"And Yaakov was left alone"
(Genesis 32:25)
Kislev 11, 5772/December 9, 2011
On the eve of his reentry into the land of Israel, Yaakov avinu, (Jacob our forefather), finds himself alone. In this state of nighttime solitude he wrestles with a man until "the break of dawn." (Genesis 32:25) The two struggle throughout the night and as the morning light begins to appear, and as it becomes clear that Yaakov's mysterious interlocutor neither can prevail over Yaakov, nor can he linger past the dawn, he tellsYaakov, "'Your name shall no longer be called Yaakov, but Israel, because you have commanding power with [an angel of] G-d and with men, and you have prevailed.'" (ibid 32:29) |