A NIGHT VISION
Jacob has learned that his son Joseph is alive and well. In fact, Joseph is thriving as the Viceroy of Egypt. Jacob experiences a revival of his spirit and expresses his strong desire to see Joseph again before he dies. Jacob, to whom the Torah refers by his newly acquired name, Israel, begins his journey to Egypt. When he reaches Beer-Sheba, Israel offers a sacrifice to the G-d of his father, Isaac.
At that point, G-d speaks to Israel but addresses him as Jacob:
G-d spoke to Israel in night visions and He said:
“Jacob, Jacob.”
And he said, “Here I am.”
And he said, “I am the G-d—G-d of your father, have no fear in descending to Egypt, for I shall establish you as a great nation there. I shall descend with you to Egypt, and I shall also surely bring you up…”
ALTERNATING NAMES
In the verse preceding his departure for Egypt the Torah calls him by his original name, Jacob. No sooner does he begin the journey than the Torah refers to him as Israel. However, when G-d addresses him directly He refers to him as Jacob. After G-d appears and reassures him, the Torah reverts to using his original name Jacob, even while referring to his children as the children of Israel.
And here two questions arise:
Why does the Torah alternate from Jacob to Israel? And why does G-d specifically address our Patriarch as Jacob?
Furthermore, Rashi explains that G-d’s doubled reference to “Jacob” is an expression of His affection. There is an irony here. In the very verse in which G-d goes out of His way to express love and affection for our Patriarch, He addresses him as Jacob, a name which contains the word heel and connotes his lowly status, rather than the name Israel which contains the word rosh-head and connotes mastery over G-d’s angels and people.
The question thus is: why, when trying to show affection, does G-d switch from calling him Israel to Jacob? Wouldn’t it have expressed greater affection to address him by the superior and more pre-eminent name, Israel?
NAME REPETITION
Another question:
Why does G-d repeat Jacob’s name specifically at this point and in this place? We see G-d address Abraham by double name only after he passes the test of the Akeida, the binding of Isaac. Before passing that test, G-d only addresses Abraham by mentioning his name once. The reason is self-evident. When Abraham demonstrates unflinching fidelity to G-d’s will, G-d responds with a show of affection. Why then does G-d repeat Jacob’s name to indicate love and affection precisely at this moment? Jacob has not done anything unusual yet. He is simply traveling to Egypt to see his son. Why does that warrant G-d’s affection and endearment?
And a fourth question:
From G-d’s words of reassurance—“have no fear of descending to Egypt…”—it is clear that Jacob was anxious about going there. Why then did this vision of G-d’s reassurance take place in Beer-Sheba, after he had already embarked on his journey and not at the outset?
A fifth question:
When Jacob reaches Beer-Sheba he brings an offering to “the G-d of his father Isaac.” Why is Isaac highlighted in his offering? Was G-d not also his own personal G-d? And, if he wanted to include his father, why not add his grandfather and state “the G-d of Abraham” as well?
THE NEXUS
Jacob’s trip to see Joseph is much more than a personal journey by a grief-stricken father to see a beloved son before he passes. As poignant and powerful a story as this is – and it is – a story that can move and melt the hearts of even the coldest of individuals, Jacob’s journey was infinitely more. Jacob was at the nexus between the Land of Israel and the Diaspora. His successful transition would eventually empower us to reconnect back from the Diaspora to the Land of Israel.
To be sure, when Jacob left his home to go to Egypt, his intention was simply to see his son. The unification of father and son is a positive and holy endeavor in its own right. It would be a time of healing wounds and restoring family unity and functionality.
However, as he approached the southern border of Israel and was on the verge of entering into the Diaspora stage of his life, Jacob was overcome with a sense of foreboding. He realized that his trip was of epic proportion. This journey was going to connect him with the future and the future with him. This journey was the linchpin between the Land of Israel—the epitome of Holiness – to the Land of Egypt, the nadir of depravity. Realization of the daunting nature of his journey hit him precisely when he was at the border, alternating between the holiness characteristic of Israel and the impurity and depravity of Egypt.
HAVDALA
We experience this transition ourselves every week. When Shabbos ends we recite Havdala to acknowledge the separation between Shabbos and weekdays. In truth, it goes far beyond a temporal separation. The goal of Havdala is to provide us with a way station, a moment of repose during the transition from Shabbos into the weekdays. Those precious moments connect Shabbos to the weekdays. It can be daunting, or exhilarating, or even both, to experience this point of balance between the disparate energies.
It is for this reason that many people have the custom of reciting a hymn after Havdala with the refrain “Do not fear, my servant Jacob.” This echoes G-d’s comforting words to Jacob in our parsha this week except that the hymn’s Jacob refers to the weekday life of the Jew.
This explains why the Torah alternates between the names Jacob and Israel; these two names express the two foregoing states of mind, of Israel and the Diaspora.
JACOB’S ANXIETY
Jacob, upon realizing the enormity of the moment and the daunting prospects of this trip, offers a sacrifice specifically to the G-d of his father Isaac. Unlike Abraham and Jacob, Isaac was never allowed to leave the Land of Israel. He was designated as a sacrifice and could never be allowed to leave the Land’s holy domain. Jacob, thus, appealed to G-d in Isaac’s name as one who is vested in the Land of Israel, where there is no compromising of its integrity, and no adulteration of its sanctity.
Making an offering to the G-d of Isaac was Jacob’s way of entreating Him to allow him to not lose the sanctity of Israel when he crosses the border into the land of depravity.
G-d senses Jacob’s conflict, distress and anxiety, and so addresses him by repeating his name in a sign of affection.
The question remains, however, what did Jacob/Israel do to deserve the unusual outpouring of G-dly affection?
The answer is that Jacob wanted nothing less than the preservation of the holiest, which was more than enough to make him deserve G-d’s approval and love.
Moreover, the repetition of Jacob’s name signaled more than just affection; it was a form of empowerment. A double expression, the Midrash teaches us, is a sign of Redemption. It conveys a message that G-d is giving us a double measure of power to enable us to break through all the boundaries that keep us confined.
We can now also understand why He refers to him by the name Jacob. G-d shows him that His love will not diminish even when Jacob has entered the Diaspora; Jacob is his name in Galus, which he is about to enter. On the contrary, G-d’s love, protection and empowerment will increase precisely because he is a “Jacob,” in exile.
CRISIS MODE
We can now also understand why, when Jacob begins his journey, he is called Israel. At the outset, Jacob did not recognize his journey as a transition between the holy and the profane. To him, it was a joyful reunion of father and son and the unification of his family, with all that it entailed. His mindset was an “Israel” one. He was not troubled by the prospect of entering Egypt because it was not the right time for him to meet that challenge. A spiritual person deals with each challenge at the appropriate time. He or she does not go into crisis mode until it becomes necessary.
However, once he was about to cross the border he had to deal with this new challenge.
DON’T FEAR THE RETURN TRIP
We also live in a period of profound transition. Only it is the reverse of Jacob’s transition, moving us from Galus to Redemption. But despite the difference in direction between these two transitions, they are both periods of great anxiety. And just as G-d gave Jacob the physical and spiritual strength to make his transition into Galus, so too does He give us the strength to make the transition back home. G-d expressly told Jacob: “I shall descend with you to Egypt, and I shall also surely bring you up.” G-d has the same uplifting message for us.
Just as we get the power to make the successful move from Shabbos to the weekdays from our practices at the conclusion of Shabbos-Motzaei Shabbos, so too does our experience of that time strengthen and prepare us to make the final move from exile into the state of Redemption. This includes reciting Havdala and partaking of the Saturday night repast known as the Melaveh Malka-escorting the Shabbos queen. It is also known as the “feast of King David, the King Moshiach” because of its relationship with the days of Moshiach. May those days be truly imminent!