called Yisrael [now we recognize you are indeed messengers of G-d’s word and will live in peace with you].”
All of this only comes after a great spiritual struggle. We must struggle day in and out with forces of evil.
Indeed, Jacob went back to retrieve some small vessels (materialistic possessions), and that was when “the enemy” had an opportunity to strike.
We can only fight this spiritual struggle by learning our holy Torah, doing the mitzvahs and making sure our children and grandchildren receive a proper Jewish education.
Only then will we be worthy of winning this struggle and breaking through the night to the dawn. Thus, we will be called Yisrael — straight (close) to G-d — and will have a humanity that lives in peace.
Rabbi Baruch Comrov is a chaplain at Horizon Hospice.
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