By Sophia Hwang
This week’s Torah portion is Vayishlach: Genesis 32:4 – 36:43
Parshat Vayishlach is about Jacob coming home to Israel after working for his father-in-law, Lavan, for 20 years. He journeys home with his four wives and 12 children, but while he is on his way home he comes upon an angel and they fight overnight. The angel wrenches Jacob’s hip out of his socket but is not able to defeat Jacob. The angel needs Jacob to let go of him because it is almost daytime, but Jacob says, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” (Genesis 32:27)
This story shows that Jacob works hard to get what he wants, which in this case is a blessing from the angel, and it teaches us that we should identify our wants and needs and do what it takes to get them. The big value here is persistence. Persistence is a key to achieving goals, building resilience and developing self-confidence. Jacob went through a lot of hardship — he later lost his favorite son, Joseph. His only daughter, Dina, had a difficult story as well.
As we live our lives, we are going to go through hard times, but we can turn to our friends and family to find support. When people give us care and love, we feel that love and it helps us to build self-confidence and persist through our hard times. And when you see other people going through hard times, you can do the same. Persistence through hardship is a form of spiritual growth. Persistence through hardship teaches us that we can do hard things and makes it a little easier the next time we face a challenge.
When we read about Jacob fighting the angel it looks like he is only being persistent for his own sake, but if you look at it closer, he might be fighting for his family, too. He is probably thinking that the angel might attack his family because the angel already attacked him.
Jacob’s persistence leads to him receiving a blessing from the angel. In Genesis 32:29, the angel says: “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human, and have prevailed.”
As soon as Jacob got what he wanted he let the angel go and he gained the self-confidence to continue to be persistent in his future experiences. Our people were called the Israelites, people who struggle with God, in honor of him and this experience he had. Jacob’s persistence in this parsha paid off, and we are all the beneficiaries of it.
Sophia Hwang is a seventh-grade student at Krieger Schechter Day School.
