(from Netivot Shalom)
Yaakov and Yisrael & Eisav and Lavan
Even after his name is changed to Yisrael, Yaakov’s original name is retained, and he is called Yaakov and Yisrael throughout the Torah. As opposed to Avraham and Sarah, whose earlier names Avram and Sarai are dropped totally, Yaakov and Yisrael coexist, referring to two aspects of his personality.
The Netivot Shalom suggests that Yaakov/Yisrael’s two names relate to two different forces he combated in his life, Lavan and Eisav.
Lavan represents flaws of the mind – beliefs, approaches, and outlook. Lavan’s pronouncement, “The daughters are mine, the sons are mine, the sheep is mine, and everything you see here is mine,” is the classic arrogant, blasphemous denial. We say in the Hagaddah, “Lavan wanted to uproot everything,” because he wanted to strike out at the mind, the seat of the soul.
Eisav personifies impurity of the body – physical lusts and aggression. The Sages say (Bava Batra 16b) that on the day be became bar mitzvah Eisav both had relations with a betrothed woman and committed murder. Eisav relates to the realm of action, stirring up the animalistic side of man.
The name “Yaakov” counteracts Eisav. This is hinted at when the Torah says, “His hand held on to Eisav’s ankle,” meaning that Yaakov overcomes Eisav’s body. “Yisrael” counteracts Lavan, who wanted to destroy the mind and soul. The letters of the word Yisrael can be regrouped to say, “Li Rosh” (lamed yud reish aleph hei), meaning, “The head belongs to me.” In other words, Yisrael is in control of the head, not letting it get contaminated by the Lavan force.
The Torah strengthens us against both of these forces. The Torah protects against the evil inclination, Eisav’s force, as the Gemara says, “I created the Yeitzer Hara and I created the Torah to counteract it. (Kidushin 30b)” On the other hand, the Torah certainly purifies and illuminates the intellect and mind of the Jew.
These, in a much broader way, are two foci of Jewish life, holiness and belief. Holiness is the antithesis of Eisav and belief the antithesis of Lavan. They are also represented by the two Mashiachs, Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David. Mashiach ben Yosef will conquer the Eisav force, as Yosef stood above negative physical desire, and Mashiach ben David, connected with the quality of Malkhut (Royalty), will bring the final redemption, conquering the Lavan force.
There is a big difference between the struggle over holiness and that over belief. Perfecting holiness demands superhuman power, special Divine assistance, whereas belief is embedded in the Jewish being. The tradition teaches that Mashiach ben Yosef must sacrifice his life for the struggle, but that the final redemption will come through belief, that is a natural possession of the Jew. Yaakov, when his name was changed, was told, “You have struggled with the Divine and with man and triumphed.” Yaakov struggled both using his own powers against that which he could, and through Divine assistance against that which was beyond his ability.
In this pre-messianic period, the focus of our struggle is on holiness, counteracting the Eisav power. For this we require special Divine assistance. However, this special Divine assistance is available every Shabbat in the form of the Neshama Yeteira, the extra soul that we receive when Shabbat enters. The holiness of each Shabbat gives us the ability to rise in holiness, bringing the Mashiach one step closer.
[prepared by Eliezer Kwass]
