Parashat Vayishlach- Wrestling With the Divine

Vayivateir Yaakov l’vado vayei’aveik ish imo ad a lot hashachar. Vayar ki lo yakhol lo vayiga b’khaf-y’reikho vateika kaf-yerekh Yaakov b’hei’avko imo. Vayomer shalcheini ki alah hashachar Vayomer lo ashaleichakha ki im beirakhtani.

And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. And when he saw he could not prevail over him [Jacob], he touched the hollow of [Jacob’s] thigh, and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was strained as he wrestled with him. And he said, ‘Release me for day breaks;’ and he [Jacob] said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ (B’reishit 25-27)

Jacob’s wrestling with the angel is an extremely popular archetype. It is an image repeated and reinterpreted throughout literature. Jacob is alone. With whom does he wrestle? An angel? Himself? Does someone else intrude upon his solitude? And the blessing which he demands, can one demand a blessing of an angel? If sent by God, why is he wrestling, and what is his mission? If himself, can Jacob truly bless himself?

Jacob has always had a difficult relationship with the Divine. He received his religious legacy under false pretenses, but once given it could not be taken back. He has trouble sensing God’s presence as he runs, wheeling and dealing with God for Divine protection. And here- demanding blessing. One must wonder is his difficulty with God or with the divine spark that resides within himself.  We each in our lives struggle with God’s presence in the world and in ourselves. It lies at the heart of questions about how we interact with each other and the world. We wonder how humans can perpetrate evil against each other, but we are equally surprised at extreme good. Perhaps the wrestling is the struggle not to accept mediocrity, but to strive to be b’tzelem Ehlokim, in the image of God.