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Worth the Struggle

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December 12, 2011

“Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome'.” — Genesis 32:28

The nation of Israel was birthed from an intense struggle between Jacob and God. You remember the story from Genesis 32:22-32. Camped by himself near the banks of the Jabbok River, Jacob found himself entangled in a wrestling match with a “man” that lasted until dawn. When the man realized that Jacob would not give up and that he would not win, the man touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that it was wrenched.

Again the man said, “Let me go. It is near daybreak.” But Jacob refused, saying “I will not let you go until you bless me.” But before blessing him, the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
And so a people and a nation were born. The 12 tribes of Israel descended from the 12 sons born to Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. On Jacob’s deathbed, the tribes went an alignment of sorts when Jacob adopted Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, as his own and made them heads of tribes. From that time forward, Manasseh and Ephraim are listed in place of Joseph. Collectively, Jacob’s descendants became known as the children of Israel, God’s chosen people.

That’s quite a comeback for a man whose life was filled with deception and disappointment — from the time he deceived his father, Isaac, into blessing him instead of his older twin, Esau, to his struggles with Laban in winning Rachel as his wife after being tricked into marrying Leah. But throughout his life and his many trials and difficulties, we witness Jacob’s strong desire for a relationship with God. For Jacob, it was worth the struggle to remain close to God.

Sometimes, we believe life will go smoothly because of our faith in God. When disappointment or difficulties come, we sometimes retreat and believe God has let us down, or worse, has abandoned us. That’s when we need to remember Jacob’s story. Like Jacob, we need to persist in pursuing God, in staying close to Him. We need to wrestle with our problems and our struggles, however painful, until we overcome them with God’s help. Remaining close to God is worth the struggle.

With prayers for shalom, peace,


Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President

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