Have you ever been at home on your own or walked home alone at night? Have you ever been the only person in the classroom at lunch break? Have you ever been left alone at the dinner table (to do the cleaning up, when everyone else has conveniently found something "more important" to do)? How did it make you feel? Lonely? A bit afraid? A little sad? Feeling "on your own"?

Let's go a little deeper into this feeling of being "on your own". Why do we feel afraid? Try to answer. One answer might be because there is no one to help us to do what we need to do. There is no one to stand by our side and do the job alongside us. It certainly would feel more comforting if we had someone with whom to do the task!

Imagine Yaacov Avinu all alone on the night before confronting his brother Esav, who was coming to meet him with an army of 400 men. The Torah says:

"Vayevater Yaacov levado" - "...and Yaacov remained alone..."

And then he fought with the angel of Esav, all night long. How did he do it? How did he defeat such a strong enemy? Again, try an answer.

One answer is that he was alone - but realised that he alone was chosen by Hashem to meet this challenge. He realised that he had the ability, the strength, and the desire to defend himself and to win. All he needed was to believe in himself and his own abilities. He came from the family of Avraham and Yitzchak, who taught him about Hashem and His Torah. He knew where he came from, as he said: "Im Lavan garti" - I have lived with Lavan. And Rashi says: "...V'es Taryag Mitzvos shamarti" - and the 613 Commandments I kept (even alone in Lavan's house). He could keep the Torah even while on his own because he came from great people and believed in the destiny of the Jewish people, so he wasn't really alone.

He was alone on that night - but he was part of the chain of Jewish history. And so he allowed himself to feel confident in his own abilities, because he had a tradition of Torah to back him up and to give him chizuk - "strength".

So the next time that you are alone, remember that your parents and grandparents have taught you well, and have given you the training and abilities to accomplish the task at hand. Although it may seem very hard and sometimes scary on your own, you are never really alone. You have the personal resources and inner strength to succeed at your task. You have a strong Jewish background to stand on - and you have the personal abilities to draw upon to succeed. So remember, when you're alone - you're not alone. You are part of a chain of Torah tradition, and you are allowed to believe in yourself. Hashem will give you the strength to keep your link in the chain strong! Chazak v'ematz!