Pt1 Jacob in Genesis 28-32: Talmudic Homiletics on the Biblical Stories of Jacob's Ladder and Jacob’s Struggle With an Angel (Chullin 91a-b)

This is the first part of a three-part series. The outline for the series is below.

This sugya uses Jacob’s night struggle (Genesis 32:26 and on) as a hinge between law and narrative. On the halakhic side it grounds the ban on the sciatic nerve (‘gid ha-nashe’). On the aggadic side it builds a compact dossier on Jacob’s status, the choreography of angels, and Israel’s later leadership in Babylonia and Eretz Yisrael. The unit also folds in earlier scenes at Bet El (Genesis 28:10 and on; specifically the story of Jacob's Ladder) to show how time, space, and cosmic order bend around Jacob.

Three explanations justify why the right thigh is implicated. R’ Yehoshua b. Levi reads “as he wrestled” as a literal grappling hold: like a throw that reaches the opponent’s right hip, so the right ‘gid’ is forbidden (Genesis 32:26). R’ Shmuel bar Naḥmani presupposes practical self-defense: Jacob placed the apparent non-Jew to his right, near his dominant hand, so the strike landed there. Rav Shmuel bar Aḥa (citing Rava bar Ulla) flips the frame to etiquette: if the “man” looked like a Torah scholar, Jacob would not walk at his right; the deviation marks the injury.

R’ Yehoshua b. Levi develops two linguistic threads. First, “as he wrestled” (‘be-he’avko’) yields “dust” (‘avak’): their struggle kicks up dust that reaches God’s Throne (Nahum 1:3). Second, ‘gid ha-nashe’ is named for ‘nasha’, “left its place,” supported with Jeremiah’s “their might has left [nashata]” (Jeremiah 51:30).

R’ Yosei b. R’ Ḥanina ties the ban’s scope to Isaiah 9:7: “A word to Jacob…fell upon Israel.” The “word” is ‘gid ha-nashe’; “fell upon Israel” indicates diffusion from the patriarch to the people. He then reads “slaughter and prepare” (Genesis 43:16) as pre-Sinai observance: “prepare” = expose the slaughter-site and remove the gid before the brothers. Thus the sugya presupposes—at least within one view—that the ban bound Jacob’s family as Benei Noaḥ.

A tight narrative cluster reopens Genesis 32:25: “Jacob was left alone.” R’ Elazar says he returned for “small pitchers,” yielding a maxim that the righteous value property because they avoid theft.

A second thread warns scholars not to go out alone at night. This norm is proven from a number of verses (mostly from the Book of Genesis): Genesis 32 (Jacob), Genesis 22 (Abraham), Genesis 37 (Joseph), Ruth 3 (Boaz).

R’ Akiva then challenges the phrasing “for him” in a vivid scene set in the Emmaus meat market; R’ Yitzḥak answers with a paired miracle: the sun had set early for Jacob at Bet El and later rose early for him, alongside a contraction of the land (kefitzat ha-derech) when he turned back to pray.

The Bet El dossier grows. Multiple stones become one under Jacob’s head; the ladder hosts 4 angels abreast; an inherited measure (“Tarshish” = 2,000 parasangs) scales the ladder’s width to 8,000. Angels ascend to gaze at Jacob’s image engraved above and descend to gaze at him below; when jealousy threatens, “YHWH stood over him.”

R’ Yitzḥak reads “the land upon which you lie” as God folding all of Eretz Yisrael beneath him to ease its future conquest. These scenes present Jacob as axial: heaven/earth mirrored in his likeness, space/time re-sized around him.

Back at the ford, the “man” asks to be released at dawn because it is his turn to sing. Jacob replies with skepticism (pointedly asking him if he’s a thief or gambler) before the angel explains the liturgical cycle.

A baraita then elevates Israel’s song over the angels’: humans can invoke God’s name after 2 words (Deuteronomy 6:4), angels after 3 (Isaiah 6:3), and the angels’ praise waits for Israel’s. The hierarchy is temporal (how often each sings) and procedural (who cues whom).

Hosea 12:5 clarifies victory and supplication: “he strove with an angel and prevailed,” “he wept and pleaded.” The weeping is assigned to the angel via “Let me go, for dawn has risen.” Rabba reads “for you have striven with God and men” (Genesis 32:29) as a coded history lesson: two future “princes” emerge from Jacob—Exilarch in Babylonia and Nasi in Eretz Yisrael—and exile is hinted at as well.

Outline

Intro

The Passage - Jacob in Genesis 28-32: Talmudic Homiletics on the Biblical Stories of Jacob's Ladder and Jacob’s Struggle With an Angel (Chullin 91a-b)

1. Genesis 32:26 (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel) - interpretations of why Jacob’s right thigh was affected

   1. R’ Yehoshua b. Levi - The angel grappled Jacob like a hug reaching the right thigh; hence the right sciatic nerve is forbidden - Gen 32:26

   2. R’ Shmuel bar Naḥmani - The angel appeared as a non-Jew; Jacob kept him on his right for defense, so the right thigh was struck

   3. Rav Shmuel bar Aḥa citing Rava bar Ulla - The angel appeared as a Torah scholar; Jacob placed him on his right (proper etiquette), so the right thigh was struck

2. R’ Yehoshua b. Levi - “As he wrestled” alludes to dust ascending to the Throne (avak ↔ “dust”) - Gen 32:26; Nah 1:3

3. R’ Yehoshua b. Levi - ‘Gid ha-nasheh’ is named because it “left” (‘nasha’) its place - Jer 51:30

4. R’ Yosei b. R’ Ḥanina - “A word to Jacob…fell upon Israel” refers to ‘gid ha-nasheh’; its ban spread to all Israel - Isa 9:7

5. R’ Yosei b. R’ Ḥanina - “Slaughter and prepare” means: expose the slaughter-site and remove the ‘gid ha-nasheh’ before them (implies pre-Sinai observance) - Gen 43:16

6. R’ Elazar - “Jacob was left alone” to retrieve small pitchers - Gen 32:25

   1. Righteous value property since they avoid theft

7. One should not go out alone at night - biblical prooftexts

   1. R’ Yitzḥak - From Jacob’s injury: a Torah scholar should not go out alone at night - Gen 32:25

   2. R’ Abba bar Kahana - alternative prooftext - from Boaz staying overnight at the threshing floor - Ruth 3:2–3

   3. R’ Abbahu - alternative prooftext - from Abraham traveling by day (“rose early in the morning”) - Gen 22:3

   4. The Rabbis - alternative prooftext - Jacob sent Joseph by day—evidence not to travel alone at night - Gen 37:14

   5. Rav - alternative prooftext - “The sun rose for him” indicates Jacob waited until morning to leave - Gen 32:32

8. R’ Akiva’s query to Rabban Gamliel & R’ Yehoshua - did the sun shine “for him” alone? - Gen 32:32

   1. R’ Yitzḥak - The sun had set early for Jacob at Bet El and later rose early for him; includes contraction of the land when he returned to pray - Gen 28:10–11

Genesis 28:12 (Jacob's Ladder)

1. R’ Yitzḥak - Multiple stones under Jacob’s head miraculously became one - Gen 28:11, 18

2. Jacob’s Ladder was 8,000 parasangs wide

   1. ... and accommodated 4 angels abreast - Gen 28:12

   2. Jacob’s Ladder’s width computed via angel size (“Tarshish”) - Dan 10:6 (“Tarshish” = 2,000 parsangs wide)

3. The angels were ascending and gazing at the image of Jacob engraved on the Throne of Glory, and descending and gazing at his image below

4. R’ Shimon b. Lakish - God fanned and protected Jacob from angels - Gen 28:13

5. R’ Yitzḥak - “The land upon which you lie” means God folded all of Eretz Yisrael beneath Jacob to ease future conquest - Gen 28:13

Appendix - The Ban on Going Out Alone at Night

1. One should not go out alone at night on Tuesday nights or Friday nights, because the demon Agrat, daughter of Maḥalat and 180,000 angels of destruction go out at these times (Pesachim 112a-114a)

2. Going out alone at night as one of the 6/8 things that are disgraceful for a Torah scholar (Berakhot 43b)

3. Going out alone at night is one of the three signs of mental deficiency (‘shotah’) (Chagigah 3b)

Jacob’s Struggle With the Angel (Genesis 32)

1. Angel Asks to be Released since his time to sing praise to God has arrived - Genesis 32:27

2. Rav Ḥananel citing Rav - Three groups of angels say the daily “Kadosh”: two say “Holy,” one says “Holy is YHWH of hosts” - Isa 6:3

3. Baraita - Jews vs. Angels

   1. The Jewish people are more dear to God than the ministering angels, as they may recite a song of praise to God at any time

   2. ... as opposed to ministering angels, who recite a song of praise only one time per day / week / year / sabbatical cycle / jubilee cycle / ever

   3. Jews - mention the name of God after 2 words (Deuteronomy 6:4) vs. Angels - only after 3 words (Isaiah 6:3)

   4. the ministering angels do not recite their song above until the Jewish people recite their song below, on earth (Job 38:7)

4. Jacob wrestling with the angel (Hosea 12:5)

   1. ... Jacob became master over the angel (Genesis 32:29)

5. The angel cried to Jacob - Genesis 32:27

6. Rabba - “For you have striven…” hints that two leaders will arise from Jacob: Exilarch (Bavel) and Nasi (Eretz Yisrael); also hints at exile - Gen 32:29

Appendix - Summary and list of the talmudic homiletic interpretations of verses in Genesis in our sugya, in the order of the verses

1. Genesis 28:10-11 (Jacob's Journey to Haran)

2. Genesis 28:11, 18 (Stones Under Jacob's Head)

3. Genesis 28:12 (Jacob's Ladder)

4. Genesis 28:13 (God's Promise of the Land)

5. Genesis 32:25 (Jacob Left Alone)

6. Genesis 32:26 (Wrestling with the Angel)

7. Genesis 32:27 (Angel Asks to be Released)

8. Genesis 32:29 (Jacob Renamed Israel)

9. Genesis 32:32 (Sun Rose for Him)

10. Genesis 37:14 (Jacob Sends Joseph)

11. Genesis 43:16 (Joseph's Instructions)

12. Genesis 50:5 (Joseph's Burial Oath)

The Passage

Chullin.91a.14-92b.1

Genesis 32:26 (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel) - interpretations of why Jacob’s right thigh was affected

R’ Yehoshua b. Levi - The angel grappled Jacob like a hug reaching the right thigh; hence the right sciatic nerve is forbidden - Gen 32:26

וריב"ל אמר:

אמר קרא (בראשית לב, כו):

"בהאבקו עמו"

כאדם שחובק את חבירו

וידו מגעת לכף ימינו של חבירו.

And R' Yehoshua ben Levi said that

R' Yehuda holds that the sciatic nerve of the right thigh is forbidden because the verse states:

“And when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he touched the spoon of his thigh; and the spoon of Jacob’s thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him” (Genesis 32:26).

The angel grappled with Jacob like a man who hugs another in order to throw him to the ground,

and his hand reaches to the spoon of the right thigh of the other.

R’ Shmuel bar Naḥmani - The angel appeared as a non-Jew; Jacob kept him on his right for defense, so the right thigh was struck

רבי שמואל בר נחמני אמר:

כעובד כוכבים נדמה לו

דאמר מר:

ישראל שנטפל לו עובד כוכבים בדרך --

טופלו לימינו.

R' Shmuel bar Naḥmani says:

The angel appeared to him as a non-Jew,

as the Master said:

A Jew who is joined by a non-Jew on the road and continues his travels with him --

should position the non-Jew to his right, close to one’s dominant hand.

This allows the Jew to defend himself against any potential attack. Since Jacob followed this practice, it was therefore Jacob’s right thigh that the angel touched.

Rav Shmuel bar Aḥa citing Rava bar Ulla - The angel appeared as a Torah scholar; Jacob placed him on his right (proper etiquette), so the right thigh was struck

1. רב שמואל בר אחא,

2. קמיה דרב פפא

3. משמיה דרבא בר עולא

אמר:

כת"ח נדמה לו

דאמר מר:

המהלך לימין רבו --

הרי זה בור.

[...]

1. Rav Shmuel bar Aḥa

2. before Rav Pappa

3. in the name of Rava bar Ulla

said that

the angel appeared to Jacob as a Torah scholar, and therefore Jacob positioned the angel on his right side,

as the Master said:

One who walks to the right of his teacher --

is an ignoramus (בור), in that he does not know how to act with good manners.

Consequently, it was Jacob’s right thigh that the angel touched.

[...]

R’ Yehoshua b. Levi - “As he wrestled” (‘be-he’avko‘) alludes to dust ascending to the Throne (‘avak’ ↔ “dust”) - Gen 32:26; Nah 1:3

(See footnote.)¹

אמר ר' יהושע ב"ל:

מלמד ש

העלו אבק מרגלותם עד כסא הכבוד

• כתיב הכא:

  • "בהאבקו עמו"

• וכתיב התם (נחום א, ג):

  • "וענן אבק רגליו"

R' Yehoshua ben Levi said:

This teaches that

the dust [avak] from their feet ascended to the Throne of Glory.

• It is written here:

  • “As he wrestled [be-he’avko] with him,”

• and it is written there in a description of how God will punish the wicked:

  • “YHWH, in the whirlwind and in the storm is His way, and the clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3).

R’ Yehoshua b. Levi - ‘Gid ha-nasheh’ is named because it “left” (‘nasha’) its place - Jer 51:30

ואמר רבי יהושע בן לוי:

למה נקרא שמו גיד הנשה?

שנשה ממקומו ועלה

וכן הוא אומר (ירמיהו נא, ל):

"נשתה גבורתם

היו לנשים"

§ The Talmud cites another statement of R' Yehoshua ben Levi concerning the sciatic nerve: And R' Yehoshua ben Levi says:

Why is its name called sciatic nerve [gid ha-nashe]?

It is because the sciatic nerve left [nasha] its place and rose.

And similarly the verse says:

“The mighty men of Babylon have ceased to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might has left [nashata],

they are become as women” (Jeremiah 51:30).

R’ Yosei b. R’ Ḥanina - “A word to Jacob…fell upon Israel” refers to ‘gid ha-nasheh’; its ban spread to all Israel - Isa 9:7

אמר ר' יוסי ברבי חנינא:

מאי דכתיב (ישעיהו ט, ז):

"דבר שלח ביעקב

ונפל בישראל"

• "דבר שלח ביעקב" —

  • זה גיד הנשה

• "ונפל בישראל" —

  • שפשט איסורו בכל ישראל.

The Talmud continues with other expositions pertaining to the sciatic nerve.

R' Yosei, son of R' Ḥanina, said:

What is the meaning of that which is written:

“YHWH sent a word to Jacob,

and it has fallen upon Israel” (Isaiah 9:7)?

• “He sent a word to Jacob” —

  • this is a reference to the sciatic nerve.

• “And it has fallen upon Israel” —

  • this teaches that its prohibition has been extended² to the entire Jewish people.

R’ Yosei b. R’ Ḥanina - “Slaughter and prepare” means: expose the slaughter-site and remove the ‘gid ha-nasheh’ before them (implies pre-Sinai observance) - Gen 43:16

ואמר רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא:

מאי דכתיב (בראשית מג, טז):

"וטבוח טבח והכן"

פרע להן בית השחיטה

"והכן" --

טול גיד הנשה בפניהם

כמ"ד גיד הנשה נאסר לבני נח.

And R' Yosei, son of R' Ḥanina, also said:

What is the meaning of that which is written:

“And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house: Bring the men into the house, and slaughter the animals, and prepare the meat; for the men shall dine with me at noon” (Genesis 43:16)?

Joseph commanded his steward: Expose (פרע) the place of the slaughter³ on the neck of the animal to them so that the brothers will know that it is being slaughtered correctly.

“And prepare” —

teaches that Joseph instructed the steward to remove the sciatic nerve in their presence so that the brothers would know that it had been fully removed.

The Talmud comments that this opinion is according to the one who said that the sciatic nerve was forbidden to the children of Jacob even before the Torah was given, when they still had the status of descendants of Noah.⁴

R’ Elazar - “Jacob was left alone” to retrieve small pitchers - Gen 32:25

(בראשית לב, כה) "ויותר יעקב לבדו"

אמר רבי אלעזר:

שנשתייר על פכין קטנים

The Talmud returns to the verse of Jacob wrestling with the angel.

The verse states: “And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day” (Genesis 32:25).

R' Elazar says:

The reason Jacob remained alone was that he remained to collect some small pitchers (פכין) that had been left behind.

Righteous value property since they avoid theft

מכאן ל

צדיקים שחביב עליהם ממונם יותר מגופם

וכל כך למה?

לפי שאין פושטין ידיהן בגזל.

From here it is derived that

the possessions of the righteous are dearer to them than their bodies.

And why do they care so much about their possessions?

It is because they do not stretch out their hands to partake of stolen property.

1. The next two sections present two relevant linguistic explanations from R’ Yehoshua ben Levi:

• The verb in verse “wrestled” (‘he’avko’, see Hebrew Wiktionary, “נאבק“) is related to the noun “dust” (‘avak’ - אָבָק); their struggle kicks up dust that reaches God’s Throne (Nahum 1:3).

• The word ‘nasha’ in the technical term ‘Gid ha-nashe’ is explained to mean “left its place”; supported with Jeremiah’s “their might has left [nashata]” (Jeremiah 51:30). (See Hebrew Wiktionary, “נָשָׁה א“, sense #2.)

2. פשט - “spread”.

3. שחיטה - shechita.

4. בני נח - Noahides.

Compare Wikipedia, “Seven Laws of Noah“.