The battle between Yaakov and the angel, which is often viewed as symbolic of our struggle against evil in its many different forms, continues throughout our lives.
We noted the Gemara’s comment in Masekhet Chulin (91a) that when Yaakov wrestled against his mysterious assailant, “they raised dust that reached the Heavenly Throne.” The Gemara makes this comment in reference to the word “va-yei’aveik” (32:25) used to describe the confrontation between Yaakov and his attacker – whom the Midrash identifies as Esav’s angel. According to the Gemara’s reading, the word “va-yei’aveik” relates to the Hebrew word avak – dust – and refers to the dust which Yaakov and the angel kicked up with their feet as they fought, and which extended until the Heavenly Throne.
The Sefat Emet explains the Gemara’s comment to mean that “the war against the ‘other side’ and the evil inclination is forever.” The battle between Yaakov and the angel, which is often viewed as symbolic of our struggle against evil in its many different forms, continues throughout our lives. The description of the dust reaching to the Heavenly Throne, according to the Sefat Emet, speaks of the unlimited duration of this struggle. This struggle always persists; never in our lives do we reach a plateau at which we can rest assured that we will no longer confront any manifestations of saro shel Esav, anymoral or religious challenges. The Sefat Emet cites in this context the Gemara’s famous comment (Sukka 52a), “Whoever is greater than his fellow – his evil inclination is greater than his.” While we might have assumed that a spiritually accomplished person faces fewer spiritual challenges, the Gemara teaches us that this is incorrect; to the contrary, a righteous person must face greater challenges than others, because he has already passed the easier tests.
The “dust” from Yaakov and the angel was not confined to that time and place. We should not think that challenges to our faith and commitment occur only at specific times and under specific circumstances. The “dust” of struggle extends throughout our lives, continually offering us new opportunities to achieve and accomplish through hard work and steadfast devotion to our principles and to God.