Clarifying Yisrael

26 Iyyar 5786
41 Days of the Omer 

Just to be sure this subject is completely understood, let me summarize.

A "Ya'akov" is stuck at a lower level of being...

• Being dependent on Eisav.
• Being grateful to Eisav.
• Being subservient to Eisav.
• Being, in some ways, responsible for Eisav.

Here are a couple of valuable examples to remember when assessing the Ya'aqov/Eisav dynamic.

Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Avodah Zarah 2b

The text describes the End of Days when God holds a final judgment for all the nations of the world. God holds up a Torah scroll and invites anyone who engaged with it to step forward and receive their reward. The empires of the world present their arguments sequentially:

1. The Roman Empire

As the most prominent global power, the Roman Empire enters first.

The Claim: They argue that they established marketplaces, built bathhouses, and amassed vast amounts of silver and gold solely to create an infrastructure where the Jewish people would be free to sit and study the Torah.

God's Reply: God calls them the "fools of the world". He rebukes them by stating, "Everything that you did, you did for your own needs". He notes that the marketplaces were built to station prostitutes, the bathhouses were for their own physical pampering, and the gold and silver already belong to Him.

2. The Persian Empire

The Persian Empire enters next, thinking they will fare better because they did not destroy the Holy Temple.

The Claim: They argue that they built bridges, conquered great cities, and waged major wars, all to allow the Jewish people an environment to study the Torah.

God's Reply: God rejects their claim with the same reasoning. He states that they built bridges only to collect tolls, conquered cities to enforce forced labor, and that God Himself fought the wars.

The text continues by explaining that all other nations come forward with similar self-serving justifications, and each is dismissed because their underlying motivations were purely egoistic rather than altruistic.

A Parallel Text

A famous historical parallel to this conversation occurs in Tractate Shabbat 33b. In that passage—set during the Roman occupation rather than the future judgment—several Rabbis debate the merits of Roman rule. Rabbi Yehuda praises the Romans for building marketplaces, bridges, and bathhouses. However, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai counters with the exact argument God uses in Avodah Zarah: that the Romans built these infrastructures entirely for their own luxury, vice, and tax collection.   (Source: Google)

How interesting that it is only Rome and Persia who are singled out by name since these two are the only empires to still exist at the End of Days!

A more contemporary example shows that Eisav's "protection" has always been about keeping Ya'aqov under his own thumb rather than in assisting his brother to reach the heights of Yisrael!

Yesterday in Israel history, May 12, 1948, US warns Israel not to declare a state.

Moshe Shertok (later Sharett, 1st FM of Israel) meets with U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall, just two days before the expiration of the British Mandate.

Marshal warned Shertok that if the Jews declared independence and were subsequently attacked by five Arab armies, they should not count on the United States for military aid if they found themselves on the brink of defeat. Marshall urged Shertok to accept a ceasefire and a delay in the declaration of independence to avoid a full-scale war.

Shertok’s Response: The Jewish people had waited 2,000 years for this moment and could not delay.

Shertok flew back to Tel Aviv immediately after this meeting. His report on the American position was a critical piece of the internal debate within the People's Administration (Minhelet HaAm) on May 12–13, which ultimately led to the vote to proceed with the declaration of the State on May 14.   (Source: Judea Pearl@yudapearl)

Note... 

• 1948 Arab–Israeli War: Ended with the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and neighboring Arab states (Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria).
• 1956 Suez Crisis: Concluded with a withdrawal following strong international pressure and a UN-brokered halt to fighting.
• 1967 Six-Day War: Ended with a ceasefire following the capture of new territories, without a formal peace treaty with Arab neighbors at the time.
• 1973 Yom Kippur War: Ended with a ceasefire on October 25, 1973, bringing a stop to the fighting on the Egyptian and Syrian fronts.
• 1982 Lebanon War: Ended with a ceasefire and withdrawal, which saw continued, lower-level conflict in the region.
• 2006 Lebanon War: Ended with a UN-brokered ceasefire.
• 2023–present Gaza War/Conflicts: Multiple, fragile ceasefires have been enacted, often with ongoing skirmishes, as seen in the 2025-2026 period where fighting continued despite announced truces.

No longer the younger twin brother, a Yisrael rises to a higher level of being...

• Being dependent on HKB"H alone.
• Being grateful to HKB"H alone.
• Being subservient to HKB"H alone.
• Being the light to the nations just by BEING.

Practically speaking...

• It means we no longer expend our blood and treasure in propping up Western Civilization.  It is our job to replace it, not to save it!
• It means we fight our wars to win them not to appease them.
• It means we stop inviting the tumah of the nations to partake of Kedushat Torah v'Shabbat which are uniquely the inheritance of Klal Yisrael.
• It means being 100% loyal to the covenental relationship we have with HKB"H!!

How do we make the transition from Ya'aqov to Yisrael?

Bereishit 32.29 Commentary...

And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you have commanding power with [an angel of] God and with men, and you have prevailed."

(Rashi) no… Jacob. It shall no longer be said that the blessings came to you through trickery (עָקְבָה) and deceit, but with nobility and openness, and ultimately, the Holy One, blessed be He, will reveal Himself to you in Beth-el and change your name, and there He will bless you, and I will be there.“ He then acknowledged them (the blessings) as being his (Jacob’s). This is [the meaning of] what is written (Hos. 12:5): ”He strove with an angel and prevailed over him; he wept and supplicated him,“ [meaning that] the angel wept and supplicated him. With what did he supplicate him? ”In Beth-el he will find Him, and there He will speak with us“ (ibid). Wait for me until He speaks with us there. Jacob, however, did not consent, [to release the angel] and, against his (the angel’s) will, he (the angel) acknowledged them (the blessings) as being his (Jacob’s). This is [the meaning of] ”And he blessed him there," that he entreated him to wait, but he did not wish [to do so]. — [from Zohar, vol. 3, 45a]

and with men. Esau and Laban.

and you have prevailed. over them. — [from Targum Jonathan]

Is this not what the nations of the world accuse us of daily in every corner of the world?  That we are guilty of colonialism, theft, murder, genocide, every kind of devious, malicious act possible?  And why?  Because we dare to act as if we did not steal the blessings from Eisav; that we are trying to usurp his bechor status; that we resist keeping to our subservient position.  Because we hold the power of Yisrael and act like the twin of Eisav - "no daylight between us."  

Today's struggle is within ourselves to accept and acknowledge our true essence - Yisrael - and act like it.