CLD #746

The famous story of the angel battling Yaakov way into the night is told in the Parasha that we read this morning, Parashat VaYishlah. What happens? Yaakov is left alone after sending off his family to a safe haven away from his enemy, Esav (who wants to kill him). Yaakov gets attacked by the ‘angel’ of Esav before meeting Esav and battles him way into the night. Once the morning arrives and the sun is approaching their location, the angel explains that its time for him to go and do his duty in the Heavens.

Yaakov, overcoming the angel and winning in the battle, locks the angel down. Yaakov demands the angel to bless him and the angel answers in a way that can really give us chizuk! The angel says as follows (Bereshit 32:29, translation from chabad.org) “Your name shall no longer be called Yaakov, but Israel, because you have commaning power with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”

The Yetzer Hara is a spiritual entity, it has the spiritual powers limited by Hashem’s control to literally TRY TO KNOCK US DOWN! However, Hashem created us, the human being, with both the spiritual side and the physical side (the guf, the body, and the neshama, the soul). We also know that it doesn’t even make sense that Hashem would send us spiritual tests and obstacles if He did not give us the proper tools to overcome them. For example, we have bodily desires of associating with women, eating unhealthly foods, intoxicating ourselves and on and on. It would NOT make sense for Hashem to bring these foreign pleasures into the world without giving us innate abilities to overcome them and say NO.

Therefore, when the angel tells Yaakov that he prevailed, he is stating for him and ALL THE GENERATIONS in his future, all of us Jews for eternity, that we WILL PREVAIL B’H because we have both the guf and the neshama to use in our favor to overcome all the desires and channel our efforts to serve Hashem. How do we serve Hashem? We strengthen ourselves by learning Torah and educating ourselves in regards to Mitzvot and everyday Jewish practices that provide us with spiritual energy to stay strong and be able to stand against all the evil of the world.

SHAVUA TOV!

Judaism=Think.

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