Monday, April 30, 2012

Radak vs. Rashi: Who is this man? What was his purpose?

Yaakov leaves in the midst of the night and left the camp. While leaving he runs into a strange man who he fought with until morning then gets a Bracha from him. We asked who is this man? and What was his purpose? We got an answer from Radak and Rashi.
  • Radak: The random person that Yaakov fought with was the angel Gavriel. He was there to strengthen Yaakov's heart so he wouldn't be afraid of Esav. The angel fought him in a way that he wouldn't get hurt so that when he fights with Esav he will not get hurt. The reason they fight until morning is that like light comes after dark, Esav is dark and Yaakov is the light so he will win the fight. It mentions that Yaakov's rib is hurt. Esav was able to hurt Yaakov, but he was not able to destroy Yaakov. So all he got from the fight was a little wound
  • Rashi: This man is a bad angel and he is fighting with Yaakov he is an officer of Esav who was there to destroy Yaakov. Rashi asks another question: Why did this angel bless Yaakov? he answers: The officer really wanted to kill Yaakov, since Yaakov won he asked for the Bracha so that  this bad man can be released. He is giving the Bracha showinf that he could actually deserve the physical Bracha which was the reason that Yaakov and Esav were fighting. 

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