|
The Torah reading for this week details the dramatic confrontation between Jacob and his alienated twin brother Esav (Esau). Recall that Jacob had not laid eyes on his brother since he had fled from him 20 years previously. Now, as Jacob finally was ready to return to the home of his father, a major obstacle had to be surpassed: Had his brother forgiven him, or did he still harbor malice and plan to exact his revenge?
The parashah begins: "Jacob sent messengers (מַלְאָכִים) ahead to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom" (Gen. 32:3). Rashi notes that these were real angels (malakhim mamash), not human beings, since it would be unthinkable for a tzaddik (righteous man) to send ordinary people on such a dangerous mission (most kabbalists interpret "angel" as merit accrued by the observance of mitzvot, and therefore these angels were created from Jacob's good deeds).
At any rate, the Torah tells us that Esav lived in "the land of Seir, in Edom's Field." Some of the sages state that "Seir" means "goat" (i.e., "shaggy" [goat]), and Edom's Field (שְׂדֵה אֱדוֹם) means "Field of Red," suggesting the color of the stew for which he sold his birthright. Apparently Esav never forgot what Jacob had done to him and was harboring deep resentment toward his twin brother. Jacob had instructed the messengers to tell Esav that "I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now" (Gen. 32:4). According to midrash, the intent of this statement was to inform Esav that he was not worth hating, since the blessing of Isaac (i.e., "Be master over your brother") was not fulfilled in him. After dispatching the messengers, however, Jacob readied himself by 1) preparing gifts for Esav, 2) offering prayers to God, and 3) planning for literal war between the camps. When the messengers eventually returned, however, the news was not good: Esav was coming with 400 armed men to meet him, and that meant certain war!
Jacob was understandably afraid, since he was vastly outnumbered and was still fragile from his ordeal with Laban. His wife Rachel was far along in her pregnancy and his other sons were still children. How could this ragtag band of pilgrims confront an angry brother leading an army of 400?
Jacob divided the camp into two groups, hoping that if Esav attacked one group, the other will be able to escape. And then he prayed to the "God of Abraham and God of my father Isaac" (אֱלהֵי אָבִי אַבְרָהָם וֵאלהֵי אָבִי יִצְחָק). It is noteworthy that here Jacob called the LORD, "the God of my father Isaac," since previously God had referred to Himself as the "God of your father Abraham." This change is significant because the pilgrimage back to the land was essentially a pilgrimage back to Jacob's father Isaac. Jacob's prayer also was directed to the LORD (יהוה) rather than to God (אֱלהִים), indicating that he was attuned to the immanent compassion of God -- as well as God's power and justice. Recall his earlier "vow" made at Bet-El:
Jacob's understanding of God had changed while in exile. "I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love (chesed) and all the faithfulness (emet) that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps" (Gen. 32:10). In Torah scrolls, the Hebrew word katonti (קָטנְתִּי), translated as "I am unworthy," is written with a diminished Tet (ט) to show the humility of Jacob. God's revelation of Himself as full of chesed and emet (love and truth) contrasted sharply with his earlier lifestyle of selfish ambition and deception. Jacob was spiritually ready to come home again.
After offering up his prayer (Gen. 32:9-12), that very night Jacob instructed his servants to go on ahead to intercept his estranged brother with tokens of favor (gifts), and then he "took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and went across the ford of the Jabbok" (Gen. 32:22). [Eleven children? Yes, according to midrash, Dinah was hidden within a locked chest to protect her from a possible sexual assault from Esau.] According to Rashi, Jacob then went back over the Jabbok because he forgot some "small jars and returned for them." Apparently these jars were intended to offer Esav and his men some drinks... At any rate, Jacob was then "left alone, and a man (אִישׁ) wrestled with him until the break of dawn" (Gen. 32:24). During the "grappling" (recall the meaning of Jacob's name), the angel injured Jacob's thigh, but Jacob finally overcame him and refused to release his hold until the angel blessed him.
The angel then asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob" (i.e., Ya'akov). The angel then declared to him, "Your name shall no longer be Ya'akov ("heel holder" [of Esau]) but Yisrael ("contender with God"), for as a prince (sar) you have striven (sarita) with God and with men and have prevailed" (Gen. 32:28). Jacob then asked the angel for His Name, but was denied, since the Name is unutterable - even to one who had prevailed with God. Jacob later called the place of wrestling Peniel, "facing God," (from panim (face) and El (God)) because, as he said, "I have seen God (Elohim) face to face" (כִּי־רָאִיתִי אֱלהִים פָּנִים אֶל־פָּנִים), yet my life has been delivered" (Gen. 32:30)
According to various Jewish sages, the angel who wrestled with Jacob was either Esav's guardian angel or Jacob's own yetzer ha-ra (evil inclination). This is inferred from Jacob's statement made to Esav after their peaceful reunion - "For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God (Elohim), and you have accepted me" (Gen. 33:10). In other words, Jacob had wrestled with the judgment of God (represented by Elohim) yet subsequently found love and acceptance in the revelation that Elohim is YHVH, the Source of Compassion and love. The earlier wrestling with the angel was thereby symbolic of Jacob's own process of self acceptance and forgiveness that was triggered by the confrontation with Esav (and therefore Jacob's past life). (Christian tradition, on the other hand, generally regards the angel as a "theophany" of the LORD Himself, especially since 1) this Angel had the authority to rename Jacob to "Israel" (a term that means "striving with God"), 2) the Angel identified himself as "nameless"; and 3) Jacob later called the place of wrestling "Peniel," meaning "facing God" (Gen. 32:30)).
|
