Vayishlach

And he commanded them, saying, "So shall you say to my master to Esau, 'Thus said your servant Yaacov, "I have sojourned with Lavan, and I have tarried until now.

וַיְצַו אֹתָם לֵאמֹר כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו כֹּה אָמַר עַבְדְּךָ יַעֲקֹב עִם לָבָן גַּרְתִּי וָאֵחַר עַד עָתָּה

Breisheit 32:5

Why does Yaacov present these seemingly plain words to Esau on the verge of their upcoming critical and dangerous confrontation? When Yaacov should  really be presenting a deterrent to Esau's forces, he seems to start out this correspondence with just a rather mundane explanation of what he has been up to.

Encoded Message
Lavan contains the letters for the word Naval (נבל), which means disgusting. Says the Noam Elimelech that the Yetzer HaRah is called Naval. When we succeed in mastering both of our inclinations - good and bad - then the Yetzer HaRah turns to Lavan, or pure Heavenly White.  How does one merit this? The main process is through submission, and to consider oneself as in the service of our master.

This is the meaning of the phrase "with Lavan" (עם לבן) which contains the encoded message 'I merited' that is to say Yaacov succeeded in turning 'Naval' to 'Lavan'. The reason for this is "I have sojourned" (גרתי) that this alludes to 'Ger' - the convert, meaning one submitted themself to a greater value.

Keeping Mitzvot
In another explanation: Rashi explains that גַּרְתִּי has the numerical value of 613. Yaacov is really coming to say: I lived with the wicked Laban, but I kept the 613 commandments, and I did not learn from his evil deeds.

Vayishlach - Rebranding

God said to him, "Your name is Yaacov. Your name shall no longer be called Yaacov, but Yisrael shall be your name." And He named him Yisrael.

Breisheit 35:10

Name changing has occurred on several occasions in the Torah. The most famous is the interaction with G-d and the couple, Avram and Sarai, permanently changing their names to Avraham and Sarah. So how does this compare to the episode in this week's parshah, where G-d 're-brands' Yaacov as Yisrael.

Has G-d permanently uprooted the name of Yaacov? Asks the Or HaChaim Hakadosh, what is different by Yaacov from Avraham. By Avraham we learn that calling him Avram is a transgression, but this is not the case by Yaacov.

As discussed in Mesechet Brechot

"Your name shall no longer be called Yaacov, Israel shall be your name." This does not mean that the name Yaacov shall be obliterated, but that Yisrael shall be the principal name and Yisrael a secondary one.

Brechot 12B-13A (Soncino Translation)

Avraham is Completely Renamed
This differs from nature of how Avraham is renamed. There is agreement in Mesechet Brechot that Avraham's name change is permanent and to the core, but opinions differ as why.

Bar Kappara taught: Whoever calls Avraham Avram transgresses a positive precept, since it says, Thy name shall be Avraham.(Gen. 17:5)  R. Eliezer says: He transgresses a negative command,  since it says, Neither shall thy name any more be called Avram (Gen. 17:5)

Brechot 13A (Soncino translation)  

What is the significance of this name change? Why go so far to debate why this identity must be changed?