VaYishlach: What Is Your Name?
Every Torah portion is a gift. Sometimes it’s a harsh gift, demanding more from us than we might feel ready to give. Yet, in its challenge, every portion holds a blessing. Parshat VaYishlach is one of those moments of profound transformation — a story in which our ancestor Jacob becomes Israel, and through him, we too begin to take shape as a people.
In this portion, Jacob is afraid. His estranged brother Esau is approaching with 400 men (Gen. 32:7) — a number that suggests a fighting force. Jacob’s heart is filled with terror. He divides his camp, saying, “If Esau attacks one camp, the other may escape. (Gen. 32:9)” What a horrifying calculation. What a window into Jacob’s fear.
But then, the text shifts. Jacob is left alone. And he wrestles — until dawn — with a figure whose identity remains ambiguous (Gen. 32:25). Is it an angel? Esau’s guardian angel? God? Or is Jacob wrestling with himself? Rabbinic tradition offers multiple interpretations, but I find the possibility that Jacob is wrestling with himself deeply compelling. After all, there is nothing quite as transformative as confronting your own reflection, your own fears, and your own agency in shaping the life you inhabit.
The wrestling leaves Jacob changed — his hip is wrenched, and he is given a new name, Israel. The angel (or God, or Jacob himself) declares, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with humans and have prevailed. (Gen. 32:26–29)” Yet even (and immediately, see v. 30) after this moment of transformation, Jacob is still referred to by his old name at times. Why? Because even as we grow, the past remains within us. Who we once were doesn’t vanish; it becomes part of who we are becoming.
This resonates deeply today. In the aftermath of October 7th, as we wrestle with a world forever changed, we are shaped by our experiences — scarred, strengthened, and forever carrying those moments within us. Who we are today is different from who we were before that day. And yet, our former selves remain within us.
Jacob’s wrestling teaches us something profound about transformation. The question, “What is your name?” is more than a request for information. It is an invitation to introspection. What is the name I carry now? What is the name I might yet earn? Rabbi Neil Loevinger writes:
The right question at the right time from the right person can change a person’s life, enabling them to see and understand themselves in an entirely new light. (Loevinger, “Why the Angel Asks Jacob His Name,” myjewishlearning.com)
God’s questions are not for God’s sake — they are for ours. To ask, “Who am I?” is to begin the journey toward who we can become.
What is your name? Who are you? What parts of your past remain within you, and how might they help you grow? In a world where we wrestle with uncertainty, fear, and hope, these questions are gifts — inviting us to embrace transformation, to carry our past with purpose, and to move toward the future with strength and awareness.
May we, like Jacob, find the courage to wrestle. May we, like Israel, emerge transformed.