Today's class is dedicated in honor of the birthday of Eli Kairey, by his family.
In this week's Parasha, we have the event of the Gid Hanasheh, where Yaakov Avinu struggles in a wrestling match with the angel of Esav. After a long night of struggling, Yitzhak is limping, and then Hashem miraculously heals him. To this day, we are supposed to remember that event, and therefore, the Jewish people do not eat the Gid Hanasheh as a a way to remember that event.
The Sefer HaChinuch asks what the message of this mitzvah is. And he says that it's a hint to the Jewish people that even though we will endure great hardships and great sufferings and exiles in the hands of the nations, specifically the children of Esav, we are Batuach/ we are guaranteed that we will not get lost.
We and our children will last forever. The Redeemer will come and He will redeem us. This mitzvah can help us in our Emunah, by remembering Ma'aseh Avot Siman L’banim, the activities of our forefathers are an omen for future generations.
The hint here is that the angel of Esav is the symbol of the all of the negative forces that wanted to uproot Yaakov from the world, and his children as well. And that is what is happening in our generations.
In the end, he says, we will have a salvation. Just like the sun shined on Yaakov Avinu and he was saved from the angel, so too, the light of Mashiach will shine upon us. He'll heal us from our pain and redeem us, speedily in our days.
So this story of Yaakov Avinu is a lesson for us throughout our years of exile.
What was Yaakov Avinu's secret? How was he successful in his struggle throughout the long night? The Seforno writes that the angel of Esav saw that he could not overtake Yaakov because Yaakov Avinu was constantly connected to Hashem with his thoughts and his speech, and therefore, Yaakov Avinu was protected from the angel of Esav.
Therefore, our protection is our connection, our dveikut, our Emunah and bitachon.
And what caused Yaakov Avinu to be slightly influenced and caused his limp was that the angel told him that in the future, there would be sins in the Jewish people. His worry about the future caused a momentary break in Yaakov Avinu’s connection, which caused the limp. This struggle is not only a struggle with the physical forces of Esav, it's also the spiritual forces that bring us down, the war of the Yetzer Hara as well.
There's a famous thought that says Yaakov’s name was changed to Yisrael,
כי שרית עם אלוקים ואנשים ותוכל
Because you struggled with Godly forces and with human forces, and you overcame.
I once heard my father-in-law say, in the name of the Sfat Emet, that the term שרית Sarit refers to the struggle, and ותוכל v’tuchal refers to the success. So why is it that he's called Yisrael after the struggle? Shouldn’t he be called Yituchal, because he won? And he answers that Hashem does not demand victory from us. We're not always victorious. but He demands that there's a struggle. That's what He wants from us. The victory comes from Hashem. Our job is the constant struggle- not to give in, and not to wave the white flag of surrender, but to keep fighting against the Yetzer hara.
That is the lesson for today, the lesson of remembering the Gid Hanasheh. Remember, in the end, we will survive. We will win this long struggle. The light of Mashiach will heal us. The force that saves us and protects us is our deveikut/ our connection to Hashem, and the main thing is to keep struggling and not to give in.
Have a wonderful day and a Shabbat shalom.