Friday, December 9, 2011

And Yaakov Was Left Alone

Can we do תפילות prayers for:

The Temple Institute?

That through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?

"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)

The name change and its timing could not be more significant. When Yaakov was born he acquired his name as a result of his clutching the heel of his brother Esav as they emerged from their mother's womb. The name Yaakov, from the Hebrew ekev, heel, characterized his early life. Esav typically took the lead and Yaakov followed. Esav was outgoing and Yaakov was introspective. Yaakov followed his mother's instructions to disguise himself as Esav in order to receive his father's blessing, and Yaakov followed his father's instructions to leave Israel until his brother's wrath subsided. Yaakov complied peacefully with his uncle Lavan's repeated deceits and provocations. He labored for twenty years in order to marry Leah and Rachel, something which his forefathers did not need to do. He tended another man's sheep, also not required of his fathers. He was a master of survival, to be sure, but his life was a series of responses and reactions to the actions and impositions of others. He was Yaakov, the clutcher of another man's heel, the tender of another man's flock, the receiver of another man's blessing.

After his son Yosef was born, a change came over Yaakov. He understood that his long exile from the land of his fathers had come to an end. He cut a new financial arrangement with his unscrupulous uncle Lavan, at his own initiative, drawing up his own terms. He gathered Rachel and Leah together and gave them instructions to prepare to leave their father's house and return with him to Canaan. He held his own in his subsequent standoff with Lavan at Mount Gilead. Lastly, he conceived of and put into effect a three-tiered strategy in advance of his impending confrontation with Esav. The angel who engagedYaakov that night on the banks of the Yabbok River was no stranger to Yaakov. BothYaakov and his adversary knew one another's every move. In essence, Yaakov was truly alone wrestling with the angel of his own strengths and weaknesses. By the time the struggle had concluded, Yaakov was able to name the angel even as he received for himself a new name describing his new persona. No longer would he be a mere Yaakov, always at someone else's heel, in someone else's shadow, doing someone else's bidding. Now he was Israel, prevailer against man and G-d, determiner of his own fate.

Now as Yaakov is about to assume his rightful place in the land of his fathers, he is alone and in control. Three generations later, when the nation of Israel, the descendants ofYaakov, would prevail over the efforts of Bilaam, the descendant of Lavan who tried to destroy Israel through imprecation, the heathen prophet would throw up his hands and declare of Israel that it is "a nation that dwells alone." (Numbers 23:9) In truth, there are two different instances in which Israel "dwells alone:" One is as Yaakov, alone in the world. fleeing from his brother. And one is as Israel, alone and prevailing against G-d and man. One is as Yaakov, a people in exile, pursued by the nations, given no quarter, allowed no rest. And one is as the nation of Israel sovereign in the land of Israel, guided by the Torah of Israel. Of this nation the prophet Zechariah said, "ten men of all the languages of the nations shall take hold of the fringes of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that G-d is with you." Alone and in the lead, the head of the nations.

The name Israel was not an automatic blessing bestowed upon Yaakov, but a name that he would need to earn time and time again. To this day, Israel is the name that we aspire to. Yaakov's descendants entered the land of Israel two generations ago and were transformed once again from a scattered and isolated people hounded by enemies, to a nation reunited and unified in its land, a light to the nations. But being equal to the name Israel is not a given. We must be eternally vigilant in pursuing the singular purpose imposed upon us by G-d, embodied in the name Israel, "one nation in the land." (Ezekiel 37:22)

Tune in to this week's Temple Talk, as Rabbi Chaim Richman and Yitzchak Reuven gaze upon the Esav within us all. With Chanuka only two weeks away, this week'sTemple Talk explores the mystery of the festival of lights by the light of a little flask of oil... and it was "little flasks" that caused Yaakov to return back over theYabbok Pass, where he was confronted by "a man" with whom he struggled until dawn, when the patriarch released his opponent and was awarded the name"Yisrael." Who was that masked man? Who is Yaakov, and who is Yisrael?

Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman are once again joined by the scintillating author and filmmaker Jim Long, and together they express their awe for this week's Torah portion, Vayishlach.

This week's all-new Return of Prophecy teaching by Rabbi Avraham Sutton, is entitled, "The World of Fragmentation: We must navigate through the world of fragmentation in which we live in order to grasp the wholeness and one-ness of G-d’s creation." Click here to view.

Yaakov avinu's midnight encounter with a mysterious angel: Who was this angel, what was his purpose, and by what name was he known? Yaakov overcomes the angel, and by doing so gains insight into all these questions. He also acquires for himself a new name, a new identity, and a new role to play in establishing the Divine presence here on this earth. Click here to view Rabbi Richman's teaching on parashat Vayishlach(Genesis 32:4-36:43).