HaRav Dov Begon is Head of Yeshivat Machon Meir in Jerusalem.
Jacob and Israel, the two names of our beloved Nation, hint to two aspects of our being:
Jacob is the aspect of the heel (ekev), the lower part of the human body.
Israel stems from the letters “rosh li” (“a head to me”), the aspect of the head and the beginning, the higher part in a person, as our Sages said: “There is no ‘beginning’ except Israel.”
After the struggle of the angel of Esau with Jacob, the angel of Esau calls Jacob “Israel,” as it is written:
“And he said: Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed” (Bereishit 32:29).
As Rashi explains: “With men - Esau and Lavan - and you prevailed over them; they could not overcome him.”
The aspect of “Israel” is revealed when our enemies are unable to overpower us and Israel is victorious.
And indeed, the Holy One, blessed be He, calls Jacob “Israel”:
“And God said to him: Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name. And He called his name Israel” (ibid. 35:10), as Rashi explains: “Israel - a term of a prince and leader.”
Up until now, for thousands of years, the People of Israel have existed amidst struggles, just as Jacob struggled with Esau and Lavan. Throughout all these struggles, the People of Israel survived, and their enemies could not overcome them - nor will they ever be able to overcome them.
However, so long as we were in exile, we were in the aspect of Jacob, at the lowest level. Our triumphs were triumphs of survival, not complete victory.
But finally, with the help of Heaven, we merit to see, eye to eye, the revival of Israel. We are ascending from the level of heel to the level of head, and it is no coincidence that our state is called the State of Israel. In us are fulfilled the words of our Sages:
“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name - not that the name Jacob will be uprooted from its place, but rather that Israel is primary and Jacob secondary to it” (Berachot 12b).
And the more we ascend along the path, the more we will recognize the uniquely Israeli identity that belongs to us as a treasured people, a holy nation, and a kingdom of priests, and we will recognize the mission of the People of Israel, which is to crown the Lord, may He be blessed, over the world, and to shine and bestow goodness upon all humanity.
From this, all the inhabitants of the world will recognize and know that the Lord, the God of Israel, is King, and His kingship rules over all. Amen.
In anticipation of the complete Redemption.