Midrash su Genesi 32:26

“It is the Lord’s kindnesses that have not ceased, for His mercies have not ended” (Lamentations 3:22).
“It is the Lord’s kindnesses that have not ceased” – Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: After the Holy One blessed be He despairs of the righteous in this world, He then has mercy on them. That is what is written: “It is the Lord’s kindnesses that have not ceased.”
“They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23).
“They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” – Rabbi Alexandri said: Because You renew us each and every morning, we know that “great is Your faithfulness” regarding the revival of the dead. Rabbi Shimon bar Abba said: Because You renew us on the mornings of the kingdoms,⁴⁹New kingdoms arise and supplant the old ones, yet the Jewish people remain (Etz Yosef). we know that “great is Your faithfulness” to redeem us.
Rabbi Ḥelbo said: Each and every day, the Holy One blessed be He creates a band of new angels and they recite a new song and go on their way.⁵⁰They cease to exist. Rabbi Berekhya said: I responded to Rabbi Ḥelbo: ‘But is it not written: “Release me, as dawn is breaking”’ (Genesis 32:27)?⁵¹This is the guardian angel of Esau, who is still in existence. Apparently, angels do not cease to exist after only one day. He said to me: ‘Strangler, did you think you could strangle me?⁵²Did you think you could challenge me from an explicit verse? Gavriel and Mikhael are the supernal princes. All of them are replaced, but they are not replaced.’⁵³Some angels, such as Gavriel and Mikhael, and also the guardian angel of Esau, continue to exist.
Hadrian, may his bones be crushed, asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya, he said to him: ‘Do you say that each and every day the Holy One blessed be He creates a band of new angels and they recite a new song and go on their way?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘And where do they go?’ He said to him: ‘To where they were created from.’ He said to him: ‘Where are they created from?’ He said to him: ‘From the river of fire.’ He said to him: ‘How does the river of fire function?’ He said: ‘Like the Jordan, which does not stop at night and does not stop during the day.’ He said to him: ‘But the Jordan flows during the day and stops at night.’ He said to him: ‘I was watching at Beit Peor, and that Jordan, just as it flows during the day, so it flows at night.’ He said to him: ‘From where does that river of fire emerge?’ He said to him: ‘From the perspiration of the creatures that bear the Throne.’
“The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in Him” (Lamentations 3:24).
“The Lord is my portion, says my soul” – Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: [This is analogous] to a king who entered a province, and there were generals, captains, and commanders with him. The prominent leaders of the province resided in the middle of the province. One said: ‘I will take the generals to me.’ One said: ‘I will take the captains to me.’ One said: ‘I will take the commanders to me.’⁵⁴Each thought to curry favor with the different groups of attendants There was one clever one there. He said: ‘I will take the king, as all the others are replaced and the king is not replaced.’ Likewise, idolaters, some worship the sun, some worship the moon, some worship wood and stone. But Israel worships only the Holy One blessed be He. That is what is written: “The Lord is my portion, says my soul,” as I proclaim His unity twice daily, and say: “Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4).

“Remember, Lord, what befell us; look, and see our disgrace” (Lamentations 5:1).
“Remember, Lord, what befell us.” Rabbi Yitzḥak began: “The greyhound, or the goat” (Proverbs 30:31). The way of the world is that if a person raises two greyhounds in his house, one large and one small, he restrains the large one before the small one in order to spare his property.¹He ensures that the large one does not kill the small one. Rabbi Berekhya said: Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, You wrote for us in the Torah: “Remember what Amalek did to you” (Deuteronomy 25:17). He did to us, but did not do to You? Did he not destroy Your Temple?’²The Romans, who destroyed the Second Temple, are identified as descendants of Edom, who descended from Esau. Amalek also descended from Esau, and therefore the Romans were viewed as descendants or relatives of Amalek. The Rabbis say: Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘We are Yours and the nations of the world are Yours; why do You not have mercy upon Your nation?’ “And the king, against whom no one rises” (Proverbs 30:31). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘We are subject to forgetfulness but You are not subject to forgetfulness. There is no forgetfulness before You; therefore, “remember….”’
“Remember, Lord, the day of Jerusalem for the sons of Edom, who said: Tear her down, tear her down [aru aru], to her foundation” (Psalms 137:7). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Destroy, destroy. Rabbi Levi said: Empty, empty.³These sages are offering interpretations of the phrase aru aru. The one who said: Destroy, destroy, that is what is written: “The broad walls of Babylon will be destroyed [arer titarar]” (Jeremiah 51:58). According to the one who said: Empty empty, that is what is written: “To her foundation,” they reached even her foundations.⁴And they cleared them away.
“Look, and see our disgrace.” Rabbi Yudan said: Looking is from near and seeing is from afar. Looking is from near, as it is stated: “He looked and, behold, there was beside his head a cake baked on coals” (I Kings 19:6). Seeing is from afar, as it is stated: “He saw the place from afar” (Genesis 22:4). Rabbi Pinḥas said: Looking is from afar, as it is stated: “Look from Heaven and see” (Psalms 80:15). Seeing is from near, as it is stated: “He saw that he could not overcome him and he touched his hip socket” (Genesis 32:26).

Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Ḥelbo: It is written: “A man wrestled with him” (Genesis 32:25). We do not know who was dominated by whom; whether the angel was dominated by Jacob or Jacob was dominated by the angel, except from what is written: “He said: Release me, as dawn has broken” (Genesis 32:27). The angel said to Jacob: ‘Release me, as the time for my lauding has arrived.’ Thus, the angel was dominated by Jacob.
In what guise did he appear to him? Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina said: He appeared to him in the guise of Esau’s guardian angel. That is what is written: “For I have therefore seen your face like seeing the face of an angel” (Genesis 33:10). [Jacob] said to [Esau]: ‘Your face is like that of your angel.’ This is analogous to a king who had a tamed lion and a wild dog. What did the king do? He brought the lion and incited it against his son. He would say: If the dog comes upon my son, my son will say: If I overcame the lion will I not be able to overcome the dog? So too, when the nations of the world come upon Israel, the Holy One blessed be He says to then: ‘Your guardian angel was not able to withstand their ancestor, will you be able to overcome them?’
Rabbi Huna said: He appeared to him as a herdsman; this one had flocks and that one had flocks, this one had camels and that one had camels. He said to him:⁵⁰The angel said to Jacob. ‘Cross mine and I will cross yours.’⁵¹Help me cross the stream with my livestock, and I will help you cross with your livestock. Some suggest that the text should read: Cross yours and I will cross mine. This is consistent with the version of the text in Bereshit Rabba 77:3 and with the continuation of the midrash here (Etz Yosef). After Jacob our patriarch crossed his, he said: ‘Let us return and see, perhaps we forgot something.’ Once he returned, “a man wrestled with him.”⁵²The angel, appearing as a herdsman, fought with Jacob under the pretense that after crossing his own livestock, Jacob had come to take some of his livestock. Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great and Rabbi Shimon ben Rabbi were engaged in commerce and were dealing silk fabric. They entered Tyre and engaged in their labor. When they exited the city gates, they said: ‘Let us return and see, perhaps we forgot something.’ They returned and found a bundle of silk fabric. They said: This matter is from Jacob our grandfather, as it is written: “A man wrestled with him.”⁵³This event occurred after Jacob had returned to see if he forgot anything. They derived from Jacob’s behavior that checking if one forgot anything is a good habit.
The Rabbis say: He appeared to him as an arch robber; this one had flocks and that one had flocks, this one had camels and that one had camels. He said to him: Cross mine and I will cross yours. The angel crossed Jacob’s flocks in the blink of an eye. Our patriarch Jacob was crossing the flocks of the angel, and he was returning and finding other flocks all that night. What did Jacob our patriarch do? Rabbi Pinḥas said: At that moment, Jacob wrapped a soft woolen scarf around his neck. He said to him: ‘Sorcerer, sorcerer, you are a wizard, but wizardry is not effective at night.’ Rabbi Huna said: At that moment the angel said: ‘Shall I not inform him with whom he is dealing?’ What did he do? He placed a finger on a rock and it began bursting into flames. [Jacob] said to him: ‘With this you are seeking to frighten me? I am constituted entirely from it,’ as it is stated: “The house of Jacob will be fire” (Obadiah 1:18).
Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: The Holy One blessed be He said to Esau’s guardian angel: ‘Are you standing against him? He is coming against you with five amulets in his hand: His merit, the merit of his father, the merit of his mother, the merit of his grandfather, and the merit of his grandmother. Assess yourself relative to him, as you are unable to stand even against his own merit.’ Immediately, “he saw that he could not overcome him” (Genesis 32:26). Rabbi Levi said: He saw in the Divine Presence that he could not overcome him. [This is analogous] to an arch robber who was struggling with the son of a king. He lifted his eyes and saw that his father the king was standing over him, and he submitted to him. So too, when the angel saw the Divine Presence standing over Jacob, he submitted before him. That is what is written: “He saw that he could not overcome him.” Rabbi Levi said: He saw in the Divine Presence that he could not overcome him.
“He touched the socket of his thigh” (Genesis 32:26), the righteous men and the righteous women and the prophets and the prophetesses who were destined to emerge from him and his sons. What is that? It is the generation of persecution.⁵⁴The generation that lived after the destruction of the Temple, when the Romans persecuted the residents of the Land of Israel. “The socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated [vateka]” (Genesis 32:26), Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Berekhya, Rabbi Eliezer says: He smoothed it.⁵⁵The bone that protrudes from the thigh no longer protruded. Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rav Asi:⁵⁶The Hebrew text says Ravasa, which is short for Rav Asi. He fractured it like [one splits] a fish.⁵⁷Lengthwise. Rabbi Naḥman bar Yaakov said: He dislocated it, just as you say: “My soul was alienated [vateka] from her” (Ezekiel 23:18).

(Fol. 90b) We are taught in a Mishna that there was a round place for collecting the ashes in the middle of the altar, and there were at times in it nearly as much as three hundred cors of ashes. "This must be an exaggeration," remarked Raba. R. Ami said: "The Pentateuch, the Prophets and the sages are wont to speak in a hyperbolical language. That the sages speak in a hyperbolical language, as quoted above; that the Pentateuch speaks in a hyperbolical language, we find in the following verses (Deut. 1, 28) Cities great and walled up to heaven; that the Prophets speak in a hyperbolical language, we find in the following verse (I Kings 1, 40) So that the earth rent with the sound of them." R. Isaac said: "In three places did the Rabbis use a hyperbolical language. They are: In connection with the ash-pile [in the altar] in connection with the vine, and in connection with the veil [of the Temple]. As to the ash-pile it was stated above; as to the vine, we find in the following Mishna: There was a golden vine at the entrance of the Temple, trailing on crystals, on which people, who donated fruit or grape clusters, would suspend on it. R. Elazar b. Zadok said: "It happened once that three hundred priests were summoned to clear [the vine of such offerings]." The veil refers to the following Mishna: Rabban Simon b. Gamaliel says in the name of R. Simon, the High-priest's substitute: "The thickness of the veil [of the Temple] was a hand-breadth. It was woven of seventy-two cords, each cord consisting of twenty-four strands. Its length was forty cubits, by twenty in width. It was made by eighty-two myriads of damsels, and two such veils were made every year. It took three hundred priests to immerse and cleanse it [if it becomes unclean]." (Fol. 91) R. Joshua b. Levi said: "The passage states (Gen. 32, 26) And he wrestled with him. This means that they did like a man wrestles with his friend, when his hand reaches the right thigh of his friend." R. Samuel b. Nachmeni said: "The Angel appeared to him in the guise of a heathen, as the master said [elsewhere] that of an Israelite is joined by a heathen on the road, the latter should join at the right side of the Israelite." R. Samuel b. Acha said before R. Papa, in the name of Raba b. Ulla that the Angel appeared to Jacob in the guise of a scholar, as the master said [elsewhere] whoever walks at the right side of his teacher is to be considered an ignorant [hence he walked at the left of Jacob and thus reached Jacob's right thigh]. The Rabbis, however, maintain that he appeared at the back of Jacob and hit him at both thighs. But how will the Rabbis explain the passage, as he wrestled with him [which means that they had a frontal encounter]? This they explain in the way of the other interpretation of R. Joshua b. Levi, who said: "Infer from the above passage that the dust [caused by their wrestling] went upward until it reached the Divine throne; for it is written here (be'he'abko) as he wrestled with him, and again there is a passage (Nahum 1, 3) And the clouds are the dust (Abak) of His feet.

Again the angel said to him: "Let me go" (Gen. 32:26). Jacob answered him: I will not let thee go until thou hast blessed me; and he blessed him, as it is said, "And he blessed him there" (Gen. 32:29). Again he said to him: "Let me go" (Gen. 32:26). He answered him: I will not let thee go until thou tellest me what thy name is. And (the angel) called his name Israel like his own name, for his own name was called Israel. Jacob wished to prevail over the angel, and to throw him down upon the earth. What did the angel do? He took hold of the sinew of the hip, which was upon the hollow of Jacob's thigh, and he lifted the sinew of his hip (out of its place), and it became like the fat of the dead. Therefore the children of Israel are forbidden to eat of the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the animal's thigh, as it is said, "Therefore the children of Israel eat not the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the thigh" (Gen. 32:82).

Rabbi Chama bar Chanina said, "He was the ministering angel of Esav. And that is [what he meant] when he said to him, 'For this have I seen your face as I saw the face of God and you have accepted me' (Genesis 33:10). There is a parable about an athlete that got up and wrestled with the son of the king. He lifted his eyes and he saw that the king was standing behind him and [so] he fell to the ground in front of [the son]. This is what [is meant by that which] is written, 'and he saw that he could not overcome him.'" Rabbi Levi said, "'And he saw' the Divine Presence 'and he could not overcome him.'" Said Rabbi Berachia, "We do not know who won, whether it was the angel or whether it was Yakov. And from that which it is written, 'and a man wrestled (vayitabek, the root of which contains the letters that spell dust) with him,' prove who was covered in dust - the man that was with him.' Said Rabbi Chananya bar Yitschak, "The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'He is coming against you and he has five charms in his hand: his merit, the merit of his father, the merit of his mother, the merit of his grandfather, and the merit of his grandmother - measure yourself [and see] if you can stand even against his merit.' Immediately, 'And he saw and he could not overcome him.' There is a parable of a king that had a wild dog and a tamed lion. And the king took his son and endeared him to the lion, [such that] if the dog would take him on, the king would say to him, 'The lion was not able to stand in front of him and you want to take him on?' So [too], if the nations of the world will come to take on Israel, the Holy One, blessed be He, will say to them, 'Your ministering angel was not able to stand in front of him and you want to take on his children?'" "And he touched the hollow of his thigh" - he touched the righteous men and women, the prophets and prophetesses, which were to arise from him in the future. And which is this? The generation of persecution (shemad). "And he touched the hollow of Yakov's thigh" - Rabbi Berachia and Rabbi Eliezer [disagreed about this]: Rabbi Eliezer said, "He pressed it down." Rabbi Berachia said in the name of Rabbi Assi, "He split it like a fish." Rabbi Nachman bar Yakov said, "He separated it from its place, as it is written (Ezekiel 23:18), 'and my soul was separated etc... like my soul was separated' [in which the context shows that the verb for touching also means separating]." Said Rabbi Chanina bar Yitschak, "That whole night both of them were striking each other, the shield of this one across from the shield of that one. Once the sun rose, 'And he said, send me away from here as the sun has risen.'

... Another version. The Rabbis said the minimum number that the word ‘stones’ can refer to is two, and Yaakov woke up in the morning and found that they were one. He was in great fear and said ‘the house of the Holy One is in this place and I was not conscious of His Presence’ as it says “And he was afraid and said, How dreadful is this place! This is no other than the house of Gd…” (Bereshit 28:17) From here they said that anyone who prays in Jerusalem is as if they pray before the Throne of Glory, because the gate of heaven is there; and an open door to hear prayer, as it says “…and this is the gate of heaven. (ibid.) Yaakov went back to gather the stones and he found that they were one stone. Yaakov took the stone and placed it as a monument in the midst of the place and oil descended from heaven for him and he pour it out on the stone, as it says “…and he poured oil on top of it.” (Bereshit 28:18) What did the Holy One do? He took its right foot, sank it to the deepest depths and made it a keystone for the earth, like a man who places a keystone in an arch. Therefore it is called foundation stone, because there is the navel of the world and from there the world was opened out. And upon it is the palace of Gd, as it says “And this stone, which I have placed as a monument, shall be a house of God…” (Bereshit 28:22) And Yaakov fell to the ground before the foundation stone, praying before the Holy One, and said ‘Master of the World! If you bring me back to this place in peace, then I will sacrifice before you whole offerings and thanksgiving offerings!’ as it says, “And Jacob uttered a vow, saying…” (Bereshit 28:20) He vowed and he fulfilled his vow. From there he picked up his feet (to go) and there he left the well, because the well had been going before him, and in the blink of an eye came to Haran as it says, [“Now Jacob lifted his feet…” (Bereshit 29:10)] “And Jacob left Be’er Sheva, and he went to Haran.” (Bereshit 28:10) About him the tradition says, “When you walk, your step will not be constrained, and if you run, you will not stumble.” (Mishle 4:12) R’ Abahu said in the name of R’ Yochanan – the angels carried him as it says, “On [their] hands they will bear you…” (Tehillim 91:12) Ya’akov’s steps were not constrained and his strength did not falter and like a mighty man he rolled back the stone from off of the mouth of the well. Then the well rose up and overflowed and the shepherds were astounded because all together they were unable to roll off the stone and he did it alone as it says, “…that Jacob drew near and rolled the rock off…” (Bereshit 29:10)