Vayishlach — He Sent
Hebrew: וַיִּשְׁלַח | Book: Bereishit (Genesis)
Summary
Jacob prepares to meet Esau; his wrestling with the angel; he is renamed Israel; Dinah’s ordeal; the deaths of Rachel and Isaac.
Chabad Chassidic Teachings
Jacob Wrestling the Angel: The Inner Battle
Jacob’s wrestling with the “man” (angel) through the night is understood in Chabad as the archetype of the Jew’s inner spiritual battle:
- The angel represents the yetzer ha-ra (evil inclination) — or in a deeper reading, the sar shel Eisav (the spiritual guardian of Esau/materiality)
- Jacob wrestles “until the break of dawn” — the battle lasts the entire duration of galut (exile), which is compared to night
- Jacob is wounded in the gid ha-nasheh (sciatic nerve/hip socket) — even in victory, the Jew carries the mark of struggle
- Jacob’s victory — “you have wrestled with God and man and prevailed” — is the victory of the Jewish spirit over all adversity
Israel: The Name of Transformation
The new name Israel (Yisrael) — from sar-El (prince of God) — represents the transformed Jacob: no longer the “heel-grasper” (yaakov, from eikev = heel) but the one who confronted and overcame even the highest adversarial forces.
Chabad teaching: the name “Jacob” corresponds to the hidden, inner dimension of Jewish service; “Israel” corresponds to the revealed, triumphant dimension. Every Jew contains both — sometimes we are in “Jacob mode” (struggling, hidden) and sometimes in “Israel mode” (revealed strength).
Key Concepts
Sources Cited
Bereishit 32:25; Zohar I:170a