Reply To: Short & Sweet

Vayishlach: Till Dawn

A famous passuk in this week’s Parsha tells us: ויותר יעקב לבדו ויאבק איש עמו עד עלות השחר, Yaakov was left alone, and an individual struggled with him till dawn. Chazal see this as being symbolic of the the Jewish people, left all alone, having to fight the nations of the world through the dark and terrifying “night” of Galus.

But R’ Shamshon Raphael Hirsch points out that Yaakov does not win this war at the end. Instead, at dawn, the struggle just stops. Why is that?

R’ Hirsch explains that the purpose of history will not be accomplished by the descendants of Yaakov forcing the nations of the world to do what is right. Rather, at the end of time, the truth will dawn on them. They will suddenly see the light, and realize that the very Jewish ideals and principles that they have fought so hard against are what will bring happiness, security, and fulfillment to all of the nations of the world.

The nations of the world will not give up their fight against us because we beat them. Rather, they will eventually come to the realization that we were right all along.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום