Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

The origin of the term Israel-Yisrael is found in this week's Torah portion of Vayishlach. In it, Jacob wrestles and struggles, but with whom? An angel of God? A representation of Esau? His own inner self? Commentaries abound. By the end of the encounter, Jacob's name is changed to Israel-Yisrael, meaning, one who has struggled and wrestled with God and has prevailed with God.

Most people I know do believe in God. At the same time, most people I know wrestle and struggle with their belief in God. In my opinion, it is the honest struggle which enables one to prevail in a relationship with God. When we attend a prayer service, we may recite prayers with an exclamation point, a period, or even a question mark. All of these mean that deep down the person at hand believes in God. The only unacceptable position in Judaism is to deny God, a phenomenon which would keep people away from praying in any format.

Many times and especially after losing loved ones, don't we all struggle with our faith and wrestle with our own purpose? We are in good company. The origins of struggling, wrestling, and prevailing with God take us back 4000 years to our Patriarch, Jacob.

While Israel-Yisrael is associated with the name of a People, a Land, a State, and a Tradition, let us remember that the name Israel began with a person and the nature of his faith and purpose. We can all identify with the name of Israel-Yisrael.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Howard Morrison