Genesis Cycle Two Vayishlach 32:4 to 36:43

Vayishlach

What is an angel? Where do they come from? These are the questions we ask ourselves in Vayishlach. Even more, we wonder what it means to wrestle with, be blessed by or even to brush wings with one.

In Ezekiel the same root word is used to describe the brushing of wings as is used in line 33:4 when Esau kisses Jacob. So something really does happen there. Something important.

The wrestling though comes first. We wrestle when we are desperate, facing a huge hurdle. The true victory though is not mundane but spiritual. Whether we get what we’re fighting for or not, the struggle makes us holy. Jacob, for example, fights to sacrifice his final spark to the mundane. As he does so, he himself is transformed into an offering to God. If that isn’t victory, I don’t know what is.

Before we continue though, let’s define terms. Esau is not only a brother and a hunter, he represents the earthly (the mundane). Jacob represents the spiritual. We’ve known this since they were born (Toledot). The mundane and the spiritual attract and de-tract. They come close and draw away. Push and pull. Only great love can be the glue that merges them for good. In this parasha, we are in attraction mode. Directing love with gentleness and wisdom is Jacob’s work.

To continue with terms, a sacrifice (in this writing) is any love-energy moving from the spiritual to the mundane. An offering is any love-energy moving from the more mundane to the spiritual. Though they occur on the same heightened level they move in opposite directions.

Let’s therefore focus on the offerings and sacrifices of Jacob. Jacob, no doubt, is quite busy. He’s heading for Esau and his goal is to be the unifying figure of the merge.

First, he sends two angels…or messengers… to check out Esau. But what is an angel? The early Chasidic rabbis hold that ephemeral angels (those that come and go) are made by humans, born from our reshimu…our own essence. It seems as God conceals Himself inside of us there’s a residue. When strong this residue could find the vibration of angels. Therefore, when Jacob sends the malachim ahead to check out Esau, he is sending his own essence. He is making a sacrifice.

When Jacob hears that Esau is coming towards him with 400 men he prays. In other words, he sends energy towards God as an offering. This is an important action because he centers himself. His light energy is delivered to both God and Esau. He’s at the hub.

Next, he sends his herds in groups with ruach in between. Ruach means wind or spirit. Animals, clearly closer to the mundane then angels, need to be framed with the spiritual to soften the sacrifice, make the final approach easier. Jacob is once again centered. He now has angels going to Esau and back to him. And he has animals going to Esau. And he has offerings going to God.

Meanwhile, in an intangible form, he sends honor and respect. The constant wording…referring to himself as a servant…is a concealed sacrifice. By placing himself below Esau it is easier to meet him.

Finally, he sends his wives, his children and his personal servants. Needless to say, Jacob doesn’t do anything else in between but sleep. He is completely focused on his attraction and future connection with the mundane. It’s a big moment, magnetic. It’s the polarity of the whole universe coming to meet.

And if done right (not like later in Shechem) the edges of the mundane can meet with the edges of the spiritual. They can fit face to face. As Jacob says in 33:21... I will cover his face by the gift, the one going before my face and after I will see his face and perhaps he will forgive my face.

When another angel shows up no doubt Jacob wants to send him packing towards Esau as well. This stands to reason. He’s in that continuum. And in my opinion, this is why they wrestle. Clearly, this angel, this reshimu of Jacob, is all that remains. And it can’t be sacrificed. Jacob’s complete submission though, the wrestling itself, the need to give all with trust that God will replenish….is among the holiest of actions. This is why the angel touches Jacob’s caf (thigh). Another translation is palm of the hands. The angel is clearly giving Jacob wings. Later we will see that we need these wings (the Hebrew is the same as corners) on garments because they hold tzitzit. This gift changes Jacob, changes us all. We become God wrestlers, capable of having wings, children of Israel, an honor if seen for what it is. Of course, Jacob is not called Israel until he does actually give that final piece of himself to God in the form of his beloved Rachel.

I never realized that focusing so much on the mundane could have such powerful results. Without the mundane, our human forms lose meaning. Only through discernment, gentleness, kindness, patience, self restraint, sacrifice and offerings…through giving peacefully can we be offerings to God, can we give birth to angels.

So, may we be gentle with the Esau’s in our midst. May we send gifts, and honor their way. May we continue with our gifts to God so that when the attraction brings us face to face…we open with non-violence and love. One small kiss after one small kiss, may we continue to brush wings. May we wrestle like Jacob for the ultimate connection of all things, all names, all beings human and beyond. May we die like Rachel, not in childbirth so much as in the birthing of ourselves to God.