"וַיִּוָּתֵ֥ר יַעֲקֹ֖ב לְבַדּ֑וֹ וַיֵּאָבֵ֥ק אִישׁ֙ עִמּ֔וֹ עַ֖ד עֲל֥וֹת הַשָּֽׁחַר"
“Yaakov was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.”
“Twilight is the period of time before sunrise and after sunset… being neither totally dark or completely lit.”
“Twilight Zone: a conceptual area that is undefined or intermediate; a sphere of experience that appears sinister or dangerous because of its uncertainty, unpredictability, or ambiguity; an area just beyond ordinary legal and ethical limits.”
Cease. Fire. Humanity. Hamas.
Yaakov becomes Yisrael - in the twilight zone. He goes back across the river boundary because, as Rashi reveals, “He had forgotten some ‘small jars’ and he returned for them”. He encounters a ‘man’ alone and struggles with him across the boundary of days - until the break of dawn. He emerges victorious. Limping, but victorious. He enters the night as, ‘Yaakov’, and rises up in the morning as, ‘Yisrael’. “...because you have struggled with G-d and with men, and prevailed.”
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"וַתָּ֖מׇת רָחֵ֑ל וַתִּקָּבֵר֙ בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ אֶפְרָ֔תָה הִ֖וא בֵּ֥ית לָֽחֶם׃"
“Rachel died and was buried on the way to Efrat, which is Beit Lechem.”
Rachel is not buried in Maarat HaMachpelah - but rather strangely ‘on the way’ - neither here nor there…in the twilight zone. In the twilight zone, to protect her children where they need it most.
“...Because Yaakov foresaw that the exiles were destined to pass there. This is why he buried her there, so she would ask for mercy upon them. As it says (Yirmiyahu 31), “A voice is heard in Rama, wailing, bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children” ” (Bereishit Rabbah 35)
Yaakov becomes ‘Yisrael’ when he endangers himself to get the ‘special jars’ that he left ‘on the other side’ - at a time when night is blurred with day.
Rachel becomes forever, ‘Rachel Imeinu’, when she roots herself 'on the way' - to weep for generations of her children to return home.
Am Yisrael, while strong and resolute, could certainly do with a powerful and loving embrace from a mother and a father right now. May we all feel this from Yaakov Avinu and Rachel Ameinu, especially this week. May they, amongst all our gracious forebears, protect Am Yisrael in the twilight zone and on both sides of it, as we B”H edge closer to restoring the pure light of Hashem in the world - serving our destiny as ‘the light unto the nations’.
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"רבתה אהבתם מאוד"
"Their love is exceedingly great"
From the song, ‘Yaakov and Rachel’
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Dedicated to the safety of our chayalim, the return of our captives and a refuah shleima for all. Written with continued Tefillot for the safe return of Daniel Shimon ben Sharon btoch sha'ar shvuyey Yisrael.
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