Alone with Hashem: Yaakov's Struggle Until Dawn

1“And Yaakov was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.”¹ The Midrash says: “R' Berechiah said in the name of R' Simon: Just as it is written of the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘And Hashem alone will be exalted,’ so too it is written of Yaakov: ‘And Yaakov was left alone.’”² But what does “And Yaakov was left” have in common with the verse “And Hashem alone will be exalted,” which speaks of the coming of Moshiach?

2It seems we can explain this along the lines of a teaching of my holy father and teacher, zt"l, on the verse “And I will put a redemption between My people and your people; tomorrow this sign will be.”³ We know that our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt in the merit of three things: they did not change their names, their dress or their language.⁴ The future redemption, too, as is well known, will come in this merit, through Israel's holding fast to the customs and the tradition of its fathers. This is the meaning of the verse “And I will put a redemption.” Hashem promised to redeem Israel from the exile of Egypt in the merit of “between My people and your people,” the distinction between Israel and Egypt: Israel did not follow the practices of Egypt and kept the customs of Israel. Then comes “Tomorrow this sign will be.” There is a “tomorrow” that comes only after a long time, along the lines of what the Arizal writes, as quoted in the Shelah, the Shnei Luchos HaBris of R' Yeshayah Horowitz,⁵ and that “tomorrow” is the future redemption we await. It too will come in that same merit: that we hold fast to the customs of Israel and do not depart from the tradition of our fathers. Those are his holy words.

3This explains the Midrash we quoted about “And Yaakov was left alone.” If Israel, called “Yaakov, the portion of His inheritance,”⁶ is “alone,” keeping itself apart from the nations and holding fast to the customs of its fathers, then in this merit Israel will be privileged to see the redemption. Then the verse will be fulfilled: “And Hashem alone will be exalted on that day.”

4There is also another way to explain this. When a person is privileged to serve the Creator through Torah and prayer, he must strengthen himself and toil to make his service solely for the honor of the Creator, without ulterior motives. This is the true goal of avodas Hashem, the service of the Creator. With this in mind we can explain the verse “My heart is stirred with a good thing; I say: my works are for the King.”⁷ When I am granted “a good thing,” the chance to serve the Creator through Torah and prayer, I must see to it that my service fits the words “my works are for the King”: solely for the honor of Heaven. Serving this way is known to be “a difficult service in the Beis HaMikdash,”⁸ because the yetzer hara exerts itself greatly here, trying to slip ulterior motives and stray thoughts into avodas Hashem.

5This also lets us explain the verse “And Yaakov was left alone.” “Yaakov” alludes to Torah and prayer.⁹ The verse hints to us that when we serve the Creator through Torah and prayer, our service must be “left alone,” meaning that we intend only the honor of Heaven. The verse goes on: “and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.” “A man” is Esav's angel, that is, the yetzer hara that wages war against us. “Until the break of dawn” means until we are privileged to see the redemption, as in the verse “The watchman said, ‘Morning has come,’”¹⁰ for night alludes to exile and morning to redemption. Until then we must work hard to overcome the yetzer hara on this point. But in the days of Moshiach the power of da'as, awareness of Hashem, will grow stronger in us, and we will be privileged to serve the Creator solely for the honor of His Name.

6We can now explain the Midrash as well: “Just as it is written of the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘And Hashem alone will be exalted,’ so too it is written of Yaakov: ‘And Yaakov was left alone.’” When will we fully reach the level of “And Yaakov was left alone,” serving solely for the honor of Heaven, to give the Creator satisfaction? That will be in the Time to Come, when “Hashem alone will be exalted,” in the days of Moshiach. May Hashem grant that we be privileged to serve Him wholeheartedly until the coming of Yinon.¹¹ Amen.