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Vayishlach: Legs of Eternity

The Torah tells us that when the Malach of Eisav struggled with Yaakov, וירא כי לא יכול לו, ויגע בכף ירכו. But how can we say that he saw he could not win if the very next words inform us that he did inflict damage on Yaakov’s hip?

R’ Aaron Lopiansky explains that the influence of Eisav can never succeed in changing the essence of Yaakov and his children. We are simply too committed to our cause and to our God to be swayed. Therefore all that the nations can do is to physically stop us from carrying out our plans.

The Malach saw that he could not win; he could not change the essence of who Yaakov and his children are. He saw he could only try to affect Yaakov’s “legs”, which symbolize our ability to bring our ideals to fruition. He tries to make the world into a goal of its own, instead of being a means to a greater end. And conversely, it is our job to try to fix this world, to turn it into a place where we can all connect to Hashem through Torah and mitzvos.

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