#wrestlingwithangels #dancingwithangels #music #musicinmyears #parsha #vayishlach #danceatmidnight #danceatdawn #danceofthemoon #jacob #angels #danceofangels #feetpounding #heartbeats #rhythms
In Parshat VaYishlach, Ya'akov's identity changes as his name is changed from Ya'akov to Yisrael, which means "a struggle with God." In a vivid scene, an angel appears to Ya'akov
and they spend the night wresting. Only toward dawn does Ya'akov triumph over the angel, but not before the angel injures Ya'akov under his thigh which causes him to limp after that fateful evening.
In looking at art depicting the evening, it is easy to see that the moves of wrestling mimic the movements of dancing. This poem imagines the long night being one of dance and not wrestling. Whether dancing or wrestling are the activities of the night, the symbolism is of changing names, changing identities and futures. Both activities engage us physically and exhaust us but the energy is slightly different. Struggle can happen through all movements and let us imagine it now through a dance.
Dancing with an Angel
At midnight I danced with an angel
My heart was filled with fear
I saw him arrive
surrounded by purple darkness
His eyes sparkled as the stars,
Reflecting the light of heaven
I heard the music in my ears
My heartbeat set the rhythm
And the dance began
We circled one other
feet pounding the earth
The echoes electric
Hands pulled upward toward the stars
Fingers reaching, reaching
We mirrored one another
Twin movements of the soul
We twirled and teetered on the edge
Thunder rumbled like drumbeats
The winds danced along with us
The movements electric in the air
We danced the dance of midnight
We danced the dance of change
We danced the dance to free our souls
to break our bonds of the past
We danced with stars watching
And danced toward the future
And when morning's first rays appeared
Our dance came to an end
The angel slowly took his leave
But in my heart the dance remained
Each step I take is an echo of that night
When we danced the dance of midnight
Genesis 32: 25-29 (From Sefaria)
וַיִּוָּתֵ֥ר יַעֲקֹ֖ב לְבַדּ֑וֹ וַיֵּאָבֵ֥ק אִישׁ֙ עִמּ֔וֹ עַ֖ד עֲל֥וֹת הַשָּֽׁחַר׃ Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.
וַיַּ֗רְא כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יָכֹל֙ ל֔וֹ וַיִּגַּ֖ע בְּכַף־יְרֵכ֑וֹ וַתֵּ֙קַע֙ כַּף־יֶ֣רֶךְ יַעֲקֹ֔ב בְּהֵֽאָבְק֖וֹ עִמּֽוֹ׃ When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he wrenched Jacob’s hip at its socket, so that the socket of his hip was strained as he wrestled with him.
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שַׁלְּחֵ֔נִי כִּ֥י עָלָ֖ה הַשָּׁ֑חַר וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לֹ֣א אֲשַֽׁלֵּחֲךָ֔ כִּ֖י אִם־בֵּרַכְתָּֽנִי׃ Then he said, “Let me go, for dawn is breaking.” But he answered, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו מַה־שְּׁמֶ֑ךָ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר יַעֲקֹֽב׃ Said the other, “What is your name?” He replied, “Jacob.”
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר לֹ֤א יַעֲקֹב֙ יֵאָמֵ֥ר עוֹד֙ שִׁמְךָ֔ כִּ֖י אִם־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל כִּֽי־שָׂרִ֧יתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִ֛ים וְעִם־אֲנָשִׁ֖ים וַתּוּכָֽל׃ Said he, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human, and have prevailed.”
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