Vayishlach – The Name of Israel

The name Israel יִשְׂרָאֵל has many meanings, one of which means: the upright of God יָשָׁר אֵל. The five letters of Israel can be understood as an acrostic containing all the names of the patriarchs and matriarchs including the 12 tribes, as follows:

The sum of all the names above in gematria is 2626, where 26 is the gematria of YHVH, and 2626 is the gematria of Elohim each letter squared, as follows:

This comes to teach us that the name Israel is a composite word encapsulating the promise and elect of God.

Wrestle with Angle

By wrestling with an angel, Jacob was elevated to an angel himself for the name Israel יִשְׂרָאֵל is the name of an angel, as it has a suffix of El אֵל.

The wrestling angle is none other than Satan, also known as Yetzer Hara, the evil inclination within us.

Israel יִשְׂרָאֵל in gematria is 541, which is exactly the gematria of Jacob and Satan, for he who conquers his evil inclination is worthy of being called Israel:

As it is written:

When the first letter is moved to the end of the word “angel”, it becomes “his angle” מַלְאָכוֹֹ, and the remaining five letters spell in their right order Israel יִשְׂרָאֵל, this comes to teach us that by striving with an angel, one is elevated to the status of an angel.

“Who is strong, he who conquers his evil inclination” (Pirkei Avot 4:1).

The might of man is measured by how much he can control his passions (evil inclination), which might is called Gevurah גְּבוּרָה.

It follows that every man must wrestle with the Satan within him and overcome his evil inclination, so that he can become Israel, as it is written:

“Born from the Spirit” in Hebrew isיִוָּלֵד מִן הָרוּחַ , the gematria is 359, the same gematria of Satan שָׂטָן, i.e. the man born from the Spirit is he who conquers his evil inclination, which is Satan.

The one that is born from the Spirit is the new man (born again), their average number is: 716 / 2 = 358, which is the same gematria of Mashiach מָּשִׁיחַ, as follows:

When the “new man” is filled with the “new spirit”, the gematria is 888, which is ”the Mashiach” spelled out (הה מם שין יוד חית) in gematria, i.e. he shall be like the Mashiach:

As it is written:

The gematria of “new heart and new spirit” לֵב חָדָשׁ וְרוּחַ חֲדָשָׁה is 881, which is the same gematria of “Name of Israel” שֵׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל.

Self-Actualization

The highest level of self-actualization is to be like God, which starts from the image of God in which was man created. The gematria is the same as Abraham:

Abraham is of the attribute of kindness (Chesed), which could lead to adultery if the passion is not controlled. This is where Isaac’s attribute of might (Gevurah) comes to counteract from left side.

Abraham therefore parallels the good inclination which bestows kindness to others; Isaac would parallel the evil inclination whose sole purpose of existence is to be controlled through might and restriction. Jacob is the perfect balance between the two by which he ascends and becomes Israel, in the likeness of God:

The ordinal number of “likeness of God” דְמוּת הָאֱלֹהִים is 91, the same gematria of “angel” מַלְאַךְ.

Astonishingly, the gematria of “Abraham, Isaac, Jacob” which represents the three steps of ascending is exactly the same gematria of “Israel my angel”:

Esau symbolizes Nefesh, the physical man of the earth; Jacob symbolizes Ruach, the emotional man of the Spirit; Israel symbolizes Neshamah, the intellectual man of the water and fire. Their gematria is 1099, exactly the same gematria of the five levels of the soul, as follows:

The lust of man is of the earth, the emotion of man is of the spirit (wind), and the intellect of man is of the water and fire. Water is cold and fire is hot, and wind is the intermediary between the two, for the wind can cool down the hot passion to the cold intellect; on the other hand, the wind can also heat up the cold intellect to the burning fire of love.

For this reason Israel continues to be called Jacob after the name change, for the emotion and the intellect must work together. When the emotion of man stops to chase after the lust of the flesh, it will for certain help elevate the pursuit of intellect. The gematria of Jacob and Israel is exactly the same gematria of “tear Satan”, as follows:

Cause and Effect

The gematria of the “cause and effect” is 575, which is the exact gematria of “evil inclination”, as follows:

The four letters of YHVH can be understood as the acrostic of “good inclination and evil inclination”, the gematria is 903, which is exactly the gematria of “effects”, i.e. the consequences of free will.

Effects are plural, for there are two effects resulting from two causes, the good effect results from the good inclination and the evil effect results from the evil inclination. At the deeper level, the evil inclination is the one that contains both cause and effect, for one that overcomes his evil inclination to do good is greater than one who follows his natural inclination to do good.