No change – Vayyishlach
Many dramatic things happened to Jacob. But he survived.
He came to Shechem shalem, usually translated “safely”; the word is obviously connected with shalom. But it has been pointed out that the three letters shin, lamed, mem are the initials of the words shem, lashon, malbush – name, language, clothing.
According to this view, Jacob came out of the years he spent with Laban without having changed the crucial marks of his identity.
It could not have been easy. The more expedient course would have been to give up his distinctiveness and become like everyone else in Laban’s vicinity. But Jacob remained true to his standards.
But do the rest of us have to be like Jacob? Does it really affect the inner you if you adapt to local styles of names, language and garments?
Probably not, but make sure that it is not hatred of yourself as a Jew that causes the change.
If you change your name, don’t choose an alternative that is inappropriate for a Jew – for example one with christological associations.
If you learn a new language, stop your tongue getting used to the swear words and salacious smut of the new idiom.
And if you change your style of clothing, do not choose something that is immodest and over-revealing.
