what verse in Torah would you name us after?

This week has been a struggle. 

I have been burning the candle at both ends, oscillating between teaching Torah and supporting organizing efforts to delay and defeat the building of a new basketball arena in Philadelphia’s historic Chinatown (Deep gratitude to all the Councilmebers who bravely voted no, including our own KT member Rue Landau and our district Council Member Jamie Gauthier!). Needless to say, the week has worn me out. 

Struggle is also the theme of this week’s parsha, Vayishlach. It includes the iconic story of Jacob wrestling with a being all through the night, only to emerge blessed and battered. It is from this encounter that Jacob is renamed Yisrael, meaning “one who has struggled with God and with men and has overcome.” And as a result of this encounter, the Jewish people acquired its name, B’nei Yisrael, the descendents of Israel. 

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, of blessed memory, notes, “It is, by any standards, a strange, unconventional, thought-provoking name. Jacob is not, at first glance, the most obvious figure in Tanakh to represent and epitomize the Jewish people.” Why not Abraham, Isaac, Moses or even King David? Why not any of the women who labored to birth our ancestors or the midwives who defied Pharaohs decrees?

Rabbi Sacks goes on to note, “Nor is the phrase “one who has struggled with God and with men and has overcome” the most natural characterization of Jewish identity.” Which is where I disagree with Rabbi Sacks, of blessed memory. The fact that the root of our collective identity is a late night tussle both describes and prescribes a very healthy approach to religion.

It could be a fun exercise: What verse in Torah would you name us after?

And yet an unnecessary exercise, because we are in fact named for the seminal verse in this week’s parsha. We are named for Jacob’s struggle, his fearful fit, his solo camping trip by the river Yabbok. We are named for a moment of anticipation, as Jacob prepares to reunite with Esau; A moment that leads to ancestral healing between these two brothers. While it's not a particularly glorious story, it is quite relatable. 

Yesterday morning Rabbi Mó pointed out in our Parsha and Poetry class that all of the names that we are collectively called are drawn from the stories of Jacob. We are Yehudim, B’nei Yisrael and Ivrim. We are born of gratitude, struggle and boundary crossings.

In her poem, Crossing a Creek, Martha Courtot writes:

“some people think crossing a creek
is easy,
but I say this--

all crossings are hard,
…
and we must practice believing
we will come through.”

Struggles are so powerful because they require relationships. They inspire us to reimagine the way we see ourselves. To connect to our own power and commitments. They are intimate and visceral, often touching us at our core. The blessings that grow from Jacob’s struggle are courage, healing and reconnection. 

Sitting in City Council, with the powerful “No Arena in the Heart of our City” coalition I reconnected to a sense of possibility that had been missing in my own heart. It was invigorating. For which I am so grateful. 

In a week that has been full of struggle – personal, political and otherwise – remember the courage of Jacob and take a moment to draw forth a blessing. I know I could use one.