Rabbi's Message

I am writing this from Israel, where I am attending a Rabbinical Assembly conference. Coincidentally, the name “Israel” appears for the first time in this week’s Torah portion. You will surely remember the story.
Jacob is returning to Canaan 20 years after fleeing from his brother Esau. Afraid that the encounter may be violent, he divides his family and flocks into three groups so that at least some might escape if the others are attacked. Then the Torah says: “Jacob was left alone. And a figure wrestled with him until the break of dawn.” Commentaries wonder who wrestled with Jacob. Midrash says it was Esau’s general who was sent to assess Jacob’s strength and resolve.

Psychologically oriented commentators pick up on the fact that the text says, “Jacob was left alone,” which suggests that the conflict may have been internal. Perhaps he was wrestling with his own sense of self, what type of person he wanted to be, and what values he wanted to live by. But Torah seems to say it was a divine being who announced the change of name: “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human, and have prevailed.”

Jacob becomes the father of the twelve tribes, and they and all of their descendants become known as B’nai Yisrael (the children of Israel). Later, they will be called Am Yisrael (the people Israel) and their homeland Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel). Then, after 2000 years of exile, we have the modern state called Israel.

It seems that the name carries a destiny—to struggle against external enemies and to face internal challenges to our sense of identity, our values, and our relationship with God. This is day 433 in Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists. Despite a “ceasefire,” Hezbollah continues to try to rearm and reposition on Israel’s northern border. On the day we began our Rabbinical Assembly conference, seven IDF soldiers were killed in combat on these two fronts. The nation mourns but struggles on. Now, there is growing concern on the border with Syria. There are internal struggles as well— about how to best bring the hostages home and how to preserve Israel as a democracy and a Jewish state. As part of Am Yisrael, the people of Israel, we American Jews grapple with rising antisemitism, struggle to preserve our identity and strive to maintain our support of Israel.

And that’s why 250 Conservative and Masorti rabbis from around the world are here in Jerusalem. To assert our shared destiny as Am Yisrael. To stand in support of Israel and to speak up for the values that come from Torah—justice, compassion, kindness, the value of life itself—values that connect us to each other and to God. Israel, the people, and the nation have been engaged in this struggle for thousands of years. And like our first ancestor to bear the name Israel, we, too, will prevail. That, too, is part of our destiny.