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PREPARATION QUESTIONS:

Last week, we left Ya’akov at Gil’ad, the place where Lavan confronts Ya’akov and searches his belongings to find his stolen “terafim” (idols or oracles). After Lavan departs, Ya’akov sees a vision of angels and realizes that the place he has come to is a “camp of Hashem.”

In the *beginning* of last week’s parasha, Ya’akov leaves home (Be’er Sheva) fleeing Eisav, arrives at a place somewhere along the road to Haran, and goes to sleep. His dream shows him a vision of a ladder with the angels ascending and descending, with Hashem at the top. When he awakens, he realizes that the place he has been sleeping is “Beit Elokim,” the house of Hashem, and “sha’ar ha-shamayim,” the gate of heaven.

By the time we arrive at this week’s parasha, we have come to the end of Ya’akov’s sojourn in Haran with Lavan, as he returns home to Cana’an. Ya’akov has come full circle, and the vision of angels he sees at the end of VaYeitzei symbolizes the completion of an important stage of his life and the beginning of the next stage. The stage of his life just completed was examined last week. What we are looking at now is the new stage. In that context, this vision of angels provokes certain questions:

1. What is the significance of the new vision?
2. Why have the angels appeared to him now? Since the angels don’t say anything, what is their message?
3. What does it mean that this place is a “camp of Hashem”?
4. What is the difference between a “camp of Hashem” and a “house of Hashem / gate of heaven”?

There are many explanations of this vision, but perhaps the one that fits best into context is that the angels appear specifically as a camp (as opposed to a fixed structure like a “house of Hashem” or “gate of heaven”) to signal that the angels are *traveling.* Unlike the vision at the beginning of VaYeitzei, with its “house of Hashem” and “gate of heaven,” structures which don’t move from place to place, these angels may be here to reassure Ya’akov that they will be traveling with him; their camp will be traveling with his camp to protect him. The angels appear now, assuring him of protection, in order to encourage him to do what he does next—sending messengers to his brother Eisav.

FACING THE MUSIC:

Our parasha opens with Ya’akov’s sending messengers toward Eisav. Many of us reading the parasha assume that Ya’akov sends messengers to Eisav only as a defensive measure: he believes Eisav is still eager to kill him for stealing his berakha, so he sends scouts ahead to check if Eisav has learned of his return to Cana’an.

But there is no evidence for this assumption. In fact, the simple reading of the text makes it sound like Ya’akov takes the *initiative* of sending messengers to Eisav! Eisav does not know that Ya’akov is on the way: Ya’akov has to send the messengers to “artza Se’ir, sedei Edom”—all the way to Eisav’s doorstep—because Eisav has no inkling of Ya’akov’s whereabouts and his impending arrival in Cana’an. Ya’akov takes this bold step because he wants to meet Eisav. He sends messengers to Eisav, he says, to “find favor in his eyes.”

Why? Wouldn’t it be safer to steer clear of Eisav forever? Why go looking for trouble?

Perhaps we will have answers as we move further. But one thing is clear already: this is not the same Ya’akov as before.

5. The Ya’akov who now goes looking for Eisav is not the same Ya’akov who sneaked away from Lavan’s house eight days ago, seeking to avoid confrontation.
6. He is also not the same Ya’akov who fled from Eisav twenty years ago, seeking to avoid a confrontation.
7. He is also not the same Ya’akov who usurped Eisav’s blessing through deception.
8. He is also not the same Ya’akov who took advantage of Eisav’s impulsiveness and lack of foresight by buying the birthright from him for a bowl of soup.
9. And he is also not the same Ya’akov who tried to be first out of the womb by grabbing his brother Eisav’s heel, committing the symbolic act of underhanded competition which earned him the name “Ya’akov,” “he who grabs the heel.”

BRACE YOURSELF:

The messengers return to Ya’akov with bad news: they have arrived at Eisav’s court and given him Ya’akov’s message of greeting, but Eisav has apparently reacted badly. He, too, is eager to meet his long-lost brother, and he is bringing four hundred of his closest friends—his closest heavily armed friends—with him to the “reunion.” Ya’akov, of course, is terrified. Hazal note that he prepares for battle in three ways:

10. Militarily: he splits his camp, hoping that if one camp is attacked, the other may escape.
11. Religiously: he turns to Hashem and asks for His protection from Eisav.
12. Psychologically: he sends a huge bribe to brother Eisav, hoping to gain his favor.

These three forms of preparation have stood as an example to centuries of Jewish communities facing impending violence: Jews have long utilized all three strategies at once. As we will see, Ya’akov’s preparations seem to pay off when Eisav eventually arrives and only tears flow, instead of blood. But we will also see that these strategies may not be exactly what they appear to be.

 

YA’AKOV BEGS HASHEM:

Let us take a look at one aspect of Ya’akov’s preparation for conflict: his tefila (prayer). Let us first deal with an internal contradiction: why does Ya’akov keep asking for Hashem’s protection and at the same time insist that he doesn’t deserve His kindness? Does it makes sense to ask for something and keep emphasizing that you really don’t deserve it?

The question itself is the answer: Ya’akov emphasizes that he deserves nothing, that all the kindness Hashem has already shown him is undeserved. In justifying his desperate request, he focuses completely on Hashem’s promises and on the relationship Hashem had established with Ya’akov’s father and grandfather. The humility of this prayer is obvious—“I do not deserve the kindness and support . . .”, but is implicit as well in the fact that Ya’akov places all of the stress of this tefila on the promises Hashem has made to him, and on the fact that his fathers have an established relationship with Hashem.

This pattern is reflected later in the Torah, when Bnei Yisrael are told by Moshe that Hashem favors them not because they are so wonderfully righteous, but because He loves them (a statement which requires explanation) and because of the promises He made to their forefathers. In similar fashion, Ya’akov adopts a posture of humility by spotlighting the promises made to him and the relationship Hashem established with his fathers.

Note also that this tefila is not Ya’akov’s first recorded tefila: that prayer took place at the beginning of VaYeitzei. Back then, during Ya’akov’s dream of the ladder ascending heavenward, Hashem promised him that he would produce a great nation, inherit the Land of Cana’an, be a source of blessing, and that Hashem would protect him while he was away from home (and return him safely home). When Ya’akov awoke in the morning, he realized that he had slept in a special place. He then made a promise to Hashem: if Hashem would keep His side of the deal—if He would come through on all of the promises He had made during the dream—then Ya’akov would do something for Hashem in return: he would make the spot in which he had slept into a “Beit Elokim,” and he would give to Hashem a tenth of anything he acquired (ma’aser).

By now, Ya’akov realizes that he cannot make deals with Hashem. There is no such thing as “holding up your end of the ” with Hashem, because you have to offer Him can ever equal what He gives to you; no matter what you offer, you will never deserve what He gives you. Ya’akov now recognizes the futility and inappropriateness of the deal he had made, and changes his tone entirely: now, he deserves nothing, has nothing to offer. He bases his claim solely on Hashem’s promises, the fact that Hashem was the God of his fathers—and the fact that he is terribly, terribly afraid.

BUTTERING UP BROTHER EISAV?:

Ya’akov’s next activity is to engage in that time-honored Jewish tradition, “Preparing The Bribe.” He instructs his servants to lead flocks of animals to Eisav and to offer them to him as gifts from Ya’akov. The Torah then summarizes Ya’akov’s thoughts as he instructs his servants:

BERESHIT 32:21-22 --

“You [the servants] should say, ‘Your servant, Ya’akov, is behind us,’” because he said [to himself], “I shall atone before him [akhapera panav] with the gift which precedes me [le-fanai], and then I will see his face [panav], so that perhaps he will forgive me [yisa panai].” The gifts passed before him [al panav] . . . .

A friend of mine, Rabbi Assaf Bednarsh, pointed out to me the startling repetition of the word “panim,” meaning “face,” in Ya’akov’s words. In different forms, “panim” appears five times in this brief space. Why so much emphasis on the face?

It is apparent that the Torah means to emphasize the confrontational nature of what Ya’akov is up to, the face-to-face nature of what he has initiated. The Torah means to highlight that Ya’akov is seeking a direct and open meeting. This, of course, stands in clear contrast with Ya’akov’s previous tendency to avoid challenges, employ deceit, and run away to avoid consequences. Now, breaking his pattern, he seeks Eisav out for a meeting “panim el panim,” face to face! That this is a reversal of Ya’akov’s old pattern is also hinted by Ya’akov’s name—literally, “heel”—the diametric opposite of “panim”—“face.” As we will see, this pattern of “panim” continues to play a central role. And, as we will see, “Ya’akov” is soon replaced by a name which describes his new strength.

HEDGING HIS BETS:

As night falls, Ya’akov moves his wives and children across a river. Abravanel explains that he is splitting his camp by placing his family in one camp (the one across the river from Eisav) and leaving the servants in the forward camp. When Eisav shows up, the first camp he encounters will be that of the servants, and if he attacks it, the family camp will escape. This seems like classic Ya’akov behavior . . . facing a challenge by hoping to avoid it.

But this is not how the Torah seems to tell the story at all! It does indeed seem that Ya’akov splits the camps, but the split is not family/servants! The Torah says that after moving his family and possessions over the river, “Ya’akov remained alone.” What was he doing by himself?

Hazal suggest that Ya’akov went back over the river to get some small things he had left there from the previous trips. But the Torah itself says nothing about this at all. The simple reading of the Torah tells us that Ya’akov put his wives and children in one camp, and he himself “remained alone”—he HIMSELF was the other camp! Ya’akov puts himself in the forward camp, the one more exposed to Eisav’s approaching forces. And, as we all know, Ya’akov is indeed the first to clash with the forces of Eisav—but not his *physical* forces. Ya’akov is attacked by a mysterious “ish,” an unnamed “man,” who wrestles with him through the night. Again, we see Ya’akov, the “heel,” turning to “face” a challenge. He no longer squirms to avoid facing the consequences of his actions; instead, he courageously risks his own safety to protect his family, putting himself in the vanguard.

THE ANONYMOUS WRESTLER:

Ya’akov’s plan to split the camps pays off when an unnamed “man” attacks him as he awaits Eisav alone. Let us take a closer look at this wrestling match and at the very strange conversation which goes on during the match:

BERESHIT 32:26-30 --

He [the angel] saw that he could not best him [Ya’akov], so he touched the hollow of his thigh; the hollow of Ya’akov’s thigh become dislocated as they wrestled. He [the angel] said, “Let me go, for the dawn has risen!” He said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Ya’akov.” He said, “No longer ‘Ya’akov’ shall your name be called, but instead ‘Yisrael,’ for you have fought with Hashem and with men, and you have won.” Ya’akov asked and said, “Please tell me your name!” He said, “Why do you want to know my name?” And he blessed him there.

Clearly, we have a lot of explaining to do:

*

13. Who is this angel-man?
14. Why does he wrestle with Ya’akov? Why does he underhandedly injure Ya’akov?

*

15. What sort of blessing is it to change someone’s name? Why not promise riches, or children, or land, or divine protection? And why does Ya’akov want a blessing anyway?
16. What is the significance of the change from “Ya’akov” to “Yisrael”?
17. The angel asks a good question—which we must answer—why does Ya’akov want to know the name of the angel?

What could possibly be the point of this wrestling match? Clearly, Hashem could have programmed the angel to simply overpower Ya’akov, so the match cannot be a test of Ya’akov’s physical strength. Instead, it is a test of his moral strength: *how* he will face the challenge, not whether he can oversome it. If he fights face to face, strength against strength, nothing “below the belt”—then he wins, because the angel-man has been programmed not to physically overpower Ya’akov, and must take his leave when daybreak arrives. But if Ya’akov, seeing that he cannot achieve a quick and easy victory, turns to deception and underhandedness as before—for example, by trying to dislocate the thigh of the enemy! -- then he has lost even if he “wins,” because by being dishonest, he will have failed the test.

Not only does the new Ya’akov of our parasha (the one who has initiated open, honest confrontation with Eisav) play fair, he even continues to play fair when the angel-man, seeing his own lack of success, plays a dirty trick (an old-Ya’akov-type trick) and dislocates Ya’akov’s thigh. Ya’akov continues to fight fair even though the stakes are incredibly high—even when he has every reason to believe his life is at stake. Yes, Hashem Himself had helped Ya’akov use a “deception” of sorts to beat the despicably treacherous Lavan, but Ya’akov aspires to be more than “Ya’akov”—he aspires to be “Yisrael.” Only “Ya’akov” grabs at the heel of his enemy, hoping to trip him; but “Yisrael” meets his challenges face to face.

Why does Ya’akov seem so eager for a blessing from his sparring partner? And why is he so eager to know the name of the angel? Why is this important? It seems clear from Ya’akov’s actions after the angel leaves—which we will examine soon—that Ya’akov is well aware that his opponent is an angel. So what does he hope to learn from knowing the angel’s name?

The answer to this question will take us back to the end of Parashat Toledot and forward to the end of Parashat VaYishlah. But first, it will require a deeper understanding of what Ya’akov demands from the angel—a berakha. What is a berakha?

The place to look for the answer is, of course, the Torah itself. And the answer, as Abravanel points out (in Parashat Toledot), is that there are several different types of berakhot, all included under the name “berakha” because they are similar in important respects (Abravanel identifies only two categories). The first category of berakhot are those offered by Hashem Himself (there may be more than those listed here):

The next category of berakhot are those offered by people. There are two types:

The classic example of this type of berakha is the series of berakhot which Ya’akov gives to his sons at the end of Sefer Berieshit. On the one hand, the Torah describes what Ya’akov does as “blessing”:

This is how their father spoke to them and BLESSED them, each man according to the BLESSING that he BLESSED them.

On the other hand, Ya’akov himself characterizes what he does as prediction of the future:

Ya’akov called to his sons and said, “Gather together, and I will tell you what shall happen to you in the end of days.”

Let us now look at the *two* berakhot Ya’akov received in Parashat Toledot: the berakha he received by tricking his father, and the berakha his father gave him with full knowledge at the end of Parashat Toledot.

The berakha really meant for Eisav:

“May Hashem give you from the dew of the heaven and the fat of the land, and much grain and wine. May nations serve you, and peoples bow to you; be master of your brother, and may the children of your mother bow to you; those who curse you are cursed, those who bless you are blessed.”

This sounds a lot like a tefila-berakha, i.e., Yitzhak is praying that these good things should come to Eisav (really Ya’akov disguised, of course). It does not sound like a prediction-berakha, especially since part of the berakha (“be master . . . those who curse you . . .”) seems to be in unambiguous present tense. This means it can only be a tefila, not a prediction.

On the other hand, here is the berakha given to Ya’akov at the end of Parashat Toledot:

“E-l Shad-dai SHALL BLESS YOU [ye-varekh] and increase you and multiply you, and you shall become a throng of nations. And He SHALL GIVE YOU the blessing of Avraham, to you and your children, so that you shall inherit the land in which you live, which Hashem gave to Avraham.”

This berakha is clearly very different than the previous one: instead of naming some good thing that Ya’akov will receive, as in the first berakha (i.e., dew of the heavens, fat of the land, grain, wine, leadership), it is a step removed from that: it states that Ya’akov will receive *blessings*, and only then does it goes on to say what these blessings will entail—many children, nationhood, the land:

As we saw when we looked at Parashat Toledot, Yitzhak gave this second blessing—the blessing of spiritual leadership—to Ya’akov reluctantly. It was clear to him that Eisav was not at all a candidate for this berakha (because he had already taken wives from among the spiritually corrupt Cana’anites), but he was also reluctant to pass spritual leadership to Ya’akov, who had just deceived him into giving him the blessings meant for Eisav.

We see now that Yitzhak did not pass the spiritual leadership to Ya’akov at that time at all! The spiritual berakha Yitzhak gave to Ya’akov was only a *prediction* that in the *future,* the aspect of Hashem called “E-l Shad-dai” would come to Ya’akov and bless him with the blessing of Avraham—the Land, Eretz Cana’an, naationhood, and an everlasting relationship with Hashem. Yitzhak, as we saw when we looked at Toledot, was not at all “blind,” except in the physical sense. He saw that Ya’akov was flawed and that he was not yet ready to lead Hashem’s nation, but he also saw that Ya’akov had enormous potential. So what he passed to Ya’akov was the prediction/prayer that Ya’akov would eventually be worthy of this blessing, and that at the point when that occurred, “E-l Shad-dai” would come to Ya’akov and officially give to him these berakhot, the Birkat Avraham.

In effect, then, Yitzhak’s berakha was that Ya’akov should eventually be worthy of the spiritual berakhot to be delivered by E-l Shad-dai.

Who is this “E-l Shad-dai”? Obviously, it is Hashem, but why does Yitzhak refer to Him specifically as E-l Shad-dai? Where have we seen E-l Shad-dai before?

The first time E-l Shad-dai appears is in Parashat Lekh Lekha, in chapter 17. Hashem comes to Avraham and says, “I am E-l Shad-dai,” and proceeds to make an everlasting covenant with Avraham: Avraham will become a great nation, and Hashem will be the God of the nation forever; Avraham’s descendants will also receive the Land of Cana’an as an everlasting possession. As a sign of this covenant, Hashem commands the berit milah, the mitzvah of cicumcision.

“E-l Shad-dai” is the source of the berakha given to Avraham to found the nation which will have a special relationship with Hashem and inherit the Land. Significantly, E-l Shad-dai also redefines the individuals He blesses: He renames Avram and Sarai (Avraham and Sara), and as we will see, He also renames Ya’akov.

Ya’akov is aware of all this. He understood that his father was holding back the spiritual leadership, giving it to him only in potential—Yitzhak’s language was unmistakably not the language of blessing, but the language of prediction that Ya’akov would one day receive this blessing. Ya’akov understood that he had to earn it. And now, having learned hard lessons at the hands of Lavan, he has ‘reinvented’ himself and resolved to face the brother he cheated out of a different blessing long ago. He knows that his symbolic struggle with the angel has demonstrated his new approach to challenges. He believes he now deserves to assume the spiritual leadership. And so, when the angel renames him—and he knows that E-l Shad-dai renamed Avraham and Sara! -- he is desperate to know whether the angel comes in the name of E-l Shad-dai. If so, it will mean that he has finally become worthy of the blessings and has received them!

But the angel refuses to tell him its name. Ya’akov understands that it is too early, that work still must be done before he deserves the berakhot of spiritual leadership signified by the appearance and blessing of E-l Shad-dai. We will soon see what that work is, and then we will see that E-l Shad-dai does indeed come and does indeed deliver the blessings promised by Yitzhak (almost word for word!).

Ya’akov’s reaction to the struggle with the angel shows that he understands this experience as a symbolic confrontation:

Ya’akov called the name of the place ‘Peniel’ [=Penei E-l, “face of the powerful one,” or “face of God”], “For I have seen a powerful one face to face, and my soul was saved.”

He again emphasizes that things are now “face to face,” that he no longer meets his challenges by running or deceiving. Although the language he uses here (“elohim”) is also used to refer to Hashem, it will become clear as we go on that here it refers to “the powerful one,” meaning the representative of Edom, not to Hashem.

It is now morning, and Eisav approaches. Note that Ya’akov’s camp is no longer split into two camps, for he has already faced the danger: last night, he faced up to (and bested) the angel who attacked him representing Eisav, so he now faces Eisav without fear. He has already beaten his intfoe, overcome his tendency to avoid trouble through deception; he has nothing more to fear from Eisav, and indeed, eagerly awaits his opportunity to greet Eisav. Ya’akov arranges his family and goes out ahead toward Eisav, bowing seven times on the way. Every time he refers to himself, he calls himself Eisav’s “servant.” Ya’akov is not just putting on a show of self-subordination and humility, trying to flatter Eisav into leaving him alone; as we will see, he is acknowledging Eisav as the true bekhor, the true firstborn, head of the family.

Eisav meets Ya’akov’s family and then he asks about the animals Ya’akov has sent him as a gift. Eisav wants to know what they are for, so Ya’akov repeats what he has said before: they are to find favor in Eisav’s eyes. Eisav, who has plenty of his own animals, politely refuses the gift, but Ya’akov insists:

Ya’akov said, “Please do not [refuse]; if I have found favor in your eyes, take the gift from my hands, because SEEING YOUR FACE IS LIKE SEEING THAT OF A POWERFUL ONE [”elohim”], and you have accepted me.”

Ya’akov explains that seeing Eisav is a privilege for him, one worth paying for with a gift. He uses almost the exact same words to describe the confrontation with Eisav as he used to describe the confrontation the previous night with the angel-representative of Eisav. Just as “my soul was saved” despite that encounter, “you have accepted me” in this encounter. Last night, he saw “the powerful one face to face,” and now he “sees the powerful one” again.

But why is it important to Ya’akov that Eisav accept the gift of the animals? If the whole purpose of the gift is to bribe Eisav into docility, then why does Ya’akov keep insisting that Eisav take it even once it becomes clear that Eisav has decided not to kill him? Ya’akov himself tells us the answer . . . and then we understand that this gift of animals has never been a bribe in Ya’akov’s mind at all. It serves a much nobler purpose. Ya’akov begs Eisav to accept the gift with the following explanation:

“Please TAKE MY BLESSING [birkhati], which has been brought to you, for Hashem has been generous to me, and I have everything.” He [Ya’akov] insisted, and he [Eisav] took it.

The whole purpose of this confrontation, the reason Ya’akov risks his life for this moment, is so that he can say the lines above—so that he can return to Eisav the berakha that he stole twenty years before. Ya’akov may have made an internal decision to face his challenges squarely from now on, but in order to clear the record and to deserve the spiritual leadership, he must right this old wrong. Of course, he cannot literally return the berakha, but by this symbolic gift, he admits to Eisav that what he did was wrong and asks Eisav’s forgiveness. For this reason, it is crucial that Eisav accept the gift; Ya’akov wants to walk away not only with his life intact, but also his conscience restored. Eisav understands the gesture and accepts the gift. He forgives Ya’akov.

All that remains is for Ya’akov to perform an act of leadership, guiding others to discover what he has discovered: that challenges must be faced, no matter how how painful. The opportunity to demonstrate this arrives with the rape of Ya’akov’s daughter, Dina: Shekhem, prince of a Cana’anite town, rapes Dina and wants to marry her. Ya’akov’s sons agree, provided that all the men of Shekhem undergo circumcision. The people of Shekhem undergo circumcision, and, taking advantage of the recuperating men’s weakness, Shimon and Leivi massacre the town. Ya’akov reacts in horror:

Ya’akov said to Shimon and Leivi, “You have befouled me, sullying me among the people of the land, the Cana’ani and the Perizi, and I am few in number; they will gather against me and strike me, and I and my household will be destroyed.”

Shimon and Leivi protest, unable to accept their father’s criticism in the face of the injustice done their sister. But Ya’akov has learned that no matter what is at stake, whether leadership of the family (which he acquired through deceit), his wives, children, and wealth (which he protected by deceiving Lavan and running away), or even his own life (which he saved by running from Eisav and then risked by confronting him), deceit is unacceptable. Ya’akov expects revenge for this deceit to be visited on him by the neighboring nations.

The nations never bother Ya’akov. In fact, we hear later that they are afraid of Ya’akov and his family. But the reason Ya’akov’s family is spared the consequences of this deceit is because Ya’akov has spoken out against it, not because the nations fear the fierceness of Ya’akov’s sons:

They traveled, and the FEAR OF HASHEM was upon the cities around them, and they did not chase after the children of Ya’akov.

The Torah is telling us that the reason they did not pursue the children of Ya’akov—i.e., those responsible for the massacre—is because Hashem placed fear upon them, not because they were impressed with the ferocity and craftiness of Ya’akov’s sons.

At this point, Hashem signals to Ya’akov that he has merited the spiritual berakhot. Hashem commands him to go to Beit El and make an altar to Hashem. Hashem appears to Ya’akov there and delivers the following message:

Hashem appeared to Ya’akov as he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. Hashem said to him, “Your name, ‘Ya’akov,’ shall no longer be your name; instead, ‘Yisrael’ shall be your name,” and He called his name Yisrael. Hashem said to him, “I am E-l Shad-dai; be fruitful and multiply. A nation, a throng of nations shall come from you, and kings shall emerge from your loins. And the land I gave to Avraham and to Yitzhak, to you I shall give it, and to your children after you, I shall give the land.”

Hashem changes Ya’akov’s name to Yisrael [”One Who Struggles with the Powerful,” or “Powerful Righteous One”], symbolizing the finality of Ya’akov’s personal transformation, and then informs him that He comes as E-l Shad-dai, the Powerful Provider, the One who grants Ya’akov the destiny of nationhood and the gift of the holy land given to Ya’akov’s fathers.

With this, Ya’akov receives the berakhot which Yitzhak knew he had the potential to earn. And with this, his major challenge is completed, his great test passed. From this point, Ya’akov begins to share authority with his sons, although he remains the final power in the family. Ya’akov has become Yisrael.

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