Chulin 91 — “Friend or Foe: The Angel Who Could Have Been a Sage”

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the circumstances under which Yaakov first encountered the angel, therefore explaining why the Gid Hanashe is prohibited on the right side (according to the opinion that it is only one side):

“Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says: The angel appeared to him as a gentile, as the Master said: A Jew who is joined by a gentile on the road and continues his travels with him should position the gentile 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 said before Rav Pappa in the name of Rava bar Ulla 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, in that he does not know how to act with good manners. Consequently, it was Jacob’s right thigh that the angel touched.”

Chasam Sofer on our Gemara comments that Yaakov alternately saw a gentile and a Torah sage because of Esav’s dual nature. The good Esav, who honored his father, manifested in one way, and the evil Esav manifested in another.

Yaakov won the battle, but why was he injured? It was the moral confusion. He couldn’t tell if this entity........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)