There’s a wrestling match between Yaakov and an angel, and then Yaakov demands a blessing. Here’s the conversation that follows:
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו מַה שְּׁמֶךָ וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב׃
וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא יַעֲקֹב יֵאָמֵר עוֹד שִׁמְךָ כִּי אִם יִשְׂרָאֵל
כִּי שָׂרִיתָ עִם אֱלֹקִים וְעִם אֲנָשִׁים וַתּוּכָל׃
וַיִּשְׁאַל יַעֲקֹב וַיֹּאמֶר הַגִּידָה נָּא שְׁמֶךָ
וַיֹּאמֶר לָמָּה זֶּה תִּשְׁאַל לִשְׁמִי
וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתוֹ שָׁם׃
The angel said to him, “What’s your name?” He replied, “Yaakov.”
The angel said, “Your name shall no longer be Yaakov, but Yisrael. Because you struggled (sarita) with God and with people, and you came out on top.
Yaakov asked, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why do you want to know my name?” And he blessed him there.
- What do you notice? What do you wonder about?
- What might it mean that Yaakov struggled with God and with people?
- What makes the name Yisrael special? Why is it a blessing to get this name? Why do you think the Jewish people are called Benei Yisrael, rather than Benei Yaakov?
- How do you understand the final pasuk? Why doesn’t the angel seem to give Yaakov a real answer? What’s wrong with Yaakov asking for the angel’s name?
- At the very end, who blesses whom? Do you think this is a summary of what just happened, or a description of something new?
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