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KNOW YOUR ENEMY

Taken from the thoughts of Rabbi Ezriel Munk, Rabbi of Adass Yisroel – Berlin

In this week’s Parsha when Yaakov is alone, the angel (the spiritual source) of Eisov engages him in a wrestling match and tries to bring him down. The fight endures through the night and the angel is unable to topple Yaakov. At day-break the angel tells Yaakov that he must go. Yaakov refuses to release him unless the angel will bless him. The angel asks Yaakov what his name is to which Yaakov responds ‘Yaakov’. The angel then tells him that his name will no longer be Yaakov but will be Yisroel. Yaakov then asks the angel ‘and what is your name?’ to which he responds that he has no permanent name. Rashi explains that the angel’s name reflects the mission he is on. Since his mission changes his name changes as well.

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THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

In this week’s Parsha, Vayishlach, HaShem tells Yaakov “The Land that I gave to Avraham and to Yitzchok I will give it to you and to your children after you I shall give the Land.” The redundancy jumps out at us. Why does HaShem indicate giving the Land to Yaakov and his children twice?

The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh explains “if HaShem did not repeat the second giving, the implication would be that Yaakov will receive the Land for the sake of giving it to his children. With the additional giving, HaShem is telling Yaakov that He is giving it to Yaakov for himself and He is also giving it to Yaakov’s children.”

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CHAIN OF COMMAND

Adapted from Rabbi Aaron Lopiansky’s talk

In this week’s Parsha, Vayishlach, we find Yaakov having to wrestle with the angel of Eisov. The struggle lasts the entire night until the angel sees that he is unable to bring down Yaakov. In one final effort the angel succeeds in dislocating Yaakov’s thighbone. Although, Yaakov is recognized as the victor, he nevertheless suffers injury. What is the significance of this story and how is it relevant to us?

Our Sages teach us that the human body is divided into three parts. The first is the head which is directed by the mind, the second is the upper torso which is directed by the heart and the remainder of the body which is directed by the liver.

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THE SAND

In this week’s Parsha, Vayishlach, our father Yaakov references HaShem’s promise that ‘his children shall be like to sand of the sea which is not counted because it is so numerous’. It is noteworthy that the promise was not that ‘they will as numerous as the sand of the sea’, but that ‘they shall be like the sand of the sea’. It would seem that the parallel to the sand is not limited to the number of grains but to the very essence of the sand. If this is correct we need to appreciate the significance of the sand of the sea.

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WHAT A NAME!

In this week’s Parsha, Vayishlach, our father Yaakov encounters the angel of Eisov. After winning him at a wrestling match, Yaakov asks the angel what his name is. The angel tells him that angels like him do not have set names. The reason for this is that their mission changes every time HaKadosh baruch Hu sends him out. Since his mission is constantly changing, no set name would be appropriate.

The Torah is teaching us that our name defines our mission. Consequently, when one’s mission is constantly changing they can have no set name.

When reviewing this point of the Parsha I wondered about our name “Jew”. What is our constant mission and how does the name “Jew” reflect it?

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RELATIONSHIPS ARE FUELED BY COMMUNICATION

In this week’s Parsha, Vayishlach, we find our father Yaakov returning to the Land of Israel with his family. Along the way he becomes aware that his brother Eisov is coming to “greet” him with 400 warriors. Yaakov understands that his brother has not forgotten what he had done and is planning on killing Yaakov and his family.