This week’s Torah reading contains the Torah’s first real wrestling
match….between Jacob and a man whose identity was intended to be a mystery.
There are echoes of aspects of this tale in Chapter 32 of Genesis that I
see in discussions and negotiations on pressing issues in our country and
around the world.
The Affordable Care Act is now in the midst of fixes to a website and
adjustments to policies underpinning the law. Insurance companies, medical service providers, consumers of
health insurance and medical services, the Obama administration, and
legislators and leaders at the state and national levels all have a stake in
what will happen. It is a process
that appears, to those of us on the sidelines, complex, painstaking and even
painful.
The negotiations with Iran tying the easing of sanctions to limitations
on its nuclear program appear to be progressing in small steps, much to the
worry of leaders like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The central issue here is not just
weapons development, but the engendering of trust that there is a real desire
for cooperation and understanding on the part of all those who are party to
these talks.
The
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations appear to be at a standstill. Palestinian leaders cite as difficult
Israel’s issuing of building permits in the Judea/Samaria areas beyond the 1949
armistice line. The killing of an
Israeli soldier this on a bus in Afula by a Palestinian teenager, who sought to
avenge Palestinian Arabs who are imprisoned for their acts of violence, signifies an underlying lack of
acceptance of Israel as a country and Israelis as neighbors. The issue is, again, the need for
assurance that cooperation and understanding are goals for everyone
concerned.
It is difficult to trust someone that you believe is still seeking your
demise, rather than mutual success.
The story of Jacob’s wrestling match seems to reflect this issue as
well.
The two men wrestled all night until the breaking of
the dawn, with neither one prevailing over the other. Jacob’s opponent asked to leave as the sun was about to come
up, signaling that he was not who he seemed if he needed to leave so quickly. Jacob let him go on the condition that
he receive a blessing, which came to him in the form of a new name, Israel, one
who struggles with God. The
new name was accompanied by this explanation: “For you have wrestled with
beings divine and human, and you have prevailed.”
Jacob’s opponent likely was no enemy at all and no one to mistrust. Some
commentators say it was Esau’s angel.
Others say it was Jacob who wrestled with himself. He was about to meet his brother Esau
for the first time since he deceived him to take the firstborn birthright and
blessing. Jacob knew that
deceit wouldn’t work this time against his brother and the 400 armed men who
were approaching . The
wrestling match gave Jacob a chance to search his soul and to muster the
confidence he needed to reunite with Esau based on a positive family
connection. It was time to overcome his fear that hatred from the past would
plague his relationship with his brother forever.
When the two finally met, they hugged and kissed each other. The word “he kissed him” has dots
over it in the Torah text, giving commentators a chance to say that Esau didn’t
mean this show of brotherly affection. One explanation said that Jacob’s neck turned to
marble to prevent Esau from fulfilling his intention to bite his brother rather
than kiss him.
I would suggest that we explain the dots over the word as calling
attention to this amazing moment of forgiveness and reconciliation. As the brothers hugged one another,
they were no longer opponents.
They were on the same side.
They had both done well with their lives. There was no longer a reason to hate. Jacob didn’t want to live
anywhere near Esau, but the two were able to respect the success that they both
had enjoyed. They trusted and
loved each other more than they ever had before.
The most meaningful line in that reunion
that links back to the wrestling match is spoken by Jacob, as he tells Esau: “Seeing
your face is like seeing the face of God.” Like Jacob, we need to do our best to discover the part of
God that resides within every person.
In political and international conflicts,
it is easy to designate an opponent as “the other” whom you don’t want to
succeed. When it comes to
peace in our world, the well-being of our citizens, and showing concern for the
human family, there should be no “other.” Over the last week, there has been an
overwhelming humanitarian response to people in the Phillipines in the wake of
the violent storm that took so many lives and caused extensive damage. Such situations demonstrate the innate
human ability to see beyond conflict and differences and to offer a helping
hand when necessary.
There may be times when we need to
wrestle with others or with ourselves. If we see our adversary as “one of us,”
the outcome may ultimately lead us to fresh understandings, renewed confidence
and well-founded trust. May
all of our human struggles be for good, for growth, and bring us hope that the
peace that reigns in the highest places will permeate the human family and the
world. And let us say Amen.
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