In this week’s portion, Jacob wrestles with a mysterious other – be it an angel, a man, a demon, or perhaps even Divinity itself. The text calls Jacob’s opponent simply an eish, a man.
At the conclusion of the match however, as the sun is rising and neither can best the other, the eish blesses Jacob, changes his name to Israel and declares: “For you have striven with God and human beings and you have prevailed.” The eish could be self - identifying itself as God. At any rate Jacob seems to think that’s the case because he names the place of encounter, Peni’el meaning ‘face of God’ and explains: “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.”
Torah study and Jewish spirituality have both been described and explained with this Biblical passage in mind. The name Israel – the one who wrestles with God – confirms that ours is a tradition made uneasy with final answers. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel accurately observed that in Judaism “the mystery of the next question hovers over every answer.” For Jews, it’s just as much about the seeking and the struggle as it is about the finding and the faith. Yes, we are a people that wrestles.
But let me make a few observations here about the Torah’s choice of metaphor. I think it is stunningly apt.
First, remember that wrestling is a weight-class sport. That is to say, a wrestler is always matched with an opponent of roughly the same size and heft. Pound for pound, kilo for kilo the two wrestlers are pretty much evenly matched. So the God you engage in a theological wrestling match is not so much the Infinite, All powerful, Cosmic-scaled Creator of the Universe, but rather a much more eish sized other who happily invites you to step into the ring.
Remember also that your opponent here is not out to kill or crush you. In wrestling, there are rules. You are not allowed to intentionally hurt your opponent. Though there may be some pain involved in the struggle.
Please also know that the greater, the more profound the question you bring with you into the ring the longer the match will take. Some matches in fact can and do last a lifetime. The New York Times recently ran an article with the headline: “They were lovers in Auschvitz. Reunited 72 years later, he had one question. Was she the reason he was alive today?”
In God-wrestling, it is acceptable, however, to call a time-out every once in a while.
And lastly, sometimes even the most accomplished wrestlers can only manage a draw. That is to say the point is not necessarily to win. It’s quite all right just to reach an accommodation. Like Jacob, you can in fact receive a blessing if you just hang in there long enough.
Interestingly, in the verse above, the single word tuchal is translated as ‘you have prevailed’ - which has the sense of to win, to triumph and alternately to persuade, gain control or to influence; but the Hebrew verb is more commonly rendered simply as ‘can’ or ‘able to.’ So for now I choose to read the verse this way: “For you have striven with God and human beings and you can.” I hear the eish saying, “In Judaism, God-wrestling is possible, permissible, acceptable and you are authorized and equipped to do so.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Whiman