In this Sidra the Torah relates the events that took place in Jacob’s life on his way from MACHANAYIM to SHECHEM. Machanayim, which is a last word in the Sidra Vayetze, means ‘two camps’. Jacob gave this name because he saw two camps of angels accompanying him as he was arriving back in the land of Israel. At the beginning of this Sidra the Torah tells us that Jacob sent some of those angels to Esau his brother, to determine Esau’s intentions. He was preparing meticulously for his meeting with Esau. Jacob’s predicament was a severe ordeal for him. He was extremely distressed and afraid. He had no idea whether or not his brother had given up his plan to kill him.
The Torah recounts Jacob’s fervent prayer in detail, together with the description of his generous gift to Esau which consisted of 500 animals. In the next scene, the Torah tells us that Jacob remained completely on his own, at night, on the eastern bank of the River YABBOK after he had taken his entire family to the other side. All of a sudden, a man started a fight with him. As the story progresses it becomes obvious to the reader that this man was an angel. By morning, Jacob himself realised that the man was an angel and he asked him for a blessing. Our rabbis explain that the angel was, in fact, Esau’s angel, whom they designated as SARO SHEL EISAV. He had the special responsibility of guarding Esau. Our rabbis further explain that the blessing which Jacob requested was that the angel should acknowledge the legitimacy of Isaac’s blessing to him which he had taken by deception. Jacob was desperate to bring about an end to the feud with his brother.
Jacob asked for the angel’s name, but the angel refused to reveal it. As the Italian commentator, Sforno, explains the existence of angels is beyond our comprehension and to this day they are mysterious beings, whose function is to be God’s messengers. This proves that the fight is to be regarded as a prophecy for all times.
Jacob achieved his aim to a certain extent. The angel gave him a most important blessing in which he conferred upon him an additional name. Furthermore, as a result of this fight, the meeting with Esau turned out to be a much more pleasant an experience for Jacob and his entire family, than he could ever had expected.
The angel gave him the additional name of Israel. In contrast to the name Abram, which disappeared completely, the name Jacob remained. Some commentators explain that Jacob continued to be the personal name, whereas Israel describes him as the father of the nation. This is the reason that his children became known as BNEI ISRAEL and not BNEI YAAKOV.
The name Israel comes from the Hebrew root SRH, which occurs in the Bible only twice in connection with this fight. It is used for the second time by the Prophet Hosea, whose prophecy was chosen to be today’s Haftarah.
The meaning of the name can only be inferred from the context. It means: ‘Fighter with God’. The angel praised him for his perseverance in the fight and for having been strong enough to survive. However, Jacob was not victorious. His injury is one of the proofs for that. The fight was a prophetic signal that the struggle with Esau would continue for many generations. Our rabbis of the Midrash regarded Esau as the father of the Greeks, Romans and Christians of subsequent eras, who caused us enormous suffering.
The name also contains the letters YOD SHIN RESH, which make up the Hebrew word YASHAR, meaning ‘honest’. In other words, the angel withdrew the charge that Jacob had taken the blessing by deception.
Despite the angel’s reassurance, Jacob himself understood that Esau’s friendship was temporary and conditional. The Torah recounts that at the end of the meeting, Jacob and Esau went each on their own way. Jacob even refused to travel with Esau. They separated for ever.
In the last chapter of the Sidra, which is devoted to the development of Esau’s nation, we are told that AMALEK, Israel’s arch-enemy during the biblical period, was one of Esau’s descendants.
It is interesting to follow the interpretation of the RASHBAM, Rabbi Shmuel Ben Meir, who was Rashi’s grandson. He is famous for his attempt to explain the Torah entirely in accordance with the P’shat, namely, the straightforward meaning of the text, without any Midrashic embellishments. His reconstruction of the story is as follows. He explains that Jacob remained completely on his own, on the other bank of the river, away from his family, because he wanted to flee. He didn’t want to meet Esau. In doing so, he failed to trust in God who had promised to protect him in his dream of the ladder. His fight with the angel and his subsequent injury constituted his punishment. According to this interpretation, this prophetic fight teaches us that we shall never be able to escape from the challenge of being a unique nation in the world and from the anti-semitism which it entails.
Despite the uncertainty that Jacob felt regarding his meeting with Esau, the Torah reports that Jacob felt ‘complete’ SHALEM, when he arrived in Shechem. Rashi explains that he was complete in the sense that he was completely healed of his injury. Secondly, he was financially secure, despite the large gift which is given to Esau. Thirdly, he had not forgotten any of the Torah that he had learnt at home, despite his long stay in Laban’s house.
The fight with the angel is regarded as such an important event in the history of our people that it is commemorated through a mitzvah. We are commanded not to eat the sciatic nerve which lies on the thigh, because of Jacob’s injury in that part of the body. Through this mitzvah we remember Jacob’s heroic fight and that God performed a miracle for him. Above all, the story commemorates the miraculous survival of our nation throughout history. Like Jacob, we were lonely amongst the nations, living in the darkness of the exile, whilst our lives were replete with suffering and pain. It has been said that the survival of the Jewish people is the best proof of the existence of God.
name because he saw two camps of angels accompanying him as he was arriving back in the land of Israel. At the beginning of this Sidra the Torah tells us that Jacob sent some of those angels to Esau his brother, to investigate Esau’s intentions. He was preparing meticulously for his meeting with Esau. Jacob’s predicament was a severe ordeal for him. He was extremely distressed and afraid. He had no idea whether or not his brother had given up his plan to kill him.
The Torah recounts in detail Jacob’s fervent prayer and generous gift to Esau which consisted of 500 animals. In the next scene the Torah tells us that Jacob remained completely on his own, at night, on the eastern bank of the River YABBOK after he had taken his entire family over to the other side. All of a sudden, a man started a fight with him. As the story progresses it becomes obvious to the reader that he was an angel. By morning, Jacob himself realised that the man was an angel and he asked him for a blessing. Our rabbis explained that the angel was in fact Esau’s angel, whom they designated as SARO SHEL EISAV. He had the special responsibility of guarding Esau. Our rabbis explain further that the blessing which Jacob requested was that the angel should acknowledge the legitimacy of Isaac’s blessing to him which she had taken by deception. Jacob was desperate to bring about an end to the feud with his brother.
Jacob asked for the angel’s name, but the angel refused to reveal it. As the Italian commentator, Sforno, explains the existence of angels is beyond our comprehension and to this day they are mysterious beings, whose function is to be God’s messengers. This is a proof that the fight is to be regarded as a prophecy for all times.
Jacob achieved his aim to a certain extent. The angel gave him a most important blessing in which he conferred upon him an additional name. Furthermore, as a result of this fight the meeting with Esau turned out to be a much more pleasant an experience for Jacob and his entire family than he could ever had expected.
The angel gave him the additional name of Israel. In contrast to the name Abram, which disappeared completely, the name Jacob remained. Some commentators explain that Jacob continued to be the personal name, whereas Israel described him as the father of the nation. This is the reason that his children became known as BNEI ISRAEL and not BNEI YAAKOV.
The name Israel comes from the Hebrew root SRH, which occurs in the Bible only twice in connection with this fight. It is used for the second time by the Prophet Hosea whose prophecy was chosen to be today’s Haftarah.
The meaning of the name can only be inferred from the context. It means: ‘Fighter with God’. The angel praised him for his perseverance in the fight and for having been strong enough to survive. However, Jacob was not victorious. His injuries one of the proofs for that. The fight was a prophetic signal that the struggle with Esau would continue for many generations. Our rabbis of the Midrash regarded Esau as the father of the Greeks, Romans and Christians of subsequent eras, who caused us enormous suffering.
The name also contains the letters YOD SHIN RESH, which make up the Hebrew word YASHAR, meaning ‘honest’. In other words, the angel withdrew the charge that Jacob had taken the blessing by deception.
Despite the angel’s reassurance, Jacob himself understood that Esau’s friendship was temporary and conditional. The Torah recounts that at the end of the meeting, Jacob and Esau went each on their own way. Jacob even refused to travel with Esau. They separated for ever. In the last chapter of the Sidra, which is devoted to the development of Esau’s nation, we are told that AMALEK, Israel’s arch-enemy during the biblical period, was one of Esau’s descendants.
It is interesting to follow the interpretation of the RASHBAM, Rabbi Shmuel Ben Meir, who was Rashi’s grandson. He is famous for his attempt to explain the Torah entirely in accordance with the P’shat, namely, the straightforward meaning of the text, without any Midrashic embellishments. His reconstruction of the story is as follows. He explains that Jacob remained completely on his own, on the other bank of the river, away from his family, because he wanted to flee. He didn’t want to meet Esau. In doing so, he failed to trust in God who had promised to protect him in his dream of the ladder. His fight with the angel and his subsequent injury constituted his punishment. According to this interpretation, this prophetic fight teaches us that we shall never be able to escape from the challenge of being a unique nation in the world and from the anti-semitism which it entails.
Despite the uncertainty that Jacob felt regarding his meeting with Esau, the Torah reports that Jacob felt ‘complete’ SHALEM, when he arrived in Shechem. Rashi explains that he was complete in the sense that he was completely healed of his injury. Secondly, he was financially secure, despite the large gift which is given to Esau. Thirdly, he had not forgotten any of the Torah that he had learnt at home, despite his long stay in Laban’s house.
The fight with the angel was regarded as such an important event in the history of our people that it is commemorated through a mitzvah. We are commanded not to eat the sciatic nerve which lies on the thigh, because of Jacob’s injury in that part of the body. Through this mitzvah we remember Jacob’s heroic fight and that God performed a miracle for him. Above all, the story commemorates the miraculous survival of our nation throughout history. Like Jacob, we were lonely amongst the nations, living in the darkness of the exile, whilst our lives were replete with suffering and pain. It has been said that the survival of the Jewish people is the best proof of the existence of God.