Wrestling

27 October 2012

25. And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.

• Art inspired by this event
• Chagall, Rembrandt – their work represents a type of Midrash.

In Chagall, angel is menacing.	Rembrandt depicts the angel as loving.

• Story retold in Hosea 12:4ff in a different way – another example of biblical midrash, which adds that the angel wept (12:5; Rashi citing Talmud Chullin 92a).   Richard Friedman (Commentary on the Torah  writes that angels are material emanations of God – God taking human form, crystalized, and resembling a human, like they did for visiting Abraham in 18:3. 
• Translations of Hosea 12:4-5:
• In the womb, he seized his brother's heel, and with his strength he strove with an angel [אֱלֹהִים].  He strove with an angel [אֶלמַלְאָךְ] and prevailed; he wept and beseeched him [www.chabad.org].
• In the womb he tried to supplant his brother; grown to manhood, he strove with a divine being.  He strove with an angel and prevailed – the other had to weep and [to] implore him.  [JPS].
• In 32:25, a “man” (אִישׁ) wrestled with Jacob.
• 32:25 - who was this “angel?” (אִישׁ)  - Etz Hayim summarizes many of the commentaries (*)
• Midrash Tanchuma – angel of evil (sama-el)
• Others say that it’s a benevolent essence – Micha-el; sent to give him courage to face Esau, like an anxious athlete and a coach to give him constant encouragement.
• Bachiya – medieval Spain – righteous people fighting forces of evil (Esau?)
• Sforno- angel sent by god for Jacob’s ultimate salvation – for all Jews; despite his injury, Jacob emerges stronger and will prevail
• *Rashbam – angel sent to keep him from running away, so Jacob could demonstrate his courage to face Esau.  He gets lamed as a punishment for running after God said, “I will be with you.”  If you run away contrary to God’s wish, trouble and punishment ensue; examples are Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah.  Natural tendency to run away from responsibility will be harmful in the longer run.
• Word for angel = word for messenger: could be angel or human?
• *Image of wrestling with God, faith, and/or doubt.  Jews have traditions of a clash between ideals and reality; challenges to God over what He did or did not do (such as Nazi era).
• *Rashi, citing Midrash Rabbah 77:3, 78:3 – it’s Esau’s guardian angel
• *Leibowitz – manifestation of Jacob’s anxiety; justify avoidance?  Wrestling with strength and weakness.  Jacob wins by defeating his conscience.  He becomes at peace, weakened physically but emotionally whole.
• Rosenblatt on symbol of river crossing – Jacob passes from youth/adolescence to adulthood.  Who was this being with whom he wrestled?
• Isaac?
• Esau?
• Jacob’s dark side?
• Angel of death?  Esau’s revenge?
• Spiritual vs physical destiny?
• All of the above?
• Everyone struggles, but only in fiction does a struggle come to closure [not always].
• Karen Armstrong on bible – it’s not journalism but elegant prose or poetry; we need to wrestle with the text [dance with it?] to glean some meaning.  
• Glitsner – Jacob wanted to avoid enlightenment; he was a resistant patient.
• Rashi on word for “wrestling” (32:25) – comes from word for dust.  Kick up dust while struggling.  Also related to Aramaic word for tying in a knot.  Menachem was Rashi’s teacher.
• and a man wrestled: Hebrew וַיֵאָבֵק. Menachem (p. 14) explains: And a man became covered with dust, derived from אָבָק, dust, for they were raising dust with their feet through their movements.
  I believe, however, that it is a term meaning that he attached himself, and it is an Aramaic expression [found in the Talmud] (Sanhedrin 63b):“After they became attached (דָּאִבִיקוּ) to it,” “and he would tie it (וְאָבִיק לֵיהּ מֵיבַק),” for so is the habit of two people who make strong efforts to throw each other down, that one embraces the other and attaches himself to him with his arms. Our Rabbis explained (Genesis Rabbah 77:3, 78:3) that this was the prince (guardian angel) of Esau.
  26. When he saw that he could not prevail against him, he touched the socket of his hip, and the socket of Jacob's hip became dislocated as he wrestled with him.
  27. And he (the angel) said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking," but he (Jacob) said, "I will not let you go unless you have blessed me."
• 32:26, according to Sarna (JPS Torah Commentary) – assailant wants to disengage and attempts to strike a significant [but not crippling] blow to the thigh socket.  An archetypical struggle…
• 32:27, dawn is breaking
• Rashi, citing Genesis Rabbah 78:1 and Talmud Chullin 91a – the angel must do morning prayers!
• Radak – angel has fulfilled his mission.
• Don’t be afraid of dark, light is coming.
• Jacob had such a strong grip that angel believed he was Jacob’s prisoner.  
• Was the angel a vampire?  Or some being that lost power in daylight? According to Robert Alter (The Five Books of Moses) – this verse illustrates the folkloric nature of this episode.  There is a dark being lurking below, like a troll under a bridge.  As dawn breaks, Jacob realizes that this “man” is supernatural, a demon whose powers apply only at night and cannot function in daylight.  As such, it should be no surprise that he tried to cripple Jacob so he could escape.  But Jacob prevailed. [Sarna, Understanding Genesis, page 204]. 27 October 2012
  25. And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.
• Art inspired by this event
• Chagall, Rembrandt – their work represents a type of Midrash.

In Chagall, angel is menacing.	Rembrandt depicts the angel as loving.

• Story retold in Hosea 12:4ff in a different way – another example of biblical midrash, which adds that the angel wept (12:5; Rashi citing Talmud Chullin 92a).   Richard Friedman (Commentary on the Torah  writes that angels are material emanations of God – God taking human form, crystalized, and resembling a human, like they did for visiting Abraham in 18:3. 
• Translations of Hosea 12:4-5:
• In the womb, he seized his brother's heel, and with his strength he strove with an angel [אֱלֹהִים].  He strove with an angel [אֶלמַלְאָךְ] and prevailed; he wept and beseeched him [www.chabad.org].
• In the womb he tried to supplant his brother; grown to manhood, he strove with a divine being.  He strove with an angel and prevailed – the other had to weep and [to] implore him.  [JPS].
• In 32:25, a “man” (אִישׁ) wrestled with Jacob.
• 32:25 - who was this “angel?” (אִישׁ)  - Etz Hayim summarizes many of the commentaries (*)
• Midrash Tanchuma – angel of evil (sama-el)
• Others say that it’s a benevolent essence – Micha-el; sent to give him courage to face Esau, like an anxious athlete and a coach to give him constant encouragement.
• Bachiya – medieval Spain – righteous people fighting forces of evil (Esau?)
• Sforno- angel sent by god for Jacob’s ultimate salvation – for all Jews; despite his injury, Jacob emerges stronger and will prevail
• *Rashbam – angel sent to keep him from running away, so Jacob could demonstrate his courage to face Esau.  He gets lamed as a punishment for running after God said, “I will be with you.”  If you run away contrary to God’s wish, trouble and punishment ensue; examples are Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah.  Natural tendency to run away from responsibility will be harmful in the longer run.
• Word for angel = word for messenger: could be angel or human?
• *Image of wrestling with God, faith, and/or doubt.  Jews have traditions of a clash between ideals and reality; challenges to God over what He did or did not do (such as Nazi era).
• *Rashi, citing Midrash Rabbah 77:3, 78:3 – it’s Esau’s guardian angel
• *Leibowitz – manifestation of Jacob’s anxiety; justify avoidance?  Wrestling with strength and weakness.  Jacob wins by defeating his conscience.  He becomes at peace, weakened physically but emotionally whole.
• Rosenblatt on symbol of river crossing – Jacob passes from youth/adolescence to adulthood.  Who was this being with whom he wrestled?
• Isaac?
• Esau?
• Jacob’s dark side?
• Angel of death?  Esau’s revenge?
• Spiritual vs physical destiny?
• All of the above?
• Everyone struggles, but only in fiction does a struggle come to closure [not always].
• Karen Armstrong on bible – it’s not journalism but elegant prose or poetry; we need to wrestle with the text [dance with it?] to glean some meaning.  
• Glitsner – Jacob wanted to avoid enlightenment; he was a resistant patient.
• Rashi on word for “wrestling” (32:25) – comes from word for dust.  Kick up dust while struggling.  Also related to Aramaic word for tying in a knot.  Menachem was Rashi’s teacher.
• and a man wrestled: Hebrew וַיֵאָבֵק. Menachem (p. 14) explains: And a man became covered with dust, derived from אָבָק, dust, for they were raising dust with their feet through their movements.
  I believe, however, that it is a term meaning that he attached himself, and it is an Aramaic expression [found in the Talmud] (Sanhedrin 63b):“After they became attached (דָּאִבִיקוּ) to it,” “and he would tie it (וְאָבִיק לֵיהּ מֵיבַק),” for so is the habit of two people who make strong efforts to throw each other down, that one embraces the other and attaches himself to him with his arms. Our Rabbis explained (Genesis Rabbah 77:3, 78:3) that this was the prince (guardian angel) of Esau.
  26. When he saw that he could not prevail against him, he touched the socket of his hip, and the socket of Jacob's hip became dislocated as he wrestled with him.
  27. And he (the angel) said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking," but he (Jacob) said, "I will not let you go unless you have blessed me."
• 32:26, according to Sarna (JPS Torah Commentary) – assailant wants to disengage and attempts to strike a significant [but not crippling] blow to the thigh socket.  An archetypical struggle…
• 32:27, dawn is breaking
• Rashi, citing Genesis Rabbah 78:1 and Talmud Chullin 91a – the angel must do morning prayers!
• Radak – angel has fulfilled his mission.
• Don’t be afraid of dark, light is coming.
• Jacob had such a strong grip that angel believed he was Jacob’s prisoner.  
• Was the angel a vampire?  Or some being that lost power in daylight? According to Robert Alter (The Five Books of Moses) – this verse illustrates the folkloric nature of this episode.  There is a dark being lurking below, like a troll under a bridge.  As dawn breaks, Jacob realizes that this “man” is supernatural, a demon whose powers apply only at night and cannot function in daylight.  As such, it should be no surprise that he tried to cripple Jacob so he could escape.  But Jacob prevailed. [Sarna, Understanding Genesis, page 204]

Jacob is restless before meeting Esau

(Howard's notes)

20 October 2012

“Dark night of the soul” – separated from God, spiritual struggle, crisis of faith

21. And you shall say, 'Also, behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.' " For he said, "I will appease his anger with the gift that is going before me, and afterwards I will see his face, perhaps he will favor me."

32:21

Form of word for face (פנים) is repeated four times; Jacob wants to placate Esau.

Alter – idiom of covering face means placate or propitiate, such as encountering royalty, paying court; seeing in a deferential way; showing favor.

Hirsch – Jacob is ashamed to look directly at Esau; by giving the gift, this fear and shame will disappear.

Richard Friedman – on “face” and “lift up” - sees face of Esau and sees face of God (in the next chapter)

Shmuel Klitsner’s Wrestling Jacob a psychological analysis based on the two camps in 32:12

22. So the gift passed on before him, and he lodged that night in the camp.

32:22

Gift goes on ahead – Abravanel comments that Jacob inspected his gifts.

Ramban on spend the night in the camp – ready for combat should Esau appear; others disagree – did he spend night with wives?

23. And he arose during that night, and he took his two wives and his two maidservants and his eleven children, and he crossed the ford of [the] Jabbok.

32:23 – If Jacob cannot sleep, why does he get up?

Sarna – He is restless

Rashi – He wants to move toward Esau to bring confrontation sooner and closer.

Rashbam – opposite of Rashi: Jacob plans to flee Esau to avoid confrontation.

Eleven children are mentioned (all but Benjamin, who wasn’t born yet)

Only sons from whom 12 tribes would evolve [?]

Rashi – if Dinah married Esau, she might have led him to a more virtuous path; instead, she has an unfortunate encounter with a man in Sh’chem.  No compassion for Esau.  For this action, Jacob was punished.

Did Jacob really have a camp?  “Camp” implies a group of people, but Jacob was alone.

וַיָּקָם בַּלַּיְלָה הוּא: grammatically, הוא should be הַהוּא.  Some commentators believe הוא refers to He (God).

Crossing the Jabbok

Etz Hayim – transition for Jacob

Jabbok – related to wrestling match, same root

Jabbok is a tributary of the Jordan about halfway between Dead Sea and Kinneret

Sarna – crossing this river at night was a treacherous undertaking – he wants to get closer to Esau to take advantage of his good mood

24. And he took them and brought them across the stream, and he took across what was his.

32:24 – why is Jacob left alone; why does he cross back to be by himself?

Rashi – he forgot something – righteous people take care of their possessions; children’s water bottles He had forgotten small bottles and returned for them. — [from Beresheit Rabbah 77:2 and Chullin 91a] 

He wants to run away.

Like Western such as High Noon and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon -- a hero under internal conflict

Shmuel Klitsner, Wrestling Jacob (Freudian analysis)

Jacob cannot go forward until he confronts his past, the hidden baggage (bottles of Rashi) – the source of his fears and repressions.

Jabbok is an inversion of word “Jacob”, i.e., Jacob will be turned inside out.

25. And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.

32:25, why was Jacob “left alone”?

Munk, citing Midrash – Jews reside alone in the universe; solitary Jacob is the way Jews have journeyed through history

Growth Through Torah, Pliskin – also cites Midrash – being alone is a good thing because it emulates God.  Willingness to stand on your own – this is what teens are taught.  Everyone can attain his life’s goals without other people.  

Jacob's Practical Side

13 October 2012

• Genesis 32:12 – Jacob fears seeing his brother again; he prepares for this encounter with gifts (appeasement), prayer (humility?), and anticipating war (dividing the camp)
• Naomi Rosenblatt on this episode: Unlike Abraham and Sarah -- who did a few morally questionable things for survival -- Jacob takes practical measures to protect himself and his family.  Is Rosenblatt exaggerating the differences between Abraham and Jacob?
• Samson Rafael Hirsch on 32:12-13, where Jacob gets no response to his prayer; it comes later (32:30, blessing from the wrestling being?)
• Then Jacob does the gift thing starting in 32:14 ff – “offering” in the JPS translation.
• Robert Alter on מִנְחָה, mincha [which he translates as “tribute”] – gifts of a vassal to his Lord, who has the power.  Alter writes, “everything about the narrative … indicates that this ‘gift’ [was] conceived as a payment of a tribute.”  See verses 19ff on Jacob’s language of deference.
• Giving gifts and paying special taxes were survival methods for medieval Jews.  Jacob’s tactics foretell the story of Jews as a people without territory, army, and government.  Consequently, they coped by staying under the radar, being useful, and paying bribes.  Did this tactic work?  Not in 1930s Germany.
• 32:15-16, 550-580 animals were offered
• Rashi on proportion of females to males; from this he derives marital duties, as in Exodus 21:10, based on rules for servants.  Females have conjugal rights.  Specifics are given in Midrash Rabbah 76:7.  Rashi also cites Mishnah Ketubot.

[Rashi] Two hundred she-goats require twenty he-goats, and so all of them, the males according to what are required by the females. In Genesis Rabbah (76:7) the Rabbis derive from here the conjugal duties stated in the Torah: 

• Men of leisure, every day
• laborers, twice a week
• donkey-drivers, once a week
• camel-drivers, once in thirty days; 
• sailors, once in six months. 

I do not know, however, how this midrash arrives at exactly these requirements. Nevertheless, it appears to me that we learn from here that conjugal duties are not uniform with every person, but according to the burden he must bear, for we find here that he (Jacob) gave each he-goat ten she-goats, and so for each ram. Since they are free from work, they generally mate frequently and [each male] can impregnate ten females, for as soon as an animal conceives, she does not accept a male [and he is compelled to seek another mate]. With the bulls [oxen], however, since they are occupied with work, he gave each male only four females, and for a donkey, which goes long distances, two females for a male; and for camels, which go longer distances, one female for a male.

Bizarre!

• Obligations for conjugal rights are based on nature of the man’s work – how often he’s away from home.  The parallel is the proportion of male animals to females and the work done by those males.
• Jeffrey Rubenstein (Skirball Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, New York University) on Talmudic scholars – origin of these rules was in polygamy and potential neglect of some of the wives.  Sages were faced with obligations to study, to fulfill conjugal duties, and be fruitful. Some could study near home, but what about those who leave home to study?  From the Mishnah, the limit was 30 days, but later it was permitted to leave for several years.  Though a long absence satisfies mandate to study Torah but leaves the wife abandoned.  Today, this issue is about work that can take you away from family [workaholics and stress].
• However, there is no mention of the number of male camels.  Was it 30 total or 30 females + colts?  

Rashi - According to the Midrash Aggadah, the word וּבְנֵיהֶם means בַּנָאֵיהֶם, their builders [those who impregnate them], a male corresponding to a female, but since it (the camel) is discreet in mating, Scripture did not publicize it (Genesis Rabbah 76:7).

• 32:17, Jacob divides the flock so that Esau gets his gifts in installments, increasing the blessing for Esau and maximize the efficacy
• Sforno – each group was distinct, designed to yield maximum productivity (breeding), thus pleasing Esau
• Ramban – allusion to future; when Jacob’s children have troubles, let God make these troubles come at intervals.  Ramban cites Beresheit Rabbah 75:13: “If misfortunes come upon my descendants, do not bring them on after the other in immediate succession; rather, grant them a respite between their misfortunes!”
• 32:19, Munk on language of deference – a precedent for the future of the Jews.

Jacob plans a reunion with Esau.

Torah Study 9-29  Genesis 32:1-19

Two camps...

Jacobs fear of his brother.

Peace offering.  

V4

 Malachim ...angels or messengers.  Rashi says they are actual angels.  R. Bachia...says they return by v7.. Angels because they travel fast!  Others take a different view and say they were human messengers....

Why Jacob seeks out his brother?  

Needed to pass through Edom which was his brother's territory to return home.  

Re quarrels...once it is over do not bring it up again... 

By reaching out to Esau in Edom it stirs up trouble later... Edom represents Rome later...  Similar to the issues with the Hasmoneans in the Hanukkah story as they sent representatives to Rome...which reminds them and they come in to stir trouble.

How difficult it was for Jacob to initiate contact.

He explains that he temporarily stayed with Laban... He remained a stranger in that time... Never became a "lord"... He kept the Mitzvot.  

SRH. He struggled for the 20 years... This was his atonement for his wrong to Esau.

R Pliskin..growth through Torah book... Sharing with his brother is a sign of closeness.  

Sharing personal information is a prerequisite for closeness and friendship.

Jacob is evolving and gaining humility...

V6  message sending.. Sending to gain favor...

Rashi ...seeking love.  Rambam ...hint that he is sending gifts..can be useful.  

Sforno...wants to tell him of his good fortune.  15 th century commentator...to assume Esau that he is not asking for anything.

V7. Esau's intention... Coming to meet you.  Can be either friendly or hostile reading.

Ambiguous.  400 men refers to a fighting force.  

How does Jacob try to protect himself and his family?

V8 fear... And distressed.  Two verbs.

Source of fear:  what he did...and that retreat is impossible, flight is impractical.  He is trapped.

Also, Esau did not send a message if good will...knew that Esau meant to wage war against him... 

Rashi...afraid of being killed distressed that he may have to kill another.

Essay Jonathan Sachs ... Jacob was afraid and distressed... Quotes Rashi... Distress was moral.  Self defense.  Use the minimum of force to save life... 

A moral dilemma ... Whatever do the outcome is bad...

Book referenced: The Seventh Day: Soldiers' Talk about the Six-Day War By Avraham Shapira