Page 512 - BERESHIT

16

Destructive angels attack those who sin, not those who learn Torah. Why
did the Angel start up with Yaakov? Also, why did he harm Yaakov’s gid
hanasheh rather than any other limb or organ?

Yaakov lacked complete observance of all the mitzvot, as he did not have
yet the mitzvah of not eating the gid hanasheh. The word has the same
numerical value as the word . This indicates that one who keeps this
mitzvah benefits from his observance. This is why Hashem sent the Angel
to wrestle with Yaakov. He wanted Yaakov to acquire this last mitzvah
and receive full reward.

The word (displaced) has the same letters as , without the letter

. The letter represents the forty days in which Am Yisrael received the

Torah. This is why the Angel harmed Yaakov’s gid hanasheh. By