Chazal state that this “man” was really the angel of Eisav posing as a “man.” On the surface, the story is quite straightforward; the angel waits until Yaakov is alone and then attacks him. However, there are greater ramifications in this struggle between Yaakov and Eisav’s angel. The Talmud relates the word “ecthu” (and he wrestled) to the word “ect” (dust). Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi said, “This teaches that the dust of their feet rose up to Hashem’s throne.” We see from this that their struggle had enormous implications that went beyond the physical aspect. This was a struggle…
