Over on The Foundation Stone, Rabbi Simcha Weinberg is running a series on Shalom Aleichem. (No not the author.) Rabbi Weinberg invited some fellow Rabbi bloggers to post their thoughts on Shalom Aleichem and angels.
I found a few minutes to put something together and you can read it on Foundation Stone by clicking here.
You can read the entire series on Foundation Stone by clicking here.
If you’re too lazy to go there to read my post, read on…
The Gemara tells us that on Friday Night, Angels escort us from Shul to our home. Why angels? Why on Shabbos?
In this week’s Parsha (Vayishlach) Yaakov fought hand to hand combat with the Anonymous Angel across the Yobok River. As their battle came to a close Yaakov asked the Angel his name, the angel responded by “pleading the fifth.” Rashi explains that angels have no set names; their name reflects their mission set by Hashem. What is the meaning behind this response? What is the Torah and Rashi teaching us? I believe the lesson is that we too have no names of our own; we are just servants of Hashem and also do what He commands of us. We are only a manifestation of His will and must use our tools we are given for His will. We don’t really have our own talents or strengths, we are only given tools on a loan, to use in our ever-present mission and quest to sanctify Hashem’s name. That is what Yaakov learned from the angel and thus responded to Eisav’s subsequent inquiry about his possessions acknowledging Hashem and His gifts to him.
Each week we are reminded of the mission oriented nature of our lives as we are escorted home by the angels. We and angels have no name other than that which our mission requires from us. Shabbos gives us a chance to refocus and reenergize our efforts towards accomplishing that mission. The greatest gift of Shabbos is the reflection of our week and the pleasure of enjoying our accomplishments. Shalom Aleichem welcomes the angels and their message into our home and into our lives.
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