Shabbat Shalom
In this week’s parsha, after running away from his brother Esav, Jacob finds himself alone in the dead of night, wrestling with a mysterious figure. The torah says “a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn”.
Who is this “man” though? The Torah doesn’t make it clear but various commentators debate its identity.
Some say it’s an angel. Some say Esav’s guardian angel. Some suggest it’s Jacob wrestling with his own conscience or his fear. Some say it’s G-d himself.
Whatever the interpretation, one thing is clear: this struggle is more than just physical. It’s spiritual. It’s emotional. And it leaves Jacob transformed. When the fight is over, the figure gives him the name Yisrael, Israel. “One who wrestles with God”.
And this isn’t a story of easy success. Jacob is exhausted, injured, and still scared when he finally meets Esav. But he comes out of the experience stronger. He’s not just Jacob anymore. He’s Israel - someone who doesn’t back down in the face of a challenge.
It’s not just a description of the fight that night either. It’s a name that speaks to the core of who we are as a people.
How are we described as a people? We’re referred to as bnei Yisrael, the children of israel, Am yisrael, the people of Israel. Not bnei Avraham or bnei sarah, the father and mother of the Jewish people.
Being part of Bnei Yisrael, the children of israel, means being willing to wrestle with challenges, with uncertainty, with ourselves, even with God. It’s about refusing to give up, even when we’re limping, even when things feel overwhelming.
And this year, Jewish students have truly lived up to that name. The last year truly hasn’t been easy. That, I’m sure, you don’t need us to remind you. No one would have blamed us for keeping our heads down a bit – if numbers at Friday night dinners dipped a bit, if JSocs ran a few fewer events or committee positions were a little less contested at AGMs.
But that’s not what happened. Instead, over this past year and a bit Jewish student life on campus has been stronger and prouder than ever before. And that’s thanks to all of you.
If you’re a chair or campaigns officer dealing with the nonsense we’ve had to put up with this past year. If you’re a social sec jumping through hoops to run an event safely that any other society could organise in five minutes; a CST volunteer standing outside in miserable weather to keep everyone else safe at a FND; a sports sec having to send out a hundred secret texts about the event location (yep, we’ve been there too!); or maybe just a Jewish student who wears their Magen David, their kippah, their loud-and-proud Jewish laptop sticker a little more visibly, this amazing student community’s strength comes from every one of you.
It’s been a tough year, but you’ve shown what it means to be part of Bnei Yisrael. Like Jacob, we don’t shy away from challenges. We wrestle with them. We face them head-on. And even when it’s hard, even when we’re tired, we keep going.
That’s what it means to be Jewish students. That’s what it means to be Israel.
Shabbat Shalom. We hope you annoy the rest of the weekend - take this strength, that resilience, and that pride and go make Jewish life on your campus stronger and prouder than ever before.