10 January, 2025 08:15

Jacob / Israel

The Torah frequent switches back and forth within lines, within paskukim, within the "aliya" set up the names of Israel/ Jacob

I developed a theory, surely based on sources [which I do not have readily at hand] that each switch and use-case is significant.

My bottom-line idea/ theory is that the Torah uses Jacob when it was [is] talking about the personal person and his specific life and times and situations, and self-reflections when [Jacob / Israel] talks to God on his own behalf [self interests, worries, hopes and prayers]. Jacob is also his specific birth name, and does reflect him in direct [literal] relation to his brother Esev. At birth, or just before, midrash says he grabbed at Esev’s heal to leave their birth mother first.

Deep dive midrasha and authentic torah commentators state that Jacob was actually conceived first [in terms of the sperm / egg]

Since the two brothers are NOT indentical one can / could conclude they were fraternal twins , in other words two separate eggs in the womb, and not a split of 1 egg [which is what identical twins are]. So therefore Jacob could in fact have been conceived *first* , how Hazal, the sages would know this?? Where they there when Issac and Rebecca had sex that conceived these two?? Find out!!!

Back to Jacob / Israel.

Jacob in addition to his grabbing at the heal of Esev, … Esev uses the birth name, situation as an insult and says about Jabob that he is tricky. We say "fleet of foot" or "shifty" to describe a person who utilizes speech, quick thinking, cunning.. all by the way attributed to the Jewish people as a negative, but we’ve needed it to survive in exile. Therefore, Jacob is also on a grand scale our matzav in Exile in our dealings with the world.

Israel is the father of the 12 Tribes, [plus Efraim / Manasha]

Israel is the "eternal" real world struggle with El [ one of Gods names], and how this impacts each one of us daily, nationally. It is also the name we as an Am gave the land.

[ it was throughout all of tenach called Canaan].

Then the Romans named it after one of our long-term historic enemies [Palestina] and that stuck around for about 2000 years.

Even used for and by the early 1st / 2nd aliyah groups in the coins issued, newspapers, sports teams etc. The modern State named Israel was used officially after 1946-1947.

However whenever an Israeli [jew] is in exile, even while traveling, he or she is then "jew" and treated accordingly depending on a wide range of possibilities.

***** a side note to the above is that if a man converts he receives Ben Abraham ; a woman Bat Sarah

And NOT ben Israel ; Bat Rebecca

One has to think about this.

, so, back to the parsha.

The Parsha switches back and forth between Israel / Jacob and it is important to pay attention to these switches.

When Joseph brings his sons the Torah section flips back and forth quite frequently.

However when the Torah speaks about Future prophetic situations / realities, it uses the name Israel.

I bless each man to connect to their inner Israel and Jacob…… each woman, I suppose to any of the emma-hot, Mothers.

Some connect Sarah [converts directly], others to Rivka, eternally depicted as crying for Am Israel, and Rebecca? What about her? What is the eternal way for women to connect to her? Tephila?? Perhaps, but some women have the Prayers of Hannah [she lived post 5 books].