Vayishlach and the Story of Two Wolves

[pohaikawahine]

last week's parsha Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4 - 36:43) has (in my mind) an interesting connection to a native american story that I love ....

the parsha is about the nighttime struggle between Jacob and a mysterious stranger - appears that many agree that the identity of the mysterious stranger is Esav (yetzer hara) or a struggle with our dark sides ...

here is a short but beautiful story I thought I would share about the same type of struggle

Story of Two Wolves

Old Grandather was proud and wise
The spirit of truth shined from his eyes
Come draw your hearts near
Old Grandfather's story to hear ....

Listen with your spirit's ear well
Keep this story in heart to dwell
A strong message for all hearts to see
This is the Two Wolves Story ....​

One day Grandfather saw a look of anger in his grandson's face, he knew he
was struggling with something. The Grandfather said "In each person's heart, deep within, are two wolves fighting to see who wins. One is bad and full of anger, hate, envy, sorrow, regret, false pride and ego. The other is good and filled with joy, peace, love, kindness and compassion." His grandson looked into his eyes and asked "how to you know which wolf wins?" The old Grandfather answered simple "the one I feed" ....

I was thinking this was a great parable for the wisdom of Torah study.... He Hawai'i Au, poh​

 

[wil]

Namaste Poh,

The one I feed. I love that story. But I am perplexed as to why it is thought Jacob was struggling with evil, I thought it was his base self struggling with G!d.

But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." 27 The man asked him, "What is your name?"
"Jacob," he answered.
28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, [d] because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."
29 Jacob said, "Please tell me your name."
But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, [e] saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."

I love contemplating that story. I see Jacob's consternation with seeing his brother and he sends all his worth on ahead of him, across the river, his material worth, and his families. And then he stays and fights. The touching of the hip, there is so much in there. But I thought he sent all his good, and all that was left was his questioning self, and this fought with G!d and learned from it, please expound on your understanding.

 

[pohaikawahine]

Namaste Poh,

The one I feed. I love that story. But I am perplexed as to why it is thought Jacob was struggling with evil, I thought it was his base self struggling with G!d. I love contemplating that story. I see Jacob's consternation with seeing his brother and he sends all his worth on ahead of him, across the river, his material worth, and his families. And then he stays and fights. The touching of the hip, there is so much in there. But I thought he sent all his good, and all that was left was his questioning self, and this fought with G!d and learned from it, please expound on your understanding.

aloha e wil - the reference to our "dark" side in my mind is not connected with the concept of evil - only light and dark and the constant struggle to find the balance, it would be the struggle with our base selves versus our spirituality .... I also love this story and one of my absolute favorite quotes is found in that place called Peniel where he meets g'd face to face .... I've shared thoughts on this before but allow me to share them again .... in the struggle within ourselves to move our energy from the base stage to the spiritual stage we must overcome various obstacles and then when the energy is finally moved upward into the center of the brain via the "pineal" gland we reach the place of visions and revelations or we "see g-d face to face" .... the pineal gland is the "third eye" the place of seeing and it requires the relaxation or letting go of base emotions (usually through meditation) .... this gland is also referred to as the epiphysis (from the word epiphany) ... the possible connection to the role of the pineal gland in the brain is from other areas that I study and not necessarily the view of those that are deeply steeped in the study of the Torah so I am a little hesitant to do much of my own interpretations .... the story of two wolves I have always thought so profound and this was the first time I found a possible connection to the parsha of the OT .... aloha nui, poh p.s. in the christian version I believe from Mathew 6:22 is "if your eye be single your body will fill with light" referring to the pineal gland and light referring to the presence of g-d or a vision or revelation ....

 

[flowperson]

aloha e poh...
This theme of the struggle between the light and the darkness is echoed in many places in cultures around the world. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain many references to the never ending war between the sons of light and the sons of darkness.

It is no accident that many Old Testament stories are about struggles between brothers for dominance/sumpremacy. Your story confirms that these mythical truths extend back before the times of the written word when such lessons were taught orally by older generations to the younger. Egyptian and Sumerian mythologies and Native American stories reflect this theme prominently.

Here's another version that popped up in the news recently and which I posted elsewhere on the forum. But it this case the attributes of the wolf conflict your story features are transmitted through mother's milk to human brothers, Romulus and Remus, who later fight for dominance in the myth of the founding of Rome.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/world/europe/21rome.html

Good to hear from you.

flow....

 

[wil]

Namaste poh,

Thank you for the explanation, yes we are on the same page, my bad for interpreting your words incorrectly.

There is sooooo much in every story. I was contemplating dance or synagogue tonight, and now I know I'm headed for the temple first (maybe dance later)

How about staying on one side of the river and the hip, not being ready to cross over, and G1d touched him where he is supported, it is a great story.

 

[pohaikawahine]

aloha e flow - yes I have a whole file just about "twins" and/or "brothers"- the Hopi have a prophecy that speaks of the twin warriors who guard the north and south poles and send vibrations to each other along the earth's axis and the importance of keeping all in balance ....

from the Chassidic Masters are the cosmic twins - they say that Esau and Jacob are the embodiment of the cosmic twinship of Tohu (chaos) and Tikkun (correction) and "esau is the raw,untamed energy of Tohu. He is a destructive force, because he lacks the discipline and control that would channel this energy in a useful, constructive way. But he is also a very powerful force -- far more powerful than the constricted and defined energies that animate Jacob's correct and orderly world. The challenger is to bring together the cosmic twins in a way that exploits the best of both worlds: to marry the immense energy of Tohu with the focus and control of Tikkun." I read this 2 years ago at Vayeishev - Parsha - Weekly Torah Portion .

I am not a Torah scholar by any means,but I do love studying all its aspects and every day there is a new discovery .... to study the Torah is to "feed" the spiritual nature and I have grown to understand its beauty .... I only wish I had started so many years ago .... aloha nui, poh