Parashat Vayishlach: Eternal struggle

“And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of day. And when he saw that he did not prevail against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. And he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ And he said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’ And he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ And he said, ‘Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have contended with God and with man, and have prevailed.’ And Jacob asked, ‘Tell me, please, your name.’ And he said, ‘Why do you ask my name?’ And he blessed him there” (Gen. 32:25-29).

This most enigmatic encounter of Jacob wrestling with a mystery “man” arouses many questions. Who is this unnamed adversary with whom Jacob struggles all night until the break of dawn?

In the text, this being is called an ish. Many commentators hold that this ish was an angel. According to the Rambam (Yesodei HaTorah 2:7), there are 10 ranks of angels, each group called by a name that reflects their function. The lowest are called “ishim” because of all the angels, they are closest to the human intellect. It is these angels who communicate with prophets and are seen by them in visions.

There are other places in Tanach where ish refers to an angel. In Joshua 5:13, Joshua sees a “man” standing before him, “drawn sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and asked him, ‘Are you one of us or of our enemies?’ He replied, ‘No, I am captain of the Lord’s host.’” Similarly, Daniel refers to “the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning” (9:21).

This view matches the explanation which the ish gives to the name – Israel – which he bestows on Jacob: “You have striven (sarita) with divine beings and human beings and have prevailed.” This seems clear to Jacob, who names the site Peniel, meaning “I have seen a divine being face to face, yet my life has been preserved” (Gen: 25:30).

Understanding the wrestling match between man and angel

The ish who wrestles with Jacob is often identified as the guardian angel of Esau (Rashi, citing Bereishit Rabbah 77:3). The angel’s words echo in Jacob’s words to Esau at the meeting that follows the nocturnal combat: “I have seen your face as if I had seen the face of a divine being, and you showed me favor.” According to the Zohar (Toldot, 146a), Esau’s angel is Satan. In the Jewish tradition, Satan is also an angel, a being who does God’s will; it is up to us to wrestle with him. Because Jacob was able to hold his own in the spiritual combat with the forces Esau represents, he is also able to survive the encounter with Esau on the material plane.

But the text speaks against any unambiguous definition of the being that struggles with Jacob: “Why do you ask my name?”

Throughout the centuries, many artists have treated Jacob’s combat with the ish, usually portraying the ish as an angel with big wings and “in some kind of dance posture,” in artist Yoram Raanan’s words. To Raanan, most of these renderings are vapid, offering nothing that is challenging. According to Raanan, “My own mind is limited, and I am always striving to transcend my mind. The struggle between the angel and Jacob is also about the battle between rational and spiritual, logic and not-knowing, between revealed and hidden. Wrestling blurs into seduction. This all-night battle was frightening.”

Raanan’s painting came about through struggle, trying to tap into the energetic feeling and comprehend what was happening in this all-night encounter. There is a tension between rendering and expression of the energy of the encounter, and then defining it to suggest some literal figuration. It is a challenging endeavor to transcend the narrative interpretation. For Raanan, it is about breathing new life into uncharted realms where imagination meets interpretation.

His piece Eternal Struggle was painted over one of the abstract paintings Raanan had created using coffee grounds as pigment. Raanan allowed the figures to arise from the earth sediment, which created a feeling of grounding that is also energizing, subtle, and powerful. The word for “wrestled” in Genesis 32:25 is vayye’avek, which comes from a root word meaning “dust.” To wrestle is “to get dusty,” implying a strenuous and intimate fight. In the painting, we can feel the movement in the earthy pigment; the dust of the confrontation flies heavenward. 

The coffee grounds were dark and heavy, and the painting needed color to distinguish between the red of blood and passion, and the blue of spirit and transcendence, so for the first time Raanan used color over grounds. He painted in some light blue to bring in the spiritual aspect and also give a sense of sky. Later, he poured the magenta over one side, then interspersed the rich blues. “The reds represent Esau – Esau has a lot of presence… I see Jacob on the left. He looks like a focused warrior, refined, more hidden,” he says.

The painting is not illustrative; rather than depicting the scene, it captures the presence and essence of the all-night struggle between the forces of good and evil. Lines curving inward from both sides of the canvas encounter each other. There are hints of bodies, faces, a snake-like presence, a multi-fingered hand touching, reminiscent of the sinew of the thigh. Light encounters and illuminates the deep dark, hinting at spirit and the material earth; there is an overall deep dark illuminating light. Diagonals cutting through at different angles, the range of reds and blues, give a sense of dynamic energy, motion, and stability at the same time. It is grounded, solid, moving, energetic. In Raanan’s words, “It straddles the abstract and figurative. It is suggestive and energetic and tumultuous. It is very much what it is about.”

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks writes: “We are the people who struggled with God and with man and yet survived… we are all children of the man who was given the name of one who wrestles with God and with men and prevails. Ours is not an easy task, but what worthwhile mission ever was? ‘We are as great as the challenges we have the courage to undertake.” ■

Meira Raanan is the author of Art of Revelation: A Visual Encounter with the Jewish Bible, a commentary on the paintings by her husband, Yoram Raanan. She also teaches Jewish meditation. Esther Cameron is a poet, scholar, and essayist living in Jerusalem. She is editor-in-chief of The Deronda Review.