Dear Friends,
At least Jacob knew that he was wrestling with some opponent.
The Torah describes, “Now Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the rise of dawn. When [the man] saw that he could not overcome him, he struck Jacob’s hip-socket, so that Jacob’s hip-socket was wrenched as [the man] wrestled with him." (Genesis 32:25-26)
But not everyone is fully aware that they are wrestling with some opponent.
Some people are oblivious to the challenges or demons that are pulling at them from inside or from outside. Moreover, some may feel that though they may have met with a physician or a psychotherapist, all is well and fine. Yet the underlying issue may still be... underlying.
We have learned from AA that the first step in confronting any inner—or outer—fiend is to recognize that the situation exists. Too many of us know of ostriches—those who have buried their heads in the sand. Denying is a common human behavior. Moreover, many of us—myself included—have done exactly that at one or another time, if not more often.
But not Jacob; his nemesis was right there, wrestling with him from dusk till dawn during a long, tiring, injury-laden night. Jacob could not escape nor vanquish the intruder, nor could the other defeat Jacob.
Many commentators have suggested that the opponent was a marauder from God or from God’s adversary. However, equally many have proffered that the figure was none other than Jacob’s inner self, his unresolved anguishes with his father or his brother whom he fled, or his wives whom he married amid deceit, or his father-in-law who bullied him. Jacob had plenty of inner enemies, which may have surfaced that night when he was about to reenter his homeland. Irrespective of whom that opposing figure might have been or represented, the figure was fully involved in Jacob’s life. There was no denying.
Thus, no matter how distant or ancient the Jacob text might appear, it is still pertinent and relevant.
We cannot defeat the demons that we do not face or identify. Recognizing them is the first step. We applaud Jacob for taking that step. Now, we ought to do the same!
With Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
At least Jacob knew that he was wrestling with some opponent.
The Torah describes, “Now Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the rise of dawn. When [the man] saw that he could not overcome him, he struck Jacob’s hip-socket, so that Jacob’s hip-socket was wrenched as [the man] wrestled with him." (Genesis 32:25-26)
But not everyone is fully aware that they are wrestling with some opponent.
Some people are oblivious to the challenges or demons that are pulling at them from inside or from outside. Moreover, some may feel that though they may have met with a physician or a psychotherapist, all is well and fine. Yet the underlying issue may still be... underlying.
We have learned from AA that the first step in confronting any inner—or outer—fiend is to recognize that the situation exists. Too many of us know of ostriches—those who have buried their heads in the sand. Denying is a common human behavior. Moreover, many of us—myself included—have done exactly that at one or another time, if not more often.
But not Jacob; his nemesis was right there, wrestling with him from dusk till dawn during a long, tiring, injury-laden night. Jacob could not escape nor vanquish the intruder, nor could the other defeat Jacob.
Many commentators have suggested that the opponent was a marauder from God or from God’s adversary. However, equally many have proffered that the figure was none other than Jacob’s inner self, his unresolved anguishes with his father or his brother whom he fled, or his wives whom he married amid deceit, or his father-in-law who bullied him. Jacob had plenty of inner enemies, which may have surfaced that night when he was about to reenter his homeland. Irrespective of whom that opposing figure might have been or represented, the figure was fully involved in Jacob’s life. There was no denying.
Thus, no matter how distant or ancient the Jacob text might appear, it is still pertinent and relevant.
We cannot defeat the demons that we do not face or identify. Recognizing them is the first step. We applaud Jacob for taking that step. Now, we ought to do the same!
With Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
