Yisrael

12 Feb 2014
  1. The name given by G-d to Yaakov, indicating that he struggled with heavenly and with earthly beings and, based on the idea of “s’rara,” mastery, was able to overcome his rivals
  2. The nation which descended from Yaakov and his twelve sons; otherwise known as the Jewish People: otherwise known as the “Chosen People of G-d,” because they accepted His Torah
  3. The “lowest” of the three classes within the Jewish People: Kohen, Levi and Yisrael; a member of the Jewish People with all obligations and privileges assigned him or her by the Torah, including “Make yourself holy, for I, the L-rd your G-d, Am Holy.” (Vayikra 20:7)
  4. The name of the Holy Land, which G-d promised to the Avot and to their descendants, the Jewish People. The Torah describes it as a Land “flowing with milk and honey;” there are certain Torah commandments which apply only to residents of Israel; the Land has a moral barometer of its own, and tends to eject residents who are immoral.