Midrash su Genesi 32:27
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שַׁלְּחֵ֔נִי כִּ֥י עָלָ֖ה הַשָּׁ֑חַר וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לֹ֣א אֲשַֽׁלֵּחֲךָ֔ כִּ֖י אִם־בֵּרַכְתָּֽנִי׃
Quegli disse: Lasciami andare; poiché è spuntata l’alba. Ed egli [Giacobbe] disse: Non ti lascio andare, se prima non mi benedici.
Eikhah Rabbah
“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).
“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).
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Bereishit Rabbah
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.'
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