November 19, 2004
KICKING FOR THE SAKE:
The Secret of Jacob: Real Love means embracing Conflict (Rabbi David Aaron, Nov. 19, 2004, Jewish World Review)
The Torah (Bible) teaches us that Jacob went to the house Laban, his uncle, and dwelt there for many years. He married Rachel and Leah, Laban's daughters, and had eleven sons there. After years of struggling with Laban constantly deceiving him he finally left to return home and face Esau who hated him. In the middle of the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two handmaids and his eleven sons, and sent them across the Jabbok River shallows. After he had taken them and sent them across, he also sent across his possessions. Jacob alone remained on the other side of the river. It was there that the famous "stranger" appeared and wrestled with him until just before daybreak:When the stranger saw that he could not defeat him, he touched the upper joint of Jacob's thigh. Jacob's hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him.
"Let me leave!" said the stranger. "Dawn is breaking."
And he (Jacob) said: "I will not let you leave until you have blessed me."
"What is your name?"
"Jacob."
"Your name will no longer be said to be Jacob, but Israel: for you have wrestled with ELOKIM and man and you have won."
Who was this mysterious stranger? According to the Oral Tradition the stranger was the angel of Esau — Samael — the angel of evil.
Clearly, this was no mere wrestling match, but a holy struggle. The Talmud states that the dust they kicked up, while fighting, ascended to the Holy Throne.
In other words, Jacob was willing to wrestle with the forces of evil, knowing that the struggle itself is a Divine mission meant to augment his love for G-d and reveal G-d's oneness. Although it entailed having to roll around in the dust of the earth, soiling himself with the dirt of this world and risking casualties, Jacob knew that ultimately he was kicking up the dust for the sake of the Holy Throne.
In Holland today--and Europe generally--we see what happens when you try to avoid conflict by denying that evil exists. Posted by Orrin Judd at November 19, 2004 10:00 AM
Oral tradition may be one thing, but the context makes it pretty clear that this event was a theophany (an visible appearance of God himself).
Jacob wrestled with God, and while he was (of course) defeated, he fought. He did not know it was God, but he was being prepared to meet his brother and to lead his family back to their land.
And his name became Israel (he who struggles with God).
Posted by: jim hamlen at November 19, 2004 10:23 AMYes, jim hamlen has it right. Respected Biblical scholars commonly support this interpretation, which is made clear by the meaning of "Israel".
This is definitely one of the most mysterious accounts in the Bible. Imagine. God becomes incarnate to wrestle all night with "the one He loved". And we know God loved Jacob because he went from being "a supplanter" - the meaning of Jacob - to becoming the father of the nation of Israel. Then He gives him a new name and touches his thigh, causing him to limp for the rest of his life.
Most true spiritual experiences touch us with a permanent effect, and cause us to walk with a humility we never had before.
Note: The dust "arising to the Holy Throne" is probably a myth.