This parsha sheet is being dedicated to my beloved father, Nachman Shimon ben Yehuda Meir Hakohan,Z"L.May it be a merit for his soul.
"Then Jacob called for his sons and said,"Gather yourselves and I will tell you what will be in the End of Days."(49:1)
Before Jacob was to pass away,he wished to reveal to his sons the time when the Messiah will arrive.The SHALA Hakodesh ( Rabbi Isaiha Horowitz,ZS"L) writes, that when Jacob used the language of "Gather yourselves", it is to teach us that in order for the "End of Days " to occur all hatred must be eradicated from the tribes of Israel. The nation of Israel must be one unified unit.
This is hinted to in the very words of "Gather yourselves" into one brotherly unit, devoid of hatred and animosity. In addition,Tractate Yoma 9a states that the Temple
This week we read the concluding parasha of the book of Bereishis, Vayechi, which translates as ‘lived’. At face value this seems to be quite an ironic title for a sedra which focuses on the deaths of both Yaakov and Yoseph, we also find this occurrence in Parasha ‘Chayei (the life of) Sarah’ where the focal point of that sedra was the death of Sarah, one of our matriarchs. So what is the reason for this? It is written by Ein Ayah that, the main connection of a Tzaddik’s life is to things which are loftier than that which is connected to the body and that which occurs to it, and these lofty things are therefore the mainstay of his life while he is alive. He goes on to explain that since these things do not cease with death but on the contrary, they add lustre, a Tzaddik is therefore considered alive even after he has physically died. This also works in the other direction with a rasha, who is considered to be dead even when he is alive. When the Torah actually describes Yaakov’s death it uses the word "ויגוע/he expired" rather than the usual way to describe dieing as "מת", which is the common terminology used in the Torah.
“Reuven, you are my first-born, my strength and my initial vigor, foremost in rank and foremost in power. Water-like impetuosity - you cannot be foremost, because you mounted your father’s bed; then you desecrated Him who ascended my couch. ”
Sefer Bereishis ends with Yaakov Avinu’s blessings to his sons, however some of these ‘blessings’ consist of harsh rebuke. This is the case with Yaakov’s first-born, Reuven - Yaakov reproves him for his mida of impetuosity that led to his disturbing Yaakov’s bed . The commentaries explain that as the eldest son, Reuven should have received the special privileges of the Kingship, Priesthood and the double portion of the first-born. However, because of his impulsive behavior Yaakov stripped him of all three privileges. Reuven’s severe punishment seems difficult to understand; Chazal greatly praise Reuven for doing teshuva for his aveiro
in our parsha this week, Yaakov blesses each of his children before he dies. Yehudah receives a relatively large blessing, and included in it is an acknowledgment that he has "elevated himself" (Genesis 49:9). Rashi explains that one of the things that this refers to is Yehudah's admission of guilt after the incident with Tamar several parshiot ago. Yehudah had wrongfully accused her of a fault and decreed the harsh punishment of death upon her. When he found out that it was in truth his own mistake and not hers, he publicly admitted that he was wrong, something which is not so easy for people to do, especially when one's reputation is on the line. It took a big man like Yehudah to admit the truth, and he was rewarded for it.
48:20 contains the famous blessing Yaakov gave to Yosef’s sons - a blessing that many people have the custom to give to their children on Friday night; ‘yesimcha Elokim k’efrayim u’chimenashe.’ Why do we give these blessings to our children - why do we not bless our children that they should be like the Avos or like any of the other tribes? One idea is that Efraim and Menashe were unique in that they had shalom between them. Every one of the Avos had to live through some form of sibling rivalry and ‘family issues’ - Avraham with his idolatrous father Terach and then with Lot his nephew. Similarly, Yitzchak had to deal with Yishma’el, and Yaakov had to worry about Eisav and then Lavan. Moreover, Yaakov’s sons sold Yosef into slavery. Therefore, Efraim and Menashe were the first generation to have serenity and peace at home. This is what we bless our children with - that they should live with constant shalom and without any family feuds or bickering. Another idea here is that Efrayim and Menashe grew from being ‘mere sons of Yosef’ to being tribes in their own right. Thus, we bless our children that they should grow into being more than is expected of them - that they should (spiritually) grow out of proportion!
Our sedra is called ‘Vayechi’(‘and he lived), whilst it is the sedra in which Yaakov dies. A coincidence? Ironic? Not quite. The gemarra (Ta’anis 5b) tells us that ‘Yaakov Avinu did not die.’ This means that the legacy that Yaakov imbued within us lives on - the imprint of his status as Avinu (our father) remains part of us to this very day. Indeed, this is true of all of the Avos; they all implanted within us certain traits - as the Ru’ach Chaim on Avos (5:3) points out. Thus, it’s no coincidence that Jews from all walks of life still perform a bris milah and give charity generously; for these are the genes that we received from Avraham Avinu. And Jews of all walks of life pray to God (go look at the Kotel); genes we received from Yitzchak Avinu. Similarly, Jews from all backgrounds have a certain connection to Torah; even if the Jew has not experienced nor learnt Torah, he is always happy to hear what the Torah has to say about life. This is part of what we inherited from Yaakov Avinu. Coming back to our initial observation, this is why the sedra of Yaakov’s death is called ‘and he lived’ - for he lives on. In fact, the same is true of parshas Chayei Sarah (lit. ‘the life of Sarah’) - the parsha in which Sarah dies.
This week we read the concluding parasha of the book of Bereishis, Vayechi which translates as ‘lived’. At face value this seems to be an ironic title for a sedra which focuses on the deaths of both Yaakov and Yoseph, we also find this occurrence in Parasha ‘Chayei (the life of) Sarah’ where the focal point of that sedra was the death of Sarah, one of our matriarchs. So what is the reason for this?... It is written by Ein Ayah that… ‘the main connection of the tzaddik’s life is to things that are loftier than that which
In this week's Parsha, our forefather Yaakov blesses each of his children before he dies. Yehudah receives a relatively large blessing, and included in it is an acknowledgment that he has "elevated himself" (Genesis 49:9). Rashi explains that one of the things that this refers to is Yehudah's admission of guilt after the incident with Tamar several weeks ago (Parshiot). Yehudah had wrongfully accused her of a fault and decreed the harsh punishment of death upon her. When he found out that it was in truth
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