18
“ Alas ! That day is so great there is none like it ; it is a time of distress [ struggle ] for Jacob ; yet he [ i . e . Israel ] shall be saved out of it .” Jeremiah 30:7
Both from our Parashah and the words of Jeremiah , we are nevertheless reminded that despite what we are now seeing or experiencing , and the tribulation to come , we are promised that Israel will be saved and brought out of it , and that in the Kingdom to Come , Yeshua will reign from Jerusalem in majesty and glory forever ! But is this all we can learn from Jacob and the struggles which he faced , or is there more encouragement and exhortation that we can find amidst our trials , and hardship as Israel is attacked and anti-Semitism is growing throughout the world ? Is there an answer to our deepest questions ? Our answer here is found in both Jacob ’ s greatest struggle and blessing in Gen . 32:25-27 , “ Then a man wrestled with [ Jacob ] until the break of dawn . When He saw that he had not overcome him , He struck the socket of his hip , so He dislocated the socket of Jacob ’ s hip when He wrestled with him . Then He said , ‘ Let Me go , for the dawn has broken .’ But he said , ‘ I won ’ t let You go unless You bless me .” From this passage it is clear that the one of whom Jacob wrestled and struggled with was not just a man , but in fact the Lord Himself ! This is confirmed by the Rabbi ’ s in Bereshit Rabbah stating , “ you [ Jacob ] have fought and struggled with a divine being and have won .” This is later confirmed in Gen . 35:11-12 ,
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 • T I K K U N A M E R I C A R E S T O R E | 2 4