JACOB WRESTLES WITH SOMEONE

In the Book of Exodus, Parashah Vayishlach 32:25 the story of Jacob continues after his long absence from the Holy Land.

Jacob returns to Canaan with his wives and children.  He brings with him his accumulated wealth and many servants. 

But he is afraid of his brother Esau, whom he had deceived in order to claim the birthright as the son of Isaac.  He suspects his brother means to harm him and his family.

He seeks to avoid conflict and possible injury to himself, and to protect his wives and children.  His strategy is to separate his people and possessions into two separated groups.  He intends to mollify Esau’s anger by presenting himself to be less prosperous than he is.  The plan is also to appease his brother with material tributes.  

Jacob is acting to save himself.  

This is reminiscent of the behavior of his Grandfather Abraham.  Abram told his wife Sarai to affirm that she was his sister instead of his wife when they went to Egypt.  This was done to protect himself from being killed by those who may covet her.  

Once he has taken these precautions, Jacob wanders out into the night and encounters a “man.”  The two engage in some sort of conflict, sometimes referred to as a wrestling match.  We are not told who or what this “person” is.

Remember, the Bible is primarily about spiritual advancement.

Jacob is struggling with his impulse to be tied to the physical world.  He has been focused on the earthly rewards of his efforts: marrying, bearing children, and gathering wealth.

But he knows that life’s success depends upon activating and strengthening his spiritual self.  By focusing on and connecting to the spiritual, one enhances and elevates the physical.  

Jacob had thought more of the material world as he approached his upcoming confrontation with Esau.  But his spiritual nature confronted him first.  This caused him to concentrate his mind on being holy.  With that renewed effort, he strove to be closer to God.  The result was a greater sense of who he is.  He was able to say “I am here” for the first time as he strengthened his attachment to the infinite and eternal Divine.  

The material world is highly distracting from the spiritual world.  After all, our five senses are constantly providing us incredible information and input.  We naturally turn our attention to appreciate the world around us and what it has to offer.  

We cannot perceive the ethereal universe with our senses.  To access the heavenly plane, we must quiet our minds and push away from the stimulation of our physical preceiving.  Standing back from this interfering noise of material life facilitates accessing the soul.

The soul is another term for the spiritual aspect of ourselves.  We all have this quality.  It lives with, in, and alongside us.  We are more than our earthly selves, and the soul is that “more.”  

These two aspects influence each other.  Spiritual writings (called upon foundationally in many religions) hint at how we can relate to our other worldly natures.  It is about meditating.  It is about suppressing distractions, desires, and intrusive thoughts.  Mindful focusing as we pursue life’s opportunities creates a milieu conducive to bringing the heavenly powers into our lives.      

Living a healthy lifestyle is very important to best nurture the soul.  A damaged and deteriorating body presents barriers to bridging the earthly and heavenly worlds.

Jacob‘s mystery encounter successfully puts him onto a path of spiritual growth and well-being.  That process is what the Torah and other religious writings are about.  He began his journey by encountering God.  By wrestling with his soul, he is able to invigorate this focus.  Life is optimized as connecting with the spiritual element in our existence.

The timing of this confrontation is revealing.  He is reentering the Holy Land promised to his father and grandfather.  He knew there would be magnificent challenges to his faith.  Future generations depended upon how he reacted to these challenges.  

He believed that his progeny would be a key cog in the future of humanity.  To assure the value of their future role in the life of humanity, he needed to establish and nurture his own spirituality.  “Wrestling” with his soul bridges the earthly and heavenly realms, giving power to both.  As he sought to overcome the inherent distractions of a material life, we also learn by his example.

How does one’s soul become a “being” to wrestle.  Jacob perceived his heavenly partner to the point of embracing it.  This level of meditation puts one into another state of mind that is highly focused.   

Theoretically and ideally, we all have the ability to strengthen our spiritual natures as Jacob did.  Though his “encounter” is not truly physical, it can seem like that at times.  Similarly, the strong feeling one has when falling in love with another seems palpable.  Having an epiphany in life may be a high energy experience that one can feel.   

Our lives are interlaced with experiences of the Divine.  The simplest tasks we fulfill are transformed into spiritual encounters by the concentration and intent we apply to those endeavors.  Any mindful pursuit is meditative.  Overcoming distraction is a spiritual effort.  In this manner, we interact with God.  Spiritually focusing helps nurture the clarity to be in that moment.

As he entered the land of his fathers and approached his showdown with his brother and planned the survival of his material world, Jacob was suddenly refocused toward realizing his spiritual imperative.  He wrestled within his conflicting natures to discover the correct path. 

Then, unpredictably, Esau was friendly, kind, and generous.  This was the preferred and hoped-for outcome of their meeting.  Jacob’s heavenly “wrestling” intervention influenced the desired worldly aftermath.