Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
After wrestling Yaakov all night, the angel finally wanted to leave, but he first asked Yaakov for permission to go:
וַיֹּאמֶר שַׁלְּחֵנִי כִּי עָלָה הַשָּׁחַר...
And he [the angel] said [to Yaakov], “Let me go, for the sun has come up.”
Why is daytime an excuse for the angel to leave? What does daytime have to do with anything?
"כִּי עָלָה הַשָּׁחַר" וְצָרִיךְ אֲנִי לוֹמַר שִׁירָה בַּיּוֹם
“For the sun has come up” and now, in the day, I must sing songs (to God).
Rashi’s opinion comes from the Talmud (Hullin 91b), where our rabbis talk about how all creatures sing or pray to God in their own way, even angels.
- In our Siddurim, we actually quote some of the things angels say in their tefillot. See if you can find them in
- the בְּרָכוֹת (berakhot, blessings) before Shema and in Kedushah (towards the beginning of the Amidah).
רוֹצֶה לוֹמַר וְאַתָּה צָרִיךְ לָלֶכֶת לְדַרְכְּךָ
כִּי עֵשָׂו יָבֹא בִּמְהֵרָה
עַל כֵּן לַהֲנָאָתְךָ וּלְטוֹבָתְךָ אִיעָצְךָ שֶׁתְּשַׁלְּחֵנִי וְתֵלֵךְ לְדַרְכְּךָ.
The angel means to say: “Now that it’s morning, you should go where you need to because Esav is coming quickly. So, for your own good, I suggest that you send me away and go your own way.”
According to the Abarbanel, the angel is trying to do Yaakov a favor, pointing out that he might need to take some time to get ready to meet Esav.
- Rashi and the Abarbanel disagree about which character was the one with the important morning appointment. Can you find support for either position in the pesukim of the story?
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