In Parshat Vayishlach, Yaakov fought with the angel of Esav. The angel of Esav injured Yaakov, yet before he leaves, Yaakov grabs him and says, “Bless me.” So strange! Can you imagine after someone comes and beats you, instead of letting them run away or harming them, you say bless me?!?! Well, what Yaakov knew is you never know the merit a person has and the capability they have to bring bracha into your life. Yaakov asked the angel of Esav for a blessing because he understood that the gate of blessings could be opened by anyone. Hashem is willing to give us a blessing but only once we reach a certain point. But how is it possible that a blessing can come from anyone?
It is possible to receive blessings from anyone because bracha comes from two words, the word berech which can mean knee, and braycha which means a body of water/pool. A knee can remind us of bowing— when we bow to Hashem, we humble ourselves and recognize that all is from Hashem. When we receive a bracha, we are acknowledging that we need to be humble and that we are not better than anyone else, which allows us to feel the bracha as something special. Additionally, a body of water can mean Torah because Torah is water and it can also teach us about the flow of blessings. When we recognize that Hashem is the giver of blessings and they are not from us, that is when we see the blessings and the blessings start to flow like water. Blessings come from our humbleness and Torah learning, and we can accept them from anyone because everyone has merit.
Finally, I would like to tell you the true story of a lady who was having trouble in shidduchim. She was much older and after years of trying, she was about to give up, until someone told her to go to a rabbi who she had not tried yet. She went to the rabbi and the rabbi said, “You didn’t have a party/breakfast when you were born, did you?” The girl said that she didn’t think her parents threw her a party when she was born because she was a girl and she didn’t have a brit milah that required a fancy party. The rabbi told her that even women needed this party because one receives many brachot of “Mazal Tov.” You need those brachot. The rabbi told the lady to make a party to thank Hashem for her birth and every time someone says, “Mazal Tov,” to say, “Amen.” Realizing that this seemed to be her last chance because she was losing hope, she did this and ended up finding her zivug shortly after. It could have been a rabbi’s blessing, a simple Jew, or even a child’s blessing that opened up the blessing of shidduchim for her.
We must learn from this story and from Yaakov to open our minds to being blessed by all. Hashem is waiting for us to work with all kinds of people so he can let our blessings flow like water! May all of us always be able to help others open the doors to their blessings and may the doors of your blessings always be open.
Shira Sedek is a passionate educator at Ramaz Middle School in New York City who loves teaching Torah and inspiring her students.
