In this week’s parsha, we see the continuation of the Jacob saga. Jacob is very important to us. Israel is the name he is given at the beginning of this parsha as he struggles all night with a malach, angel or messenger. The state of Israel is named after this epic encounter.
Jacob is a very complex character; he steals his brother’s birthright and has to run from his family’s home in Canaan to his uncle Laban’s home. There he spends many years working for Laban, he marries both Leah and Rachel and after a certain time begins the journey back to Canaan. As he is about cross the Yabok River at the entrance to Canaan, he was troubled, full of fear and anxiety.
He knew that his brother Esau had sworn revenge on him for stealing his birthright and promised to kill him once their father Isaac died. So many years had passed since Jacob left his home. He had to go through so many trials and tribulations in his uncle Laban’s house. The Torah here presents a very complex picture of our hero Jacob.
On the one hand we learn that it was indeed God’s will that Jacob be given the birthright. His mother Rebecca,acting with divine guidance, encouraged him in his act of deceit. However, it’s also true that Jacob seems to be paying for this trickery for the remainder of his life. On the one hand, the Torah narrative portrays Jacob’sstealing of the birthright as an unfolding of the Divine plan, but at the same time he is punished for it. He is deceived by Laban into marrying Leah before Rachel, the woman he loved and he was compelled to work an additional seven years in order marry Rachel.
In our parsha, Jacob’s encounter with the malach is timed just as he is about to meet with his brother. They wrestle all night and neither the malach nor Jacob isable to gain the upper hand. Finally, the malach is about to leave as sunrise approaches and Jacob, probably aware that he encountered a Divine being tells him, “wait! please give me a blessing before you leave.”Remember, he received a blessing from his father Isaac before he left Canaan, a blessing that wasn’t truly his.As he re-enters Canaan he needs a legitimate blessing, one that he could truly claim as his own. The malach blessed him saying, “your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with Elohim, a Divine being and with men and have prevailed.” Genesis 32:29.
It is at this moment that Jacob/Israel is transformed.This also reflects the beginning of the Jacob saga. Jacob and Esau ‘yirotzetzu’, struggled, in the womb of their mother and were fighting to be the firstborn. Esau was born first but Jacob grasped onto his heel, hence the name Yaakov, from the word a’kev – heel. This struggle with the malach, however, leads to a transformation of Jacob’s being. He is no longer only Yaakov, the one who holds onto his brother’s heel but Israel, one who struggles with a divine being, survives the struggle and gains deep spiritual insights from the experience.
It is only when he becomes Yisrael that he can return to Canaan to face his brother and truly claim his birthright.Before he could do that, he had to struggle, either with a Divine being or, as many commentators think, with his darker, shadow self before he could face his brother again. Through this struggle something important was gained – a deep insight, an Israel moment. Embedded in this story is one of the most profound insights into the human condition that the Torah offers.
It is confronting and often terrifying for us to see the places where we fall short, where we feel less than.Parshat Vayislach presents us with the keys to personal transformation and a greater sense of self and purpose,but it comes at a price. The encounter with our shadow side and the ensuing struggle is unavoidable on the path to becoming Israel. However, the rewards and insights gained are immeasurable.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi George Mordecai
What a profound commentary on thi pasha – it gives much food for thought about our need to make peace within ourselves if we want to make more peace in the world