The first rule in English spelling I learned in school was that there is no proper or improper way of spelling your own name. It is yours to do with it as you please. In fact, you can even change your name as you please and if you follow the legal process, even the government will recognize it. Your Jewish name can also be changed, although spelling it in Jewish legal documents is a matter of halachic doctrine.
In this week’s parsha we learn how G-d blessed our patriarch Yaakov when he returned to the Land of Israel and changed his name saying “Your name shall no longer be called Yaakov, but Yisrael shall be your name." You’d imagine that once G-d declared a name change it would stick, but intriguingly enough even the Torah continues using both names interchangeably and seemingly arbitrarily. G-d was not adding a name, and I have never seen the combination Yaakov-Yisrael or Yisrael-Yaakov referencing our third patriarch. He is either called Yaakov or Yisrael respectively and we must understand why.
The name Yaakov was given to commemorate the fact that he held on to his twin brother Eisav’s heel (Eikev in Hebrew) as he was born second. The word Yaakov is also etymologically linked to the word deception, as he was destined to outsmart his enemies Eisav and Lavan with deceptive methods. The name Yisrael on the other hand means to prevail and command over all adversaries.
As the father of the twelve tribes and the namesake of our people, his duplicate names represent the journey of every Jew in all places and at all times.
Yaakov represents the struggle to overcome internal and external adversity. Persecution from vicious enemies in the gulags and concentration camps or the debilitating challenges of religious laziness and apathy. Overcoming these problems demands cunning ingenuity, creative strategy, and nerves of steel. Yisrael represents the part of Jew that remains untainted by the spiritual perils of reality; the divine clarity of Jewish identity that can never be compromised, altered, or silenced.
Both names remained relevant and interchangeable because the story of Judaism is a constant balance of both experiences.
This Tuesday we celebrate the 19th of Kislev. In 1798, the Alter Rebbe, founder of the Chabad movement was arrested in Czarist Russia on false charges of treason and miraculously released 53 days later, a few days before Chanukah. The number 53 is significant since his foundational Chassidic work called Tanya contains 53 chapters that forever changed the way Jews understand these two realities of Yaakov and Yisrael as they play out in real life.
Although it was published over 200 years ago, Tanya remains the most enlightening and relevant handbook for soulfully navigating Jewish life and I encourage you to discover its treasures.
Learn more about Tanya here: chabadelpaso.com/tanya