(י) וַיֹּ֘אמֶר֮ יַעֲקֹב֒ אֱלֹקֵי֙ אָבִ֣י אַבְרָהָ֔ם וֵאלֹקֵ֖י אָבִ֣י יִצְחָ֑ק ה' הָאֹמֵ֣ר אֵלַ֗י שׁ֧וּב לְאַרְצְךָ֛ וּלְמוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וְאֵיטִ֥יבָה עִמָּֽךְ׃ (יא) קָטֹ֜נְתִּי מִכֹּ֤ל הַחֲסָדִים֙ וּמִכׇּל־הָ֣אֱמֶ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשִׂ֖יתָ אֶת־עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ כִּ֣י בְמַקְלִ֗י עָבַ֙רְתִּי֙ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֣ן הַזֶּ֔ה וְעַתָּ֥ה הָיִ֖יתִי לִשְׁנֵ֥י מַחֲנֽוֹת׃ (יב) הַצִּילֵ֥נִי נָ֛א מִיַּ֥ד אָחִ֖י מִיַּ֣ד עֵשָׂ֑ו כִּֽי־יָרֵ֤א אָנֹכִי֙ אֹת֔וֹ פֶּן־יָב֣וֹא וְהִכַּ֔נִי אֵ֖ם עַל־בָּנִֽים׃
(10) Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, ‘Return to your native land and I will deal bountifully with you’! (11) I am unworthy of all the kindness that You have so steadfastly shown Your servant: with my staff alone I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. (12) Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; else, I fear, he may come and strike me down, mothers and children alike.
(כד) וַיִּ֨קָּחֵ֔ם וַיַּֽעֲבִרֵ֖ם אֶת־הַנָּ֑חַל וַֽיַּעֲבֵ֖ר אֶת־אֲשֶׁר־לֽוֹ׃ (כה) וַיִּוָּתֵ֥ר יַעֲקֹ֖ב לְבַדּ֑וֹ וַיֵּאָבֵ֥ק אִישׁ֙ עִמּ֔וֹ עַ֖ד עֲל֥וֹת הַשָּֽׁחַר׃ (כו) וַיַּ֗רְא כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יָכֹל֙ ל֔וֹ וַיִּגַּ֖ע בְּכַף־יְרֵכ֑וֹ וַתֵּ֙קַע֙ כַּף־יֶ֣רֶךְ יַעֲקֹ֔ב בְּהֵאָֽבְק֖וֹ עִמּֽוֹ׃ (כז) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שַׁלְּחֵ֔נִי כִּ֥י עָלָ֖ה הַשָּׁ֑חַר וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לֹ֣א אֲשַֽׁלֵּחֲךָ֔ כִּ֖י אִם־בֵּרַכְתָּֽנִי׃ (כח) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו מַה־שְּׁמֶ֑ךָ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר יַעֲקֹֽב׃ (כט) וַיֹּ֗אמֶר לֹ֤א יַעֲקֹב֙ יֵאָמֵ֥ר עוֹד֙ שִׁמְךָ֔ כִּ֖י אִם־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל כִּֽי־שָׂרִ֧יתָ עִם־אֱלֹקִ֛ים וְעִם־אֲנָשִׁ֖ים וַתּוּכָֽל׃ (ל) וַיִּשְׁאַ֣ל יַעֲקֹ֗ב וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הַגִּֽידָה־נָּ֣א שְׁמֶ֔ךָ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֖ה תִּשְׁאַ֣ל לִשְׁמִ֑י וַיְבָ֥רֶךְ אֹת֖וֹ שָֽׁם׃ (לא) וַיִּקְרָ֧א יַעֲקֹ֛ב שֵׁ֥ם הַמָּק֖וֹם פְּנִיאֵ֑ל כִּֽי־רָאִ֤יתִי אֱלֹקִים֙ פָּנִ֣ים אֶל־פָּנִ֔ים וַתִּנָּצֵ֖ל נַפְשִֽׁי׃ (לב) וַיִּֽזְרַֽח־ל֣וֹ הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר עָבַ֖ר אֶת־פְּנוּאֵ֑ל וְה֥וּא צֹלֵ֖עַ עַל־יְרֵכֽוֹ׃ (לג) עַל־כֵּ֡ן לֹֽא־יֹאכְל֨וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶת־גִּ֣יד הַנָּשֶׁ֗ה אֲשֶׁר֙ עַל־כַּ֣ף הַיָּרֵ֔ךְ עַ֖ד הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה כִּ֤י נָגַע֙ בְּכַף־יֶ֣רֶךְ יַעֲקֹ֔ב בְּגִ֖יד הַנָּשֶֽׁה׃
(24) After taking them across the stream, he sent across all his possessions. (25) Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. (26) When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he wrenched Jacob’s hip at its socket, so that the socket of his hip was strained as he wrestled with him. (27) Then he said, “Let me go, for dawn is breaking.” But he answered, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” (28) Said the other, “What is your name?” He replied, “Jacob.” (29) Said he, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human,-d and have prevailed.” (30) Jacob asked, “Pray tell me your name.” But he said, “You must not ask my name!” And he took leave of him there. (31) So Jacob named the place Peniel, meaning, “I have seen a divine being face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” (32) The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping on his hip. (33) That is why the children of Israel to this day do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the socket of the hip, since Jacob’s hip socket was wrenched at the thigh muscle.
From Start-up Nation
Dadi Perlmutter recalls the shock of an American colleague when he witnessed Israeli corporate culture for the first time.
"When we all emerged [from our meeting], red faced after shouting, he asked me what was wrong. I told him, Nothing. We reached some good conclusions.' "
That kind of heated debate is anathema in other business cultures, but for Israelis it's often seen as the best way to sort through a problem. "If you can get past the initial bruise to the ego," one American investor in Israeli start-ups told us, "it's immensely liberating. You rarely see people talk behind anybody's back in Israeli companies. You always know where you stand with everyone. It does cut back on the time wasted on bullshit.
When we asked Major General Farkash why Israel's military is so antihierarchical and open to questioning, he told us it was not just the military but Israel's entire society and history. "Our religion is an open book," he said, in a subtle European accent that traces back to his early years in Transylvania. The "open book he was referring to was the Talmud, a dense recording of centuries of rabbinic debates over how to interpret the Bible and obey its laws- and the corresponding attitude of questioning is built into Jewish religion, as well as into the national ethos of Israel.
As Israeli author Amos Oz has said, Judaism and Israel have always cultivated a culture of doubt and argument, an open-ended game of interpretations, counter-interpretations, reinterpretations, opposing interpretations. From the very beginning of the existence of the Jewish civilization, it was recognized by its argumentativeness."
Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle, by Dan Senor 2011
Law Court Pattern of Prayer - Arguing with God Motif
Arguing with God: A Jewish Tradition, by Anson H. Laytner 1977
the Israelite version of the law- court pattern were complaints and charges allowable against God Himself. Second, use of the law-court pattern indicated a certain frame of mind that manifested a highly personalized approach to the problem of the individual's and the nation's fate. Third, the legal controversy between man and God had its basis in an active and personalistic relationship, which in turn was based upon a radically monotheistic faith. (In polytheism, objections to one's fate could easily be rationalized by attributing one's misfortune to the power of another god.) Fourth, the use of the law-court pattern revealeda decidedly ethical, normative conception of God and His relationship with humankind based upon the assumption of a divinely-instituted moral order in the world. Tzedakah, justice, was the name given to this order and it remains the fundamental concept of the Jewish ethicoreligious world-view. Only in this context could the individual appeal to God to set things right because it presupposed that there is an order of things to which even God must adhere in His relationship with the individual, the nation, and the world.l
(ו) .. (בראשית לב, יב): פֶּן יָבוֹא וְהִכַּנִי אֵם עַל בָּנִים, וְאַתָּה אָמַרְתָּ (דברים כב, ו): לֹא תִקַּח הָאֵם עַל הַבָּנִים. דָּבָר אַחֵר, פֶּן יָבוֹא וְהִכַּנִּי אֵם עַל בָּנִים, וְאַתָּה אָמַרְתָּ (ויקרא כב, כח): וְשׁוֹר וָשֶׂה אֹתוֹ וְאֶת בְּנוֹ לֹא תִשְׁחֲטוּ בְּיוֹם אֶחָד.
... "I fear, he may come and strike me down, mothers and children alike." but You said: "If, along the road, you chance upon a bird’s nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs and the mother sitting over the fledglings or on the eggs, do not take the mother together with her young." (Deuteronomy 22: 6) Also "I fear, he may come and strike me down, mothers and children alike." but you wrote: "You have written in Your Torah: "Do not kill a cow or ewe and its young on the same day" (Leviticus 22:28).
(יג) וַיֹּאמֶר אִם יָבוֹא עֵשָׂו אֶל הַמַּחֲנֶה הָאַחַת וְהִכָּהוּ (בראשית לב, ט), בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה אָמַר אָבִינוּ יַעֲקֹב לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, כָּתַבְתָּ בְּתוֹרָתְךָ (ויקרא כב, כח): וְשׁוֹר אוֹ שֶׂה אֹתוֹ וְאֶת בְּנוֹ לֹא תִשְׁחֲטוּ בְּיוֹם אֶחָד, אִם יָבוֹא רָשָׁע זֶה וִיאַבֵּד אֶת בָּנַי וְאֶת אִמָּם כְּאַחַת, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה שֶׁאַתָּה עָתִיד לִתֵּן עַל הַר סִינַי מִי יִקְרָא בוֹ, בְּבַקָּשָׁה מִמְךָ הַצִּילֵנִי נָא מִיָּדוֹ שֶׁלֹא יָבוֹא וְיַכֵּנִי אֵם עַל בָּנִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית לב, יב): הַצִּילֵנִי נָא.
"“If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, the other camp may yet escape.” Genesis 32: 9) at that hour said our forefather Jacob: "Sovereign of the Universe! You have written in Your Torah: "Do not kill a cow or ewe and its young on the same day" (Leviticus 22:28). If this wicked one [Esau] comes and destroys all at once, what will happen to your Torah which in the future You will give on Mount Sinai? Who will read it? I entreat You: Deliver me from his hand, that he will not come and kill both mother and children [together].
(י) בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה אָמַר משֶׁה לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, גָּלוּי וְיָדוּעַ לְפָנֶיךָ יְגִיעִי וְצַעֲרִי שֶׁנִּצְטַעַרְתִּי עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד שֶׁיִּהְיוּ מַאֲמִינִים לִשְׁמֶךָ, כַּמָּה צַעַר נִצְטַעַרְתִּי עֲלֵיהֶם בַּמִּצְוֹת עַד שֶׁקָּבַעְתִּי לָהֶן תּוֹרָה וּמִצְוֹת, אָמַרְתִּי כְּשֶׁרָאִיתִי בְּצָרָתָן כָּךְ אֶרְאֶה בְּטוֹבָתָן, וְעַכְשָׁו שֶׁהִגִּיעַ טוֹבָתָן שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל, אַתָּה אוֹמֵר לִי לֹא תַעֲבֹר אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן הַזֶּה, הֲרֵי אַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה תּוֹרָתְךָ פְּלַסְתֵּר, דִּכְתִיב (דברים כד, טו): בְּיוֹמוֹ תִּתֵּן שְׂכָרוֹ וְלֹא תָבוֹא עָלָיו הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ כִּי עָנִי הוּא וְאֵלָיו הוּא נוֹשֵׂא אֶת נַפְשׁוֹ וְלֹא יִקְרָא עָלֶיךָ אֶל ה' וְהָיָה בְךָ חֵטְא, זוֹ הִיא שִׁלּוּם עֲבוֹדָה שֶׁל אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה שֶׁעָמַלְתִּי עַד שֶׁיִּהְיוּ עַם קָדוֹשׁ וְנֶאֱמָן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (הושע יב, א): וִיהוּדָה עֹד רָד עִם אֵל וְעִם קְדוֹשִׁים נֶאֱמָן.
Master of the Universe! The labours and pains which I have devoted to making Israel believe in Your name are manifest and known to You, to what trouble I have gone with them in connection with the precepts in order to fix for them Torah and precepts. I
thought: Just as I have witnessed their woe, so too I would behold their reward. But now that the reward of Israel has come, You say to me, "You shall not go over this Jordan" [Deuteronomy 31:2]. Behold You make a fraud of Your own Torah, as it is
written: "You must pay him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets, for he is needy and urgently depends upon it; else he will cry to the Lord against you and you will incur guilt" |Deuteronomy 24:15]. Is this the reward [I get] for the forty years
labor that I went through in order that [Israel] should become a holy and faithful people?...
(23) Abraham came forward and said, “Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? (24) What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are in it? (25) Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” (26) And the LORD answered, “If I find within the city of Sodom fifty innocent ones, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” (27) Abraham spoke up, saying, “Here I venture to speak to my Lord, I who am but dust and ashes: (28) What if the fifty innocent should lack five? Will You destroy the whole city for want of the five?” And He answered, “I will not destroy if I find forty-five there.” (29) But he spoke to Him again, and said, “What if forty should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not do it, for the sake of the forty.” (30) And he said, “Let not my Lord be angry if I go on: What if thirty should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” (31) And he said, “I venture again to speak to my Lord: What if twenty should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not destroy, for the sake of the twenty.” (32) And he said, “Let not my Lord be angry if I speak but this last time: What if ten should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten.”
פְּלִיגִי בַּהּ תְּרֵי אָמוֹרָאֵי בְּמַעְרְבָא, רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בַּר אָבִין וְרַבִּי יוֹסֵי בַּר זְבִידָא: חַד אָמַר: מִפְּנֵי שֶׁמֵּטִיל קִנְאָה בְּמַעֲשֵׂה בְּרֵאשִׁית. וְחַד אָמַר: מִפְּנֵי שֶׁעוֹשֶׂה מִדּוֹתָיו שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא רַחֲמִים, וְאֵינָן אֶלָּא גְּזֵרוֹת.
Two amora’im in Eretz Yisrael disputed this question; Rabbi Yosei bar Avin and Rabbi Yosei bar Zevida; one said that this was because he engenders jealousy among God’s creations, as it appears as though he is protesting the fact that the Lord favored one creature over all others. And one said that this was because he transforms the attributes of the Holy One, Blessed be He, into expressions of mercy, when they are nothing but decrees of the King that must be fulfilled without inquiring into the reasons behind them.
The Berditchever called over a tailor and asked him to relate his argument with God on the day before. The tailor said: "1 declared to God: You wish me to repent of my sins, but I have committed only minor offenses: I may have kept leftover doth, or I may have eaten in a non-Jewish home, where I worked, with- out washing my hands.
"But You, O Lord, have committed grievous sins: You have taken away babies from their mothers, and mothers from their babies. Let us be quits: may You forgive me, and I will forgive You."
Said the Berditchever: "Why did you let God off so easily? You might have forced Him to redeem all of Israel!
I love my sad God.
my brother refugee.
love to sit down on a stone with him
and tell him everything wordlessly
because when we sit like this, both
perplexed,
our thoughts flow together
in silence. .
My poor God,
how many prayers I've profaned,
how many nights I've
blasphemed him
and warmed my frightened bones
at the furnace of the intellect.
And here he sits, my friend, his arm around
me,
sharing his last crumb.
The God of my unbelief is magnificent,
now that he's human and unjust.
how I love my unhappy God,
How exalted is this proud pauper
now that the merest child rebels
against his word.
Jacob Glatstein god and poet as DP refugees
Shall we perhaps begin anew, small and toddling.
with a small folk?
We two, homeless wandering among the nations.
Shall we perhaps go home now, you and I, to begin again, small from the beginning?
Begin once more! Be the small God of a small
people!
Go back, beloved God, go back to a small people!...
You will become closer to us,
and together we shall spin new laws,
more suitable for you and for us.
Shall we perhaps begin anew,
small and toddling,
to grow with the growing borders
of a blessed land?.
Shall we perhaps go home, you and I?
Shall we perhaps, uncongquering, go home?..
Save yourself! Together with the pilgrims,
return,
return to a small land.
Become once more the small God
of a small people.
Jacob Glatstein
For the first time, I felt revolt rise up in me. Why should I bless His name? The eternal, Lord of the Universe, the All-Powerful and Terrible, was silent. What had I to thank Him for?!
Never shall I forget that night.. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies l saw turned into wreathes of smoke beneath a silent blue sky.
Never shall I forget those flames which consumned my faith forever. .
my faith
Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never.
How I sympathized with Job! I did not deny God's existence, but I doubted His absolute justice.
Elie Wiesel NIGHT
(א) גִּיד הַנָּשֶׁה נוֹהֵג בִּבְהֵמָה וְחַיָּה הַטְּהוֹרִין וַאֲפִלּוּ בִּנְבֵלוֹת וּטְרֵפוֹת שֶׁלָּהֶן. וְנוֹהֵג בְּשָׁלִיל וּבְמֻקְדָּשִׁין בֵּין קָדָשִׁים הַנֶּאֱכָלִים בֵּין קָדָשִׁים שֶׁאֵינָן נֶאֱכָלִין. וְנוֹהֵג בְּיָרֵךְ שֶׁל יָמִין וּבְיָרֵךְ שֶׁל שְׂמֹאל. וְאֵין אָסוּר מִן הַתּוֹרָה אֶלָּא שֶׁעַל כַּף הַיָּרֵךְ בִּלְבַד שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית לב לג) "אֲשֶׁר עַל כַּף הַיָּרֵךְ".
(1) Gid Hanasheh is customarily from a clean animal and even from a (disqualified) carcass of a clean animal. And it is customarily applied to left over and consecrated meat whether consecrated meat that is eaten or not eaten. And it is customarily applied to the vein on both the right and left side. And it is only forbidden from the Torah on socket to the vein only as it is written (Gen. 32:33): "the thigh muscle that is on the socket of the hip"