The Torah in Parashat Vayishlach tells of the mysterious assailant who wrestles with Yaakov the night he crossed the Yabok River as he made his way back toward Canaan after his sojourn in Charan. The word used by the Torah in describing Yaakov’s fight with this assailant is “va-yei’aveik” – “he struggled” – which Targum Onkelos translates into Aramaic as “ve-ishtadal” (32:25).

      We read toward the beginning of Parashat Vayishlach of Yaakov’s trepidation upon hearing that Esav was approaching with an army of four hundred men.  Chizkuni, commenting to the Torah’s description of Yaakov’s fear (32:8), raises the question of why he did not feel assured by the presence of the angels that had joined him.  The final verse of Parashat Vayetze tells that after Yaakov took leave of Lavan, he was met by angels, and many commentators explain that these angels had come to protect him along his journey back home.  If so, Chizkuni asks, then why was Yaakov afraid?  Did he do

            The Torah in Parashat Vayishlach describes Yaakov’s preparations for his feared encounter with his brother, Esav, which included sending a large bribe, dividing his family and servants into two groups in case Esav attacks, and offering a prayer.  Afterward, we read that Yaakov arose in the middle of the night and journeyed across the Yabok stream with his family and possessions.  It was during that night when he was confronted by a mysterious assailant, an angel, who succeeded in injuring Yaakov’s thigh.

   We read in Parashat Vayishlach of Yaakov’s return to Beit-El, the site of the famous dream he dreamt when he had fled from Canaan many years earlier.  Upon returning to Canaan, he went to the hallowed site in order to fulfill his pledge to erect an altar.  Before journeying to Beit-El, Yaakov issued a startling instruction to his family: “Remove all the foreign deities that are in your midst…” (35:2).  The straightforward reading of the verse implies that Yaakov’s family members had idols or other articles of pagan worship in their possession, which needed to be eliminated before the fam

      We read in Parashat Vayishlach of the birth of Rachel’s second son, Binyamin, and her death during childbirth.  The Torah (35:18) relates that in her final breath Rachel named her newborn son “Ben Oni,” but Yaakov called him “Binyamin,” which is, of course, the name by which he would be known.  The name “Ben Oni” is commonly translated as “son of my distress,” or (according to the Ramban), “son of my lament.”  Rachel, it seems wished that her son would always remember that his life is owed to his mother’s death, that Rachel had to sacrifice her life to give him his.  Yaakov, however,

   The angel’s response to Yaakov’s question has been interpreted symbolically, as indicating that Am Yisrael’s “assailant” throughout its history has no single “name” or identity.  We cannot point to any one particular threat as the exclusive nemesis and source of danger to our existence and mission

        Parashat Vayishlach begins with the message Yaakov sent to Esav, which he introduced by saying, “Im Lavan garti” – “I have dwelled with Lavan.”  Rashi, in what is perhaps one of the most famous passages in his Torah commentary, notes that the word “garti” has the numerical value of 613, and thus alludes to the 613 Biblical commands.  According to Rashi, Yaakov was indicating to Esav, “I dwelled with the evil person Lavan, yet I observed the 613 mitzvot and did not learn from his evil ways.”  (It should be noted that this passage does not appear in earlier editions of Rashi’s comment

 We read in Parashat Vayishlach of the mysterious man – commonly identified as Esav’s angel – who attacked Yaakov as he made his way back to Canaan from Charan.  The Torah gives virtually no information regarding the background of this fight, stating simply, “Va-yivater Yaakov levado” – Yaakov found himself alone at one point while journeying with his family (32:25).  The Gemara in Masekhet Chulin (91a) famously explains this to mean that after Yaakov brought his family across the Yabok stream, he went back to retrieve “pakhim ketanim” – small jugs that had been left on the other side.

aakov remained focused on his duties to the Almighty even as he tended to his mundane affairs and began building his life anew with his family in the Land of Israel.  And yet, nevertheless, Chazal found fault in Yaakov’s priorities, as he neglected to fulfill his vow. 

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.