יִשְׂרָאֵל

“Israel” in Hebrew is Yisrael (יִשְׂרָאֵל), pronounced “yis-ra-EL.” Yisrael combines 'yisra' (he wrestles/strives) with 'El' (God). God renamed Jacob to Israel after he wrestled with the angel at Peniel — the name celebrates persevering faith.

Yisrael (יִשְׂרָאֵל) means “Israel, one who wrestles with God” in Biblical Hebrew. Yisrael appears over 2,500 times in the Hebrew Bible. It refers to the patriarch Jacob, the nation descended from him, the northern kingdom, and the covenant people of God. In the New Testament, Paul speaks of the 'Israel of God' (Galatians 6:16).

Yisrael is pronounced “yis-ra-EL.” The word comes from the Hebrew root שׂ-ר-ה + א-ל.

Genesis 32:22-32 describes Jacob wrestling with a mysterious figure all night at the Jabbok River. The encounter left Jacob with a limp but also a new name: Israel. The story teaches that God honors those who persist in seeking Him — even when the encounter is painful. Jacob's wrestling was not rebellion but desperate faith: 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.'

'Am Yisrael Chai' (עם ישראל חי) means 'The People of Israel Live.' It's a declaration of Jewish resilience and survival through millennia of persecution, exile, and attempted genocide. The phrase has become especially significant after the Holocaust and the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948.