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Yisrael - Wrestling with God and Man (Parshat Vayishlach)

16/12/2024 09:07:39 AM

Dec16

I am always touched by the origins of names. My Hebrew name is Avraham. The name goes back to our people's founding patriarch. It means the father of many nations. In my case, I am named for Avraham, my maternal great grandfather.

If you asked a random Jew on the street about the origin of the name Yisrael, Israel, I would guess that most would associate it with the name of our people, Am Yisrael, or with the name of our land, Eretz Yisrael, or with the name of our statehood, Medinat Yisrael. They would all be wrong.

The origin appears in today's Parsha. After having been surrounded by family, Jacob finds himself alone. Suddenly he wrestles with a mysterious being. We are not sure who this is - an angel of God, an arch-angel of Esau, an internal subconscious struggle with his inner demons - not clear! At the end of the struggle, whether named by an external being or a force from within, Jacob is surnamed Yisrael, one who wrestled with and prevailed with God and Man. The heel sneak nature of Jacob who took advantage of Esau is gone. Jacob can now be reunited with his brother after twenty years. Jacob is now primed to be the father not only of a large family, seventy in total, but of a peoplehood that will span four thousand years of history. However, for all this to happen, Jacob has to authentically wrestle with his identity and purpose.

What about us? Do any of us really take the existential moment to truly struggle with our ultimate purpose? What does our Judaism mean to us? Which aspects give us meaning? Which do not? Which are causes of personal struggle? What is our ultimate purpose within our family? Our occupation? within society at large? Active wrestling can be risky, making us vulnerable, but which can make a lasting positive impact.

I am reminded of Rabbi Steven Greenberg, the first Orthodox ordained rabbi to come out of the closet and admit his homosexuality in the late 1990's. For years, he was ridiculed. Young observant Jews who followed his leadership were equally scorned. Yet over twenty years later, he is admired for his daring authenticity. His famous book, similar to the theme of this week's Parsha is entitled, "Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition." Years later, rabbis, scholars, and everyday people have praised his writings and expanded upon them, ranging from the ranks of liberal Orthodoxy, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist Judaism. Excerpts in his book inspired halakhic positions taken by the Conservative Movement in 2007 and 2012, many years after Greenberg's book first came out, and which informed my decision making for our shul which I explained over a year ago. 

My sermon today, however, is not to focus solely on issues concerning sexuality. I refer to Rabbi Greenberg as one who has authentically wrestled with God and his own inner being. That aspect is comparable to Jacob becoming Yisrael in today's Parsha.

So, what is your struggle? What is your personal unscripted wrestling match? And what are you going to do about it?

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Howard Morrison

Mon, 16 December 2024 15 Kislev 5785