Don't Know Much 'bout Etymology

In Genesis 32, Jacob has a dream-- he wrestles with an angel.

So God renames him "Israel" (verse 28) --

which translates to mean... "Isra"-- struggle/wrestle; and "El"-- God.


This is a common practice with Hebrew names. "Gabri-el" = Strong Man of God; "Ari-el(le)" = Lion of God; "Dani-el" = Judge of God.


So Jacob is renamed "Israel"...


Check it out--
Jews are like Native Americans !

(the similarities don't end there... Native-Americans used ALL of the buffalo, and we killed Jesus)

Jacob????

Why in the world would the Jewish people name themselves and their homeland after this guy?

He was hardly the MVP (most valuable patriarch) in the Bible. He deceived his father (27:25), stole his brother's birthright (27:35), played favorites with his wives (29:30)-- Rachel over Leah-- and with his sons (37:4)-- Joseph, causing his other sons to nearly commit fratricide.
And he picked his nose (probably)!


Why is Jacob/Israel the namesake for my people? Was he such a great guy?

Maybe not-- but he had a great name, and a great dream!

Jacob dreamed he was "wrestling with God"-- in other words, he was having a crisis of faith.

That dream symbolizes all of theology/religion/agnosticism!

It's saying, "It's okay to wrestle with/question God... in fact-- until you question God, you can't believe in God."

The more you question your faith, the stronger it will ultimately be.

Ya gotta question authority... even the Almighty!

Abraham did it (with Sodom and Gomorrah), Moses did it (arguing many times with the Almighty), and so should YOU!

In the introduction to his play, "Doubt", a drama about turmoil in a 1960s NY Catholic church, John Patrick Shanley wrote that having doubt is brave because it's so difficult. Certainty is easy, blind faith is simple, but to have doubt takes guts and strength.

When it comes to anything worthwhile, something you want, ask yourself-- "Are you sure?"

It's important to wrestle with your beliefs, and it's okay to change them.



So think of Faith as a bikini model in a wading pool of chocolate pudding.



i.e., wrestle with it, hellz yeah!



Can I get an Amen!

Opening Credits

Screenwriting 101--


Inciting Incident

Every single movie ever made has an INCITING INCIDENT, a.k.a., the event that kicks the story into gear, gets things moving. The unfolding story is a result of the INCITING INCIDENT.

Think of some of your favorite movies, and the INCITING INCIDENT in each one.


"Toy Story" ?

"The Lord of the Rings" ?

Every porn ever made ?


(hint: the cable needed fixing... or someone ordered a pizza)



And then we have Genesis, chapter 37:

The story of Joseph and his fabulous D & G coat of many colors.
I become frustrated, arguing with the Bible--
"If only Jacob hadn't given little Joe that coat, his brothers wouldn't have gotten jealous and tossed him in a pit, sold him to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt, yada yada yada, 400 years later-- BOOM-- we're slaves!"

The INCITING INCIDENT: That darn coat! (Disney movie?)

But y'see, that HAD to happen! Without that coat, there's no Exodus, no ten commandments, (no career career for Charlton Heston).
Besides, the bible would only be one book! As J.K. Rowling will tell you, that's no way to make a buck!

Sequels! Sequels! Sequels!


Besides, God told Abraham that his descendants would become "strangers in a strange land" and become slaves for 400 years" (Gen. 15:13); kind of a spoiler alert.


"If only Eve hadn't listened to that snake... we'd still be in the Garden of Eden."

But that's not a story!!!


If only Dorothy knew ahead of time about clicking her heels three times, she wouldn't have had to go through all that rigamarole with those three morons, and the witch and the great and powerful Oz...
Of course, then you have no movie... and that's the whole point of the film...

the Journey! Not the destination.




(Rigamarole?)

"Dad Always loved you best!"

"Now Israel [a.k.a., Jacob] loved Joseph more than all his children... and he made him a coat of many colors. And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him..." (Gen. 37:3-4)



"A man should not single out one of his children for favored treatment,
for because of two extra coins' worth of silk, which Jacob gave to Joseph [in the form of his multi-colored coat] and not to his other sons, Joseph's brothers became jealous of him, and one thing led to another until our ancestors became slaves in Egypt."

-- Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 10b



The obvious lesson of Genesis, 37: Don't play favorites with your kids (or at least don't make it obvious)


Sibling Rivalry!


Growing up, my brothers and I would go to our father and demand, "Who's favorite? Which son do you love the most?"

He'd smile, shake his head, and always say the same thing.

"Boys, if you cut off all my fingers, they'll all hurt the same amount."




Huh????



Thanks, Dad, for comparing fatherly love to the movie "Saw"...



My Dad, the Sweeney Todd of Father-Son chats.




Homer: "Hey! Apu just called. This Friday, Lisa's team is playing
Bart's team. You're in direct competition. And don't go easy on
each other just because you're brother and sister. I want to see
you both out there, fighting for your parents' love!
[flicks light on and off]
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!..."


-- Mike Scully, "The Simpsons", Season 6, episode 8