"And a man (the angel who was the guardian angel of Eisov)
wrestled with him (Yaakov Ovinu) until the break of dawn."
Eisov's ministering angel fought with Yaakov; in other words,
the manifestation of evil which struggles throughout history
wrestled with the powers of good represented by Yaakov.
When Yaakov bested him, he asked, "Tell me your name." And
the angel replied, "Wherefore do you ask for my name?" The
question one cannot help asking is why the angel did not
answer Yaakov directly? Why did he not reveal his name?
In the memorial work, Zecher Gedaliah, Rav Aharon
Feldman shlita writes: the truth is that the angel
actually did reply to Yaakov's question with fine precision.
The name of a nation is actually the internal power which
propels it and which finds expression in its culture. It
constitutes its essence, credo, the very character which
causes the members of that nation to identify with it. If a
person penetrates to the core of Eisov's culture and discerns
its goal, he can describe it in one word: Man.
Egocentrism.
Man is the be-all and end-all, the purpose. Man is to be
exalted, idolized, served. Man must be made powerful and
wealthy. Universities exist in order for man to get to know
himself better. All legal systems exist in order to help man
function in the most efficient way. Art, music, theater all
exist, at worst, in order to supply man with entertainment in
his leisure time, and at best, to help him understand himself
better.
The culture of Eisov is the worship of man and his
achievements. And since its essence and nucleus is man, there
is no place where he does not reach. The cult worship of man
negates any worship of Hashem. There is no room left for Him.
Indeed, can there possibly be a significant purpose to a life
where man worships himself?
Tachlis, or a purpose, is that goal to which a person
dedicates his life and towards which he directs his energies.
It is almost self-negating to claim that the goal of a person
is himself. If we attempt to discover the goal which a person
would deem necessary and worthwhile to indenture himself to,
can we conceive that he himself is that very goal? And yet,
we see that this is the theory at the basis of a large part
of modern culture.
How is that this philosophy has become a guiding line,
subconsciously and subliminally, of mankind? How is it that
children, from early childhood, learn that they must
"succeed" in life, that is, attain fame and wealth? It would
be far easier to understand an admission that life had no
purpose whatsoever, but how can they claim that life is a
serious matter, precious and of great significance, for which
one might even sacrifice life if the goal is of exalted
purpose, and at the selfsame time maintain that the goal of
life is self-serving, that is, homo-centric? Is this not an
out-and-out contradiction? How has society foisted such an
absurd thing upon man without its being exposed in all of its
deceit?
The answer is that if everyone embraces The Big Lie, it
becomes an accepted "truth."
Society has created a tacit agreement whereby no one is
permitted to undermine the faith in the worship of man as the
purpose of life. Like Anderson's "Emperor's New Clothes," so
long as no one asks any questions, this connection continues
to exist and deceive the human race. But the moment that
someone asks, "How can this be?" the bluff is called and
exposed.
On the surface, it seems that there is no alternate culture
to that of Eisov. It must be true, for its success is so
apparent to all. Look at the wealth it has accumulated! Look
at the rockets, aircraft, frightful warships! Hail the
conquests of modern medicine, science and technology. Salute
the might of man in penetrating outer space, circumscribing
continents and dredging up treasures from the sea! Is this
not proof of the validity of Eisov's chosen path?
Let us stop a moment and ask ourselves to define this so-
called success of Eisov. Has man become any more human, more
menschlich, nobler because of these activities? Has he
become more humane as a result of wallowing in his beastly
desires? Is the quality of his life any finer because of his
ability to wreak global havoc and destruction among nations
thousands of kilometers away? What advantage have we gained
on the human plane from the fact that we are capable of
receiving instant information of what is taking place at the
Singapore stock market within nanoseconds?
Is it not clear as day that there is more murder, more crime,
more unhappinesses, more divorce and single parent families
within modern society than at any time in the past? Is not
the advantage of progress being paid for by the loss for
mankind as a whole? Is this, then, progress? Success?
As has been said, when Yaakov asked the angel for his name,
he wanted him to describe and define the essence of his
culture, to explain how mankind could come to identify with a
culture lacking all meaning like that of Eisov. And the
angel's reply was clear-cut and concise: "Why must you ask
for my name?"
This is my "name" and my essence, and this is the secret of
my success. So long as you do not ask for my name, I can
succeed and flourish. But the moment that you try to
ascertain my essence, to define what I am, the ground will
open up under my feet, for my very existence depends on the
tacit agreement of silence where humanity refrains from
asking why, indeed -- am I the end purpose of the human race?
My name, therefore, says the evil angel, is, "Do not ask me
my name."
