Sidrah
Parashah of the week: Vayishlach
And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel...” Genesis 32:29
November 30, 2023 11:25
And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel...” Genesis 32:29
November 30, 2023 11:25Get out of bed now? Or curl up cosily for five more minutes.
Respond angrily to his hurtful words? Or hold my breath until a little later.
Every day, we are faced with internal battles. Some decisions are well thought out and considered, whereas others may very well be chosen by default. The easiest option or perhaps the most comfortable one.
Viktor Frankl, the Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, taught that "between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." Every decision we make moves us into a different zone and it is the cumulation of all those decisions that creates our reality.
In this week's parashah, Jacob meets an angel and fights with him. He then receives a new name, Israel - "for he struggled with God and man and won". Inheriting Jacob's genes, we also have the potential to win those internal battles. Every human being is made up of a body and a soul and both parts battle for control of our mind.
When we pause before speaking or acting, we can engage with our soul and listen to its quiet, yet uplifting advice. Our body wants immediate responses that fulfils its desires and needs. Our soul cares about the long-term consequences of our actions and encourages us to grow.
The Vilna Gaon (1720-1797) writes in his book Even Shleimah (1:2) that we were created in order to develop our character traits: such as self-discipline, generosity, kindness and patience. Our internal battles may seem inconsequential, but the ramifications on our personality are larger than we realise.
Inner change takes time and effort and is not recognised in the public realm. Everyone sees when we donate a building for charity, but no one sees when we keep our mouth closed during an argument or overcome our laziness to get up and go to shul.
The Jewish nation is like one person. If one part of a body is working well, it effects are felt by all the other parts. Every choice we make, every internal battle we win, (no matter how small) will bring goodness to our nation as a whole.