“Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.” This quote by Oprah Winfrey comes to mind when reading this week’s parsha – Vayishlach. To update you on where we are in our history, we are in the midst of learning about Jacob, our third and final patriarch. He has previously deceived his twin brother, Esau, for their father’s birthright and now after 20 years, which include laboring for Laban, marrying twice – to Leah and Rachel – and fathering at least 11 sons and 1 daughter to his wives and their maidservants, Jacob now is heading back to Caanan, his home, where he faces a potentially dangerous encounter with Esau.
Can you imagine heading home and meeting your brother whom you deceived after 20 years of estrangement? Jacob was obviously terrified. He couldn’t just send Esau a quick e-mail to prepare him for the meeting! Instead, he sends messengers ahead of him and tells them that if they should meet his lord, Esau, they should say that his servant, Jacob, sent them with a message. I think this is the biblical equivalent of groveling.
The messengers returned to tell Jacob that Esau was marching to meet him with 400 men. Terrified, Jacob then divides his camps so if Esau should attack the first camp, the second camp (which would include Jacob) could escape! Jacob prays – this is one of the few prayers recorded in the Tanach. After the night, Jacob then chose an offering for his brother of some of his choicest livestock in hopes of winning over his surely angry brother. He sent servants ahead with the offering and sent his wives and children across the river, but Jacob remained.
The Torah says:
25 Now Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the rise of dawn. 26 When [the man] saw that he could not overcome him, he struck Jacob’s hip-socket, so that Jacob’s hip-socket was wrenched as [the man] wrestled with him. 27 Then he said, “Let me go; dawn is breaking!” but [Jacob] said “I will not let you go unless you bless me!” 28 The other said to him, “What is your name?” and he said, “Jacob.” 29 “No more shall you be called Jacob, but Israel,” said the other, “for you have struggled with God and with human beings, and you have prevailed.”
With whom exactly is Jacob struggling here? Is it himself? An angel? God? Maybe it is all three, maybe just one. What we do know is that Jacob engaged in a struggle where he was actually injured (in fact, he was so injured that the Torah tells us that we should never eat the thigh muscle, and for those of you who like steak – that’s sirloin, porterhouse, T-bone, and filet mignon, not because it is not kosher, but as a reminder of Jacob’s struggle). In fact, God leaves Jacob physically weakened after this struggle as he is about to embark on what just may be a fight for his life. However, we can learn so much from this encounter. Maybe God has left Jacob physically weakened, but Jacob’s name change here is significant. Jacob is now called Israel – loosely translated as “one who struggles with God.” That’s right, the people of Israel are supposed to struggle with God. We aren’t supposed to just blindly accept God’s word – our job is to question, it is to struggle. It is so that we, as a people, will emerge stronger.I am sure you have examples in your own lives where you have had to struggle, but, like Jacob, you have come out stronger in the end. In the end, Jacob meets Esau and the encounter goes very well and the two reconcile. By struggling prior to this terrifying meeting, Jacob was better prepared to face his brother.
I am sure this Board has struggled with various decisions, ranging from budgets to spiritual issues, but in the end doesn’t that make us a stronger Board? A stronger community? Most importantly, shouldn’t we all remember that we, too, are really struggling with God? In our struggles, we can remember why we are all here – it’s to serve God, and as Ron Wolfson will teach us this weekend, it’s to be angels and to do God’s work on earth. I haven’t served on the Board for very long, but I am sure there have been strong disagreements in the past, and there will be some in the future – that’s the nature of the Board, that’s the nature of the Jewish people. In the midst of those trying times, we can remember that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing – the struggle and the resulting strength is how we can bring out the best in ourselves.
What powerful words. Thank you, Michelle, for allowing me to share them.
God’s To-Do List Suggestions (Jewish Lights, 2007; Dr. Wolfson)
71. Recognize that the struggle between your inclination to do bad and your inclination to do good is natural. Everyone has bad thoughts, good people don't act on them.
73. Find a cause where people are wrestling and work on it.
77. Practice the art of compromise.
79. Learn how to argue with your loved ones, lovingly. Listen!
God’s To-Do List Suggestions (Rabbi Locketz)
1. Wrestle with God - think about what you believe.
2. Help someone who is struggling through a tough wrestling match (Dr. Wolfson's term); be there for a friend or loved one during a particular difficult time.
3. Support those who need your help...come to the Mitzvah Mall this Sunday (9:30 am -1 pm) and make donations to organizations that truly do 'God's Work' here on earth.
God’s To-Do List Suggestions (Yours!)
What is on YOUR list this week?
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