In Chamishi of Parashat VaYishlach, Yaakov Avinu famously wrestles with an angel. At the end of the wrestling match, the angel blesses Yaakov Avinu with a new name, Yisrael. However, there is debate amongst the Mefarshim as to whether this was an official name change or just a Berachah that would come in the future. Toward the end of the Parashah, Hashem ratifies the name change. After, Yaakov returns to Beit-El to fulfill the vow of building a Mizbei’ach he made at the beginning of Parashat VaYeitzei, and Hashem appears to Yaakov and gives him a series of Berachot. First, Hashem agrees that Yaakov Avinu should be named Yisrael, signifying a change from Yaakov Avinu being an individual with a large family to the father of a nation. This transformation leads to the next set of Brachot, that 1) he will have more children, 2) they will grow into nations, 3) have kings, and 4) they will inherit Eretz Yisrael. Rashi is bothered by the phraseology used for the Berachah that Yaakov Avinu’s descendants will grow into a nation. The Pasuk reads: “פְּרֵה וּרְבֵה גּוֹי וּקְהַל גּוֹיִם יִהְיֶה מִמֶּךָּ וּמְלָכִים מֵחֲלָצֶיךָ יֵצֵאוּ,” “be fertile and increase, a nation and a congregation of nations will come from you, and kings shall emerge from you” (BeReishit, 35:11).
What is the meaning of: “וּקְהַל גּוֹיִם,” “a congregation of nations”? Of the three Avot, Yaakov Avinu is the only one who did not have his descendants split into other nations. Avraham Avinu had seven sons other than Yitzchak, who became progenitors of many nations appearing later in Tanach, including Yishmael, Midyan, Medan, and others. Yitzchak Avinu had Eisav – who fathered the nation of Edom and was Amalek's grandfather–had many nations other than Am Yisrael descend from him. Yaakov Avinu had none of those, therefore being the exception of the Avot as the only one who had all his children stay as part of the nation. So why does Hashem refer to his descendants as a “congregation of nations”?
Rashi (ibid., s.v. גוי and גוים) understands that the Berachah of “גּוֹי,” “nation" refers not to the entire nation but instead, to a particular tribe because Yaakov Avinu’s twelfth son Binyamin, who was not born yet, will develop into an additional tribe. וּקְהַל גּוֹיִם refers to the tribe that is a group of tribes, namely Yosef HaTzaddik splitting into the two tribes of Menasheh and Efraim. The Berachah, therefore, is not really about Bnei Yisrael at the time of the Berachah but the completion of the nation in the future. Rashi’s answer, however, leaves a question as to the word choice that Hashem uses. If Hashem really was just referring to tribes, then why does he use the word “גּוֹי,” “nation” as opposed to the word “שבט,” which means tribe? What is the deeper meaning of referring to each tribe as its own nation?
When I was in Israel for the year, there was a story going around about the time a certain Rebbe attended a Brit Milah the week of Parashat VaYechi. At the Brit Milah, every speaker spoke about Yaakov Avinu’s Berachah to his son Yissachar. Yissachar’s Beracha, as understood by Chazal, was that his descendants would be Talmidei Chachamim and leaders of the Sanhedrin, so every speaker gave the baby a Berachah that he would grow up to be a Talmid Chacham. When this Rebbe got up to speak, he mentioned that Yaakov had 11 sons other than Yissachar. Of course, we want all of our sons to grow up to be Talmidei Chachamim, but it is also important to realize that every Jew has different strengths, and they connect to different Mitzvot. Some have the organizational skills to spearhead Chessed programs or the charisma to collect Tzedakah, while others have the boundless energy needed to teach 5-year-olds; while some connect to Hashem through Talmud Torah, others connect through other Mitzvot, like Tefilah, Chessed, Shofar or any of the other 613 Mitzvot. Everyone is different. Obviously, we must keep every one of them, but the ones through which we bond with Hashem vary from Jew to Jew. We must recognize that we are a קְהַל גּוֹיִם, a diverse collection of individuals and that we will not serve Hashem the same as anyone else.
However, Hashem doesn’t refer to us as a קְהַל גּוֹיִם alone. Hashem starts by calling us a גּוֹי. We are not different groups of people, but rather one. We may seem vastly different with so many distinct labels: Chassidish, Litvish, Yekke, and Modern, and those are just Ashkenazim! There are Edot Hamizrach, Teimani, Moroccan, Parsi, and many more. But in truth, we are not that different from each other. A story that my father loves to tell illustrates this point. The Chafetz Chaim was visiting Rav Chaim Soloveitchik in Brisk. While they were talking, a person rushed into the room and started complaining about Rabbis. “You rabbis,” he said, “all you ever do is argue. The Talmud is just one large book of arguments.” Rav Chaim looked at him for a moment and responded that it was not true. Yes, there are arguments in the Gemara, but most of it is statements that everyone agrees to. Every segment of Torah Judaism is much more in agreement than in disagreement. The basic foundational tenets are the same, and we quibble on some technical details. We have the same Tanach, Mishnah, and Gemara, even if we might learn each in a different style. We keep Shabbat on the same day each week, even if we might disagree on exactly what minute it starts or ends. No one thinks you can eat Chametz on Pesach, only whether we include extra foods in the prohibition. It is details that differentiate us, but we contain the same essence. We are servants of Hashem and try to serve him to the best of our ability.
We can have a deeper understanding of what Hashem is telling Yaakov Avinu. Yaakov Avinu’s descendants will grow into one nation based on one Torah. They will have one goal in mind, to serve Hashem as a unified whole. However, Hashem reassures Yaakov Avinu that they will not become a uniform homogeneous group indistinguishable from one another. We will be unique from each other, serving Hashem in different yet equally appropriate ways. Those differences aren’t ones we should shy away from but rather something to embrace and be proud of.