46 | DECEMBER 12 • 2019
Spirit
torah portion
D
id you know that
the first Torah
scholar mentioned
in the Torah was also the
first wrestler recorded in
history?
Yes, it’
s true. Our
patriarch Jacob,
whom the verse
(Genesis 25, 27)
describes as “an
innocent man, dwell-
ing in tents” [of
Torah study, Rashi] is
the very same fellow
who, in this week’
s
portion, wrestles
with a man, who the
Midrash tells us is the
guardian angel of his
twin brother, Esau.
Because with us
Jews nothing is sim-
ple or can be under-
stood only in the literal
sense, their fight was a man-
ifestation of a deeper quar-
rel between holiness and the
forces of unholiness. After
the showdown of the decade
with the pomp and drama
to the tune of 400 armed
soldiers and elaborate gift-
giving ceremonies and after
which Jacob thought he
was through with worrying
about Esau, here comes his
angel to attempt one final
blow.
The result? Let’
s look
at the word used in our
parshah for “wrestling”:
The Hebrew word here
is avak. The more common
understanding of the
word avak is dust. The
Talmud (Chulin 91a) tells us
the fight was so intense, that
the dust around them rose
up until it reached God’
s
throne of glory.
What does that mean?
First, let’
s introduce
a third meaning for the
word avak, a torch (avukah,
a torch made up of many
wicks braided together.)
Similarly, when two people
wrestle with each other, it is
as if they are hugging each
other and interlocked with
one another, just like a
torch.
Jacob didn’
t fight
with the angel from a
distance by aiming an
arrow at him. He got
close. That tells us that
Jacob wanted to sur-
round Esau’
s angel with
his holiness. When
Jacob emerges victo-
rious, he doesn’
t just
eliminate the unholy
angel. He’
s able to ele-
vate even the lowliest
parts of that angel, as
the Talmud says that
“the dust under his
feet, was elevated to the
throne of glory.”
The lesson for us, Jacob’
s
descendants, is simple.
When we deal with the
dark side of materialism, we
ought to grab the opportu-
nity to wrestle with it, not
just to beat it. When we get
a chance to take what the
world offers and use it the
way Jacob would want us to
use it, we can elevate even
an Esau to God.
May we merit to reveal
the light hidden within the
darkness of the world, just
as Jacob did. As the verse
concludes: Jacob wrestled
“until the rising of the
morning star.” Our sages
explain that this will be
fully realized at the time
of ultimate brightness, in
the era of our redemption,
may it come speedily in our
time.
Rabbi Bentzion Geisinsky lives in
Bloomfield Hills, where he co-
directs Chabad of Bingham Farms
with his wife, Moussia.
Parshat
Vayishlach:
Genesis
32:4-36:43;
Obadiah
1:1-21.
Rabbi
Bentzion
Geisinsky
Wrestle Like A Jew
Jacob
is living safely in his
own home.
OLDER ADUL
TS
5
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