Rabbi Benjamin Yudin Discusses Parshas Vayishlach on JM in the AM (5786)

Good morning, good shabas everybody. Oh my goodness. Tomorrow we have the privilege of reading paras when he discussed paras he called it the para of confrontation namely that Jacob meets up with his brother Asov after over 20 years that Yakov has been away by uncle Lavan And Yakov prepares in three ways to meet his brother both with number one Doron to send him a gift. He prays to Hashem and finally prepares for mil in the eventuality that there will be a military encounter between the two brothers. We know that on the night before the meeting of Yakov and Asov, the Torah tells us in chapter 32. Yakov was left alone and ish and a man wrestled with him also who is this ish. So Rashi tells you that this was he quotes the Gmorrah in Holland Sadi Olive. That tells us that this was the sorrow shall as found in Bacious Rabbin Zion Giml. paragraph 3 that this is the Sar shall Asa. What does that mean? That every nation has its guardian angel upstairs. And this was the guardian angel of Asov disguised as a man that Jao fought with him but really a superhuman power. Hence the name that his name is changed as foretold by the mal to because he literally wrestled with an angel of God and with man and you become victorious. You've prevailed. Now what in the world is going on? The Torah tells us that at this wrestling match, the angel saw in verse 26 that he could not overcome him. So he struck the socket of Yakov's hip. So Yakob's hip socket was dislocated as he wrestled with him. And as a result, the Torah tells us several verses later in 32 verse 33. Therefore, the Torah tells us the children of Israel are not to eat the displaced senue on the hip socket to this day because he struck Yakov's hip socket on the displaced senue. And this is the third mitzvah as found in the book of Batius. The first mitzvah in Berius is purvu, procreation, to have children. The second mitzvah in chapter 17 is the mitzvah of circumcision. And this the third and final mitzvah, the prohibition of eating the gid hanosha, the displaced senue on the hip socket. Now, just be aware that the idea of the Jew not eating filet minan is often not considered kosher because it's from the hind quarters of an animal which contain the forbidden sciatic nerve. the giranosha and we can't eat the giranosha. Removing these difficult specific parts is very difficult and laborious. The process is called nikur which is why non kosha butchers typically sell the entire hind quartarters to non-Jews. Uh there is a tradition among the tmanim that they have a precise process of nikor but just be aware that it's very difficult and therefore often time a part that we do not eat. [clears throat] I'd like to share with you the as to why we don't eat the giran. And he writes very clearly at the root of this precept lies the purpose that jewelry should have a hint that even though they will endure great tribulations in the exiles at the hands of the nations and the descendants of Asov. In other words, just as Yakov wrestled with the angel, the guardian angel of Asov, so too will a Yakov's descendants endure great difficulties, challenges, persecutions from Asov. They should remain assured that they will not perish but their progeny and name will endure forever and a redeemer will come and deliver them from the oppressor's hand. Remembering this matter always through the precept which is not to eat the girania which will serve as a reminder that they will stand firm in their faith and righteousness forever. Whoa. So the idea behind this is that the descendants of Asov will inflict pain and suffering on the descendants of Yakov. But ultimately we and they the descendants of Yakov will be rescued from them. Just as we find that the son later on in this chapter 32 tells us loves that the son rose for him and healed him. Okay. And he was delivered from the pain. So too, writes the son of the Messiah will shine for us and he the Messiah will heal us from our suffering and redeem us. This is going to happen swiftly in our day. Wow. So ultimately the giranosha has a positive message. Don't eat the giranosha because just as Jacob was only wounded so too the progeny of Jacob will only be wounded will be wounded in one of two ways. either Khaneka whereby they will attempt to assimilate us and therefore we will deviate from our Yahadus or God forbid they will pour us and try to kill us as [music] did Hmon fret Rav Mosha Feinstein in his dorash Moshe. Excuse me. When we have a remembrance of a miracle and this indeed was a miracle that Jacob wasn't harmed. So why do we eat matzah? Why do we eat mor? We eat matzah to remember that we were pushed out of Egypt. And therefore, whoa, we tell the story how God hastened our deliverance, etc. And why do we eat morar? Because the Egyptians embittered our lives asks for Moshe. The same thing should be over here. We should specifically eat the ganosha to remind us, wow, Yakov was saved when he was only hit in the hip. And we therefore should eat the hip in order to remind us that Israel Yakov survived miraculously and we too will survive throughout the gulas. And Rav Mosha answers very sharply by saying the following. We don't want tests. We don't want to be tested and see if we can pass these tests. And therefore, it's best not to positively remember, but we abstain from eating. And therefore, we much prefer not to have these tests. As we dive in every day in Shakar shalom, don't bring us to test. And so too in our exile, we don't want to be tested. And therefore the remembrance of the miracle is done through abstaining and not in a positive way, not by eating the giranosha to demonstrate that even though we are so grateful to Hashem for saving Yakov and his descendants throughout Jewish history, okay? To show that even though we are so grateful, we don't want this. As the Talmud in Brahos teaches in Brahos 5b regarding the trials and tribulations of the gulos loain, we don't want them nor the reward. Even though that if and when these rewards happen, excuse me, these punishments happen, we accept it but we don't want it and therefore there's no positive observance. This is what braosha writes in his safer dash Moshe. The orimadosh in his commentary on the Torah on the verse that the Jewish people are not to eat the giranos writes the orim the following. because Yakov's sciatic nerve was dislocated and listen carefully in the place where it was. What does Asov put? He puts creeper meaning that impurity the culture of asov was indoctrinated into Yakov. And therefore forbids us from partaking of this because listen carefully he quotes the famous gam in that begin no saint there's no time there's no taste to the gush to the sciatic nerve another explanation could this could be alrush there's no reason for this and that's why in this para amazing when the two brothers meet so the Torah says that they uh literally when Jacob meet the Torah says and he kissed him and my friends you'll take a look in Every Torah where the word and he kissed him appears in every Torah there are dots over every letter and Rashi said why are these nikudos there and he gives two interpretations either that just this one time uh come on either he kissed him one second but this was a chance happening Because Rashi quotes buried in meron. There is a law similar to the concept of built into nature that what son of hates Yakov. And therefore the idea is that we don't perpetuate the eating of this. Rather, we abstain from any and all interaction between the culture of Asov and the culture of Yakov. We don't want the tuma of asov that was implanted in the place of the girosha and therefore we abstain from eating the girhanosha. It's interesting this story is not simply historical. current events. We are living in a world of hala sonov. We've seen the ugly head of anti-semitism especially after October 7th rise all around the world. And the lesson of the girosha is that protected us then and protects us now. But in order for us to be merited with the protection from the negative culture of Asov is to remember that the best offense is a good defense. by providing our children with the pride of being Jewish, with the awareness of what we have to do to remain the am the nation that truly lives alone. This is the destiny of Claw Israel. And this is the story of Yakov's wrestling with the Sar or the guardian angel of Asov. Remember the says we are promised strong word that as Yakov won and he was cured from his limping so too will the children of Yakov win and be cured from all our limping. Shabbat shalom to all.