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In this week’s parsha, Yacov prepares to confront his brother Eisav. However, before he can reach him he gets into a fight with an angel. The angel realizes that he will not win and he touches Yacov’s thigh. This is where Yacov got his limp from. Before he leaves, Yacov asks him for a blessing and the angel changes his name to Yisrael. This name change is significant because it signals a turning point in Yacov’s life.

The name Yacov comes from the word “ekev” which means heel because he was holding on to Eisav’s heel when he was born, fighting to be the bechor. Then he traded Eisav his first born bracha for lentil soup and put on fur to trick his father into thinking that he was Eisav. When Yacov runs away to Lavan’s house he gets a taste of his own medicine when Lavan tricks him into marrying Leah instead of Rachel.

The fight with the angel is the punishment for all of the bad things and trickery Yacov has done. The name change is the reward for not giving up and will help Yacov change his ways. “כִּי רָאִיתִי אֱלֹהִים פָּנִים אֶל פָּנִים”- Yacov came face to face with an angel and face to face with the wrongs that he had done in the past and he overcame them and came out of the fight as a changed man with a new name. We can learn from Yacov that no matter how many wrongs we have done, we can always turn around and change ourselves for the better.