NOTES for Быт 32:23-32
One often hears people say, “I ask nothing of God for myself; sometimes I ask for my family, but I somehow feel awkward asking for myself.” This awkwardness arises because there is no need for God, who, like any free person, will most likely offer a path quite different from the one desired. I ask for nothing, owe nothing, and live here as I please, while He can manage somehow on His own over there. But can a person do anything at all without God? From what can he protect himself? Can he withstand the evil that he sees in abundance around himself and those he loves? Can one remain this way, knowing that God is a Person who loves everyone individually and personally? Jacob’s fervor, his persistence, his audacity—this is an example of how a person should act when asking God for a blessing. It is the persistence of one who knows where the source of life is. It is the fervor of one who knows that otherwise he cannot survive.