Shabbos Parashas Vayishlach - 5775

Shabbos Parashas Vayishlach - 5775

Rabbi Hal Miller

Therefore the Children of Israel are not to eat the displaced sinew on the ball of the

thighbone to this day, because he struck the ball of Yaakov's thighbone on the

displaced sinew. [Bereishis 32:33]

At first glance, the story of Yaakov wrestling the angel seems almost bizarre. Yet, this is one of the 613 mitzvos, according to pretty much everyone who enumerates them. What is the mitzvah for, and what does our verse teach us?

Sefer HaChinuch, who bases his work on the Rambam, tells us what is behind the commandment: "At the root of this precept lies the purpose that Jewry should have a hint that even though they will endure great tribulations in the exiles at the hands of the nations and descendants of Esau, they should remain assured that they will not perish, but their progeny and name will endure forever, and a redeemer will come and deliver them from the oppressor's hand." This is very reassuring, but how did he get there?

Many commentators cite Midrash Rabbah and explain that the story demonstrates the unending battle between Yaakov and Esau. The Torah has told us that when one of the

brothers increases in strength, the other will decrease, throughout generations to come.

In this opinion, our verse tells us that the angel of Esau was unable to defeat Yaakov,

and had to resort to trickery to even gain a draw. Even then, Yaakov is told that he is the victor, that his name will now be Yisrael, etc Our verse shows that even when Esau

is strong and does us harm, in the end it will be the children of Yisrael who triumph in G-d's Name.

Radak asks why this lesson required this story. He says, "G-d sent this angel to Yaakov to strengthen his courage not to fear Esau. If Yaakov could prevail over an angel, surely he had no reason to be afraid of an encounter with someone like Esau." Rav Hirsch applies this to our generations from then until now, and beyond. Faith in G-d gives us the strength to survive Esau in the end.

Then Radak points out an obvious issue with the reasoning behind this commandment.

The story takes place in the days of Yitzchak. The Torah and mitzvos were given in the days of Moshe, hundreds of years later. He explains, "The children of Yaakov adopted this prohibition for themselves in commemoration of their father whose thigh muscle had been injured. They in return commanded their children to abstain from eating this part of any animal. This continued until the Torah was given and it became law." In other words, G-d codified into Torah law a custom of the earlier generations. This seems incredible, but teaches a powerful lesson. The actions of our righteous forebears

require study and emulation, as though they were law.

But do we follow the patriarchs, or the Torah? Rambam explains, "in regard to the sinew of the thighbone, we do not follow an injunction of Yaakov our father but a precept of Moshe our master." We stick with Torah commandments, not customs.

The lesson isn't complete here yet. The Torah commands us not to eat "the sinew" of the one hip-joint in which Yaakov was injured. Which sinew was that? Which leg? Or does it make a difference? Our rabbis have established specific instructions in this,

to include both hind legs of all four-legged animals. Our verse says, "to this day", meaning that the law is established based on the understanding of the sages, and their decision is also Torah law. We may not truly understand the meaning of the story, nor the reason for the mitzvah.

Our verse teaches lessons having little to do with food.