{"id":39084,"date":"2018-09-02T11:28:33","date_gmt":"2018-09-02T08:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=39084"},"modified":"2022-03-20T23:27:45","modified_gmt":"2022-03-20T21:27:45","slug":"jacob-and-the-blessing-of-self-transformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/jacob-and-the-blessing-of-self-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacob and the Blessing of Self-Transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[504,490],"acf":{"old_id":"39084","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":39086,"related_cahpter":"32","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Jacob sees his brother and weeps for all the years he was blind","content":"

Jacob, having stolen the birthright from his older brother, runs away from home. He goes to the house of his Uncle Laban. \u00a0There he falls in love with Laban’s daughter Rachel and plans to marry her. Jacob goes to bed that night expecting that Rachel will be his new bride. \u00a0He does not realize that her older sister Leah has snuck into his bed. In fact according to the text, Jacob is not aware of the duplicity until the morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

How is this possible? \u00a0One message in the story is that the person you go to sleep with at night is not always the person you wake up to in the morning. Especially if you drink.<\/span><\/p>\n

The deeper point is that something is missing in Jacob. \u00a0He may be infatuated with Rachel, but he does not truly see her.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jacob begins life unable to see the reality of others. \u00a0He deceives his father and steals his brother\u2019s birthright. His blind father does not \u2018see\u2019 Jacob in many ways. Those who are not seen often find themselves too unable to see. <\/span><\/p>\n

Years later, Jacob is informed that the brother from whom he stole the birthright intends to come and kill him.<\/span><\/p>\n

The night before he is to meet Esau, the Torah says “And Jacob was alone, and a man wrestled with him until the coming of the dawn (Gen. 32:24).” Even though the wrestler is commonly assumed to be an angel, the phrase “Jacob was alone” \u00a0suggests a struggle with himself. And as a result of that struggle something unforeseen takes place.<\/span><\/p>\n

At dawn Jacob, tells the angel he will not let go until the angel blesses him. \u00a0And we read the following: The man asked him, \u201cWhat is your name?\u201d \u201cJacob,\u201d he answered.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the man said, \u201cYour name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel” \u00a0(Gen. 32:27,28). Imagine asking for a blessing and hearing: “Your name is no longer Kenneth — your name is Fred!” \u00a0I don’t think most people would consider that much of a blessing.<\/span><\/p>\n

And yet that is the angel’s blessing to Jacob. \u00a0For the angel has given him the blessing of self-transformation. \u00a0He will not be entirely different — many times in the future the Bible will refer to him again as ‘Jacob.’ \u00a0But he has grown through self-struggle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, instead of confrontation we read: “But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.” \u00a0And then Jacob tells him, “For to see your face is like seeing the face of God.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Jacob now sees people. Jacob sees his brother and weeps in part for all the years he was blind. 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