The plane ride was long… really long, the seats were cramped, and I was surrounded by students that I had yet to meet, yet none of that bothered me.  I was filled with excitement and eagerness.  I had waited 19 years to go home.  A home that for the first 19 years of my life I had never seen, I had only learned about, but that was all about to change.  I was going home, home to the land of my forefathers and mothers, to eretz yisrael.  In those 10 days I was filled with what 19 years of Jewish education had been void of, a first hand connection to the land.  An experience that was all mine.  Birthright provided me such an amazing experience that in the last 5 years I have been 3 times, and on Jan 4^th I will make in a 4^th.  After all it is our home.  Isn’t it?

 

This week we read from the book of Genesis, Parshas Vayishlach.  This is one of my favorite portions, but before we can zone in on the part of the portion that I like we need to know the big picture, so here goes with the Cliff Note © version…  On the trip back to Canaan, Jacob meets his brother Esau; Jacob wrestles with the angel.  Then they arrive in Shechem.  Shechem, the son of Chamor the Hivite, (heir to the town of Shechem) rapes Jacob's daughter, Dina.  Dina's brothers, Shimon and Levy, massacre the men of Shechem.  Rebecca (Rivka) dies.  God gives Jacob an additional name, "Israel," and reaffirms the blessing to Avraham that the land of Canaan (Israel) will be given to his descendants.  Rachel dies after giving birth to Benjamin (Binyomin).  Jacob's 12 sons are listed.  Isaac dies.  Esau's lineage is recorded as that of Seir the Horite; and lastly ... the succession of the Kings of Edom is chronicled.

 

Phew, ok so let’s zone in on the portion.

 

"And Yaakov was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day." (Bereishit 32:25)

 

"Late one night a nameless, enigmatic adversary meets a man named Yaakov; at least, Yaakov thought that was his name.

And he said to him, what is your name? And he said, Yaakov.  And he said, No longer will you be called Yaakov, but Yisrael; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

(Bereishit 32:28-29)

 

While the identity of this individual is withheld, apparently his statement is accurate, for later God reaffirms the message:

"And God appeared to Yaakov again, when he came from Padan-Aram, and blessed him.  And God said to him, your name is Yaakov; no longer shall you be called Yaakov, but Yisrael shall be your name; and he called his name Yisrael." (Bereishit 35:9-10)

 

So it seems pretty straightforward, Jacob’s got himself a new name, right?  Although other biblical figures also had name changes, after their new name was bestowed, the old name was never used again.  Avraham was born Avram, but after God changed his name, he never again reverted to the previous form of Avram.  However in the case of Yaakov/Yisrael, the name change doesn't seem to stick.  God Himself, in subsequent dialogue, addresses him as Yaakov rather than as Yisrael.  Since we know that there are no misprints in the Torah we must not understand this name change correctly/properly.

 

Avraham's name change came as he underwent his spiritual conversion to Judaism.  The new name was given at the juncture at which most Jewish males are given their name - when they are circumcised.  Because this new name was part of Avraham's conversion, the old name was abandoned.  Yaakov, unlike Avraham, was born "Jewish", was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth and given his name concurrently.  His new name must have a different purpose than compared to Avraham.

 

Many rabbis, including Rashi, have concluded that Yaakov's name was not changed, rather he received an additional name.  Suggestions abound, but a popular explanation sees the different names as expressing the distinction between Yaakov as an individual versus Yisrael as a national identity.  Thus, according to this view, God addresses "Yisrael" exclusively when, and only when, there are national issues at hand.

 

Just like Yaakov did, we too can associate with this name change.  As American Jews we have been blessed with an unparalleled opportunity to feel comfortable in a home away from the land we were given.  But we still feel a connection to Israel—to our national home—even though we do not live there.  Yisrael is our name too and just as Yaakov struggled with his new name, so to do we.  How do we maintain our ties and love to a land that we do not live in?  How do we stay connected to a land that many have never set foot on or seen with their own eyes?

 

My father and I recently attended the JCC book fair on Braeswood to hear Rabbi Daniel Gordis speak on his new book “Saving Israel, How the Jewish People can Win a War That May Never End.”  He spoke about what Israel means to the Jewish people.  Since Israel's miraculous conception over fifty years ago, Jews for the first time have been able to live and die by their own hands, something that was never before possible.  I fear my generation has taken this for granted.  Israel has been lost to the vast majority of my peers and our second name, our dual identity, has been cast aside.

 

Israel is home for all of us.  We cannot and will not survive as a people if we do not realize Israel’s importance to Judaism.  If you have not been to Israel, I sincerely urge you to go.  If you haven’t been in the last few years, I sincerely urge you to go back.  There’s something inexplicably special about the land.  You feel it the moment you step off the plane and it energizes your soul for a lifetime.

 

Just because we have 2 names does not mean we’re two different people.  My name is Stephen Alexander Simon and after 8 days I was circumcised and given a second name, my Hebrew name, Simcha Asher ben David.  I am an American Jew, but I have two names, two homes, and one God.  May we never see a day again where a Jew does not live and die by their own hands.

 

Baruch Hashem! Shabbat Shalom.