In VaYishlach , this week’s Torah portion, we learn of Yaakov’s encounter with the angel. They wrestle in the dust until daybreak. Yaakov suffers a dislocated hip but vanquishes the supernal creature, who bestows on him the name Yisrael, which means “he who wrestles with the divine.” This is a critical episode in that we, his descendants, get our national name from this moment. What is the significance of the change of name from Yaakov to Yisrael?

We saw in Toldot, a few weeks ago, about the birth of the twins. Esav comes out all red hence his name. Right after him Yaakov was born. There we read:

And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esav’s heel; and his name was called Yaakov. ( Genesis 25:26)

So he was originally named for reaching for his brother and then later gets renamed for wrestling with God. What do we make of this?

Before we get to this I want to share with you the thinking of Clayton M. Christensen, a renowned business theorist. He is most famous for his work on innovation. One of his core teachings is the difference between Sustaining vs. Disruptive Innovation. Sustaining innovations improve existing products for current markets. Disruptive innovations create new value networks and often start as less effective but improve to outpace traditional solutions. Watch this short video for explanation:

A sustaining innovation is like when we reach like Yaakov for his brother’s heal. We can improve and we should always be striving for better. A disruptive innovation might yield a worse product at the outset, but it will revolutionize the market. It only happens when we wrestle (like Yaakov did) with the larger issues facing the market. Our love of existing products in the market can blind us to huge growth opportunities.

We see in this transition from Yaakov to Yisrael a shift from it being a Ma and Pa family business( Abraham to Yitzchak to Yaakov) to a company ( Yisrael’s sons). It is important to note that none of Yisrael’s children seemed to have the same level of connection to God that was enjoyed by Abraham, Sarah, Yitzhak, Yaakov, Leah, or Rachel. This transition was key for the long term success of the company, but we cannot disregard that it came at an expense. Eventually this company ( literal children of Yisrael) transitioned again and became a multinational conglomerate ( the Jewish people- B’nai Yisrael). What was lost and what was gained with that tranistion?

Clayton M. Christensen said:

The reason why it is so difficult for existing firms to capitalize on disruptive innovations is that their processes and their business model that make them good at the existing business actually make them bad at competing for the disruption.

We are B’nai Yisrael. This wrestling might be the key to our longevity. We are never content to just reach (Sustaining Innovation/Yaakov). To success we need to disrupt the market like Yisrael. What will be our next Disruptive Innovation?