Vayishlah: Release Me, for the Dawn Has Broken

by Rabbi Mordechai Hochman, a former Rabbi/Teacher in Yeshivat Beit El, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

When Yaakov was on his way back to the Land of Israel, a "man" wrestled with him. The Medrash explains that this was a struggle within the People of Israel, between the spiritual-angelic spheres and the material-mortal aspects. When the latter relates to itself as nil, the spiritual will truly give it life – and then the dawn will break and both will be Redeemed. 

In this week's Torah portion of Vayishlach, we read (in B'reshit 32,25-31) that a man wrestled with our Patriarch Yaakov until dawn, dislocating Yaakov's hip joint in the process. The man asked Yaakov to release him, "for the dawn has risen," but Yaakov demanded a blessing first. The man asked Yaakov's name, changed it to Yisrael, and blessed him. Yaakov then asked for the angel's name, but received no answer. Let us present an approach to this fascinating incident. 

We have explained elsewhere that Yaakov wished to establish in the Land of Israel a "kingdom of priests and holy nation" (Sh'mot 19,6). But when he encountered a "man" of his own descendants who did not want to live a spiritual life, but sought only to live a normal, physical life like Esav, a "man of the field" (B'reshit 25,27) – he did not reject him. Rather, he informed the "man" that Israel needed him, and that in the holy nation that would arise in the Land, both "angels" and "men" would be required. The "man" agreed to remain until dawn, i.e., until the Redemption. 

That is, while Yaakov did not see this as a healthy phenomenon – described as a "dislocated joint" caused by the struggle with the "man" (32,26) – he still did not want to give up on the physical aspects of Israel. One opinion of our Sages is that the spirituality of the Throne of Glory does not dwell on the actions of such a man, but another opinion, that of R. B'rechya, is that it does dwell on these actions, but only if a certain condition obtains, as we will see. 

First let us cite (in paraphrasal) the Medrash B'reshit Rabba (78,1) on this incident:  

R. Chelbo says in the name of R. Shmuel bar Nachman: "They are new every morning, great is Your faith" (Eccl. 3,23) - No group of angels repeats its praise of G-d from one day to the next; rather, G-d creates a new group every day which says praise and then leaves."  

R. B'rechya objected: "But the angel said to Yaakov, 'Release me, for the dawn has broken' and it is time for me to say praise! And this, despite the fact that he was created the day before!"  

R. Chelbo reacted strongly: "Strangler! Did you think to strangle me?! I asked R. Shmuel bar Nachman myself this question, and he answered me that it is referring to the angels Michael and Gabriel, who are the only two angels that are not replaced." 

R. Chelbo's response is quite strange. Why should he accuse R. B'rechya of wanting to strangle him?! The discussions of the Sages are filled with questions back and forth; why should the questioner be accused of negative intentions? Not to mention that R. Chelbo himself asked the same question! 

Let us first note that when we find the Sages occasionally relating to each other in a strange or unduly aggressive manner, this is not to be understood at face value. Rather, there is the "outer" level of the story, that which is understood at first glance, and then there are additional layers, whose meaning is grasped only after delving further into the matter. The strange stories of the Sages are their way of hinting that we must consider the matter on a deeper level, enabling us to climb to higher and more spiritual levels. 

When R. Chelbo accused R. B'rechya of wanting to strangle him, he was providing a key by which to understand what happened between Yaakov Avinu and the "man" who wrestled with him.  

Firstly, the Torah is called "song" (D'varim 31,19); the Rashbam explains that "song" is an organized account or narrative. Not only is the Written Torah a "song," but the Oral Torah as well. Therefore, when R. B'rechya objects to the organization and logic in the words of R. Chelbo, he seems essentially to be preventing these words from being included in the "song" of the Oral Torah – meaning that they will not be handed down through the generations of Israel. This prevention of being allowed to "sing" is like strangulation! 

And this cry-out by R. Chelbo is also symbolic of what happened between the "man" and Yaakov Avinu. Until this point, the "man" aspect of Yaakov was busy helping the "angelic" Yaakov engage and toil in the song of Torah via his physical and earthly work. But now, as they wrestled, the "man" seemed to be demanding to say a "song" on his own! 

This is in fact an important stage in the Redemption process, because his desire to "sing" is actually the "redemption of the will" – and the stage after that will be the actual Redemption in which the "man" will sing the "song" and be like an angel. But when the angel prevents the "man" from singing, demanding that he first bless him (verse 27), this is a form of strangulation!  

Why, in fact, does the angel wish to "strangle" the man in this manner?  

Let us recall that in B'reshit 14, King Malki-Tzedek blessed Avraham Avinu after the great war – but did not bless his 318 soldiers; for they were only assistants. As we said above, regarding the angel and the earthly "man" here, the latter must fulfill a particular condition before his actions are blessed. Yaakov told the "man," his wrestling partner, as follows: "If you wish to 'sing' on your own, you must first recognize that the angel is the central player here, and that you are only his assistant. You must understand that your success in work and in war is only in the merit of the Torah of the angel." 

The "man" agrees to this condition! He asks Yaakov, standing for the "angel," what his name is, and then says to him, "Your name will no longer be Yaakov, but rather Yisrael – for you have become great before G-d and man; you have won." That is, the "man" acknowledges that the actions of the angel are important and influential both in the upper worlds and in This World – and the name Yisrael shows the linkage between both these worlds.  

Yaakov then turns to the "man" and asks him to tell him his name – but the "man" dismisses this request: "Why should you ask my name?" With this humility, he is showing that he is only ephemeral in this world, and that therefore his name has no real importance. As we read in Job (Iyov14,19-20): "Stones are eroded by water, washed away… but the hope of man You have destroyed. You overpower him to eternity, and he leaves [i.e., he is no more] …" 

In sum, the "man" recognizes the worth of the angel by upgrading his name, and recognizes his own lack of importance by not giving his own name – and this is the very blessing that Yaakov wished to hear from the man. As summed up there: "He blessed him there." 

And by virtue of this acknowledgement and understanding, his own earthly actions are upgraded, and the spirituality of the Throne of Glory can dwell upon them, as stated above. 

The Medrash above concludes that the angels involved were actually Gabriel and Michael – and Gabriel, despite being an angel, is also referred to as "man" (Daniel 9,21).  

When Yaakov Avinu saw that the "man" lowered himself before the angel, he was happy to note, as he had hoped and foreseen, that the spirituality of both was in force. As written at the end of their encounter: "Yaakov named the place Pni-el, 'for I have seen G-d face [panim] to face and my soul was saved.'" That is, he saw here a struggle between two spiritual strengths - "face to face" – and not just between the forces of physicality and spirituality. And he declares that after the "man" has nullified himself, he has now gained a level of spirituality, and thus even the actions of the "man" will be written in the eternal work of the Nation of Israel."  

And when he concludes that "my soul was saved," he is referring to both souls of Israel: that of the angel and that of the "man," who was revealed in the end to be an angel. 

In this article, we have learned that when we see strange behavior on the part of our Sages, we must know that this is their way to arouse us to take a deeper look at the situation and internalize the lesson we are being taught. In this case, their behavior seemed to be strange; but on a deeper level, it taught us the merits of the various groups that exist within our nation.