Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
וַיִּוָּתֵ֥ר יַעֲקֹ֖ב לְבַדּ֑וֹ וַיֵּאָבֵ֥ק אִישׁ֙ עִמּ֔וֹ עַ֖ד עֲל֥וֹת הַשָּֽׁחַר׃
Yaakov was left alone, and an angel wrestled with him until the break of dawn.
What’s going on here? Why is an angel fighting with Yaakov?!
וּפֵרְשׁוּ רַבּוֹתֵנוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה שֶׁהוּא שָׂרוֹ שֶׁל עֵשָׂו.
Our Rabbis explained that this was Esav’s angel.
Based on a midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 77:3), Rashi suggests that this is not a friendly angel. It represents Esav, and this fight is part of the attack that Yaakov was afraid of all along.
- Can you find evidence for Rashi?
- When Yaakov and Esav finally meet (in Bereishit 32:4), Esav doesn’t seem interested in killing Yaakov anymore. According to Rashi’s interpretation, what might have changed?
מַלְאָךְ בִּדְמוּת אִישׁ לְעַכְּבוֹ שֶׁלֹּא יוּכַל לִבְרֹחַ וְיִרְאֶה הוּא הַבְטָחוֹת הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁלֹּא יַזִּיקֵהוּ עֵשָׂו.
It was an angel that looked like a person who came to delay Yaakov, so Yaakov couldn’t run away. This way Yaakov would see the fulfillment of God’s promise that Esav wouldn’t harm him.
Hizkuni thinks this is for Yaakov’s own good - the angel was sent by God to make sure Yaakov stuck around long enough to see how God would save him from Esav.
- Why might Yaakov have wanted to run away? What might he have been feeling?
- Why would it be important for Yaakov to survive by facing Esav and being saved by God instead of just running away? What makes one outcome different from the other?
- How does the story change if you look at it Rashi’s way vs. Hizkuni’s way? What does each interpretation add to your understanding of this encounter?
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