A Glimpse of the Future
Parshas
Vayechi
If we could look into the future and discover when
the major events in our lives will take place, would we do it? If we could
ascertain the exact dates on which we will marry, have children and pass away
from this world, would we want to know? Most people would rather live with the
uncertainty than face the possibility of an unpleasant certainty.
In this week’s portion, however, we seem to find
an opposite view. As the final minutes of his life draw near, the old patriarch
Jacob summons his sons to his bedside. With his great powers of divine inspiration,
he sees the long exile of the Jewish people stretching far into the future, but
as he continues to look, he also sees the arrival of the End of Days when the
exile will come to an end.
“Gather around,” he says to his family, “and I
will tell you about the End of Days.” But then he goes on to speak of other
matters. What happened? The Sages tell us that Jacob attempted to reveal the
end of history to his family. But the Divine Spirit departed from him, and his
vision faded away.
The questions immediately arise: Why did Jacob
want to tell them when the exile would come to an end? Especially in light of
what we now know, that it would take thousands of years, wouldn’t it only have
disheartened and discouraged them? Furthermore, if Jacob felt there was a
purpose in telling them, why indeed didn’t Hashem allow him to do so?
The commentators explain that Jacob had no
intention of revealing the date of the End of Days to his children. There
certainly would have been no point in doing so. Rather, he wanted to give them
a glimpse of what awaits them in the End of Days. He wanted them to see the
idyllic future world suffused with the unrestricted emanations of the Divine
Presence, a world of perfect harmony and peace in which all humankind will be
blessed with unlimited knowledge and transcendent insight. This was the image
he wanted to impress on their minds so that they would not succumb to despair
during the tribulations of the dark years of exile.
But Hashem did not allow him to do so. The
kindness of a father’s heart had motivated Jacob to reveal this image to his
children, but as is often the case, this well-intentioned kindness would
ultimately deprive them of immeasurable reward. If the Jewish people had seen a
clear prophetic image of the rewards in store for them in the future, they
would naturally be motivated to persevere and struggle against all odds to
fulfill the Torah and achieve those rewards. In that case, though, they would
be doing it for their own benefit rather than out of love for Hashem. But as
long as they have no such images in their minds, their continued loyalty to the
Creator through the worst of times remains an expression of incredibly powerful
faith and love for Him, and their reward will be proportionately bountiful.
A mother gave her two sons
jigsaw puzzles and sent them off to play.
A long while later, she went
to check on the them. Both boys had completed their puzzles.
One of them jumped up and ran
to her. “Look, it’s all done,” he said proudly. “Could you frame it and hang it
on the wall?”
“Certainly,” she said. Then
she turned to her other son and asked, “Do you want me to frame yours as well?”
The boy shrugged and shook
his head. “Nah. It was no big deal. You don’t have to.”
The mother was perplexed.
“But your brother wants his framed. Why don’t you want the same for yours?”
“Well, I’ll tell you,” said
the boy. “He didn’t look at the picture before he did the puzzle, so I guess it
was a pretty big deal for him. But I looked at the picture first, so it wasn’t
such a big deal.”
In our own lives, we are all
faced with periods of discouragement and even hopelessness during which we
would be much relieved if we could steal a glimpse of Hashem’s hidden hand at
work. How much easier it would be to deal with the vicissitudes of fortune if
we understood how everything leads to the ultimate good. But it is in this very
darkness, when we stand on the verge of despair, that we must discern Hashem’s
closeness by our faith alone and feel ourselves enveloped in His loving
embrace.
Text Copyright © 2009 by Rabbi Naftali Reich and
Torah.org.
Rabbi Reich is on the faculty of the Ohr Somayach Tanenbaum Education Center.
Family Building
Parshas
Vayechi
Posted on December 25, 2012
(5773) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner
The holy book of Bereshith comes to its conclusion
in this week’s parsha. The story of the creation of the Jewish people through
the development of one family over a number of generations and by the
perseverance of the great personalities of our patriarchs and matriarchs is now
complete.
This raises the question originally posed in
Rashi’s commentary to the very beginning of the book of Bereshith – why does
the Torah, which appears to be basically a book of laws and commandments,
bother with all of this detailed description of creation and continued familial
based narrative? Why is this seemingly anecdotal knowledge of the lives of our
ancestors so necessary to be included in the eternal Torah and how does it
register in the survival of the Jewish people throughout the ages?
In response to this question of relevance, the
rabbis taught us that the events that occurred to our ancestors are indeed the
harbingers of happenings that will occur to their descendants. But many times
it is difficult for later generations to make this connection, except in the
most general way of experiencing historic repetitions of circumstances.
This book of Bereshith, which
comprises a substantial part of the entire written Torah, contains within it
almost no commandments and is basically a book of narrative tracing the
development of one family – eventually seventy in number – and of the
difficulties that this family encountered over generations. So what therefore
is its main message to us living in a far different world, millennia later?
I think that the message of Bereshith is the
obvious one of family and its importance. The Torah purposely and in minute
detail describes for us how difficult it truly is to create and maintain a
cohesive family structure. Every one of the generations described in Bereshith
from Kayin and Hevel till Yosef and his brothers is engaged in the difficult
and often heartbreaking task of family building.
There are no smooth and trouble free familial
relationships described in the book of Bereshith. Sibling rivalry, violence,
different traits of personality, and marital and domestic strife are the stuff
of the biblical narrative of this book. The Torah does not sanitize any of its
stories nor does it avoid confronting the foibles and errors of human beings.
The greatest of our people,
our patriarchs and matriarchs, encountered severe difficulties in attempting to
create cohesive, moral and cooperative families. Yet they persevered in the
attempt because without this strong sense of family there can be no basis for
eternal Jewish survival. There is tragic fall out in each of the families
described in Bereshith and yet somehow the thread of family continuity is
maintained and strengthened until the family grows into a numerous and
influential nation.
This perseverance of family
building, in spite of all of the disappointments inherent in that task, is the
reason for the book of Bereshith. It is the template of the behavior of our
ancestors that now remains as the guideposts for their descendants. The task of
family building remains the only sure method of ensuring Jewish survival.
Shabat shalom
Rabbi Berel Wein
A King-Size Mistake
Parshas
Vayechi
Posted on December 12, 2013
(5774) By Rabbi Yochanan Zweig | Series: Rabbi Zweig on the Parsha
| Level: Beginner
“…foremost
in rank and foremost in power. Water-like impetuosity – you cannot be foremost,
because you mounted your father’s bed…”(49:3,4)
Yaakov rebukes Reuvein for acting in an impetuous
manner when moving his father’s couch to Leah’s tent. As a result of this
action, Reuvein loses his right to the monarchy and Priesthood for which he was
destined.1 Why does Yaakov condemn Reuvein’s impetuosity? Would the
sin not have been greater if Reuvein would have acted in a calculated manner?
Does acting impetuously not mitigate the transgression?
The Torah teaches that it is prohibited to remind
a penitent as to his past transgressions.2 Reuvein is the
quintessential penitent; the Torah relates that Reuvein was not present when the
brothers sold Yosef, for he had returned to his sackcloth and fasting to atone
for his transgression concerning moving his father’s couch.3 Why
then does Yaakov rebuke Reuvein for a transgression for which he had already
been repenting for at least thirty-nine years? Why is the quid-pro-quo for
Reuvein’s transgression the loss of his leadership position in Klal Yisroel?
When repenting for a transgression which we have
committed, we very often focus on the transgression, rather than the character
flaw which is at the root of the transgression. Yaakov’s intention in rebuking
Reuvein was not to condemn him for the transgression for which Reuvein had
already repented; Yaakov was identifying for Reuvein the character flaw which
caused him to commit the transgression, impetuosity. Impetuous behavior is symptomatic of a lack of self-control.
This is not the first time we find Yaakov
censuring Reuvein for behaving in a manner which lacks forethought. When the
brothers explain to Yaakov that Yosef has incarcerated Shimon and is refusing
to release him unless they bring Binyamin before him, Reuvein offers his own
two sons’ lives as a guarantee that he will return Binyamin home safely. Here
too, Yaakov admonishes Reuvein for his foolish suggestion. Clearly, Yaakov is
sensitive to Reuvein’s character flaw, his impetuosity.
In addition to effectively
controlling his subjects, one of the primary functions of a leader is to teach
his subjects self-control. For this to be possible, the leader must himself
project and image which reflects the highest standards of self-control.
Therefore, Reuvein, who has displayed that he behaves in an unrestrained
manner, is denied the opportunity to have the monarchy stem from his
descendants. Similarly, the responsibility for the sanctity of the Priesthood
can only be placed in the hands of a person who epitomizes self-control, for
holiness manifests itself wherever self-control is found.5
1. 49:4, See Rashi and Ramban 2. Shmos 22:20..3.
37:29, See Rashi 4. 42:7, See Rashi verse 38 and Ramban 5. Rashi Vayikra 19:2
The
Lion’s Burden
“And white-toothed from milk” (49:12)
Many commentaries interpret this passage
literally, as a description of Yehuda’s suitability for royalty, i.e. that he
was a man of regal appearance.1 The Talmud, however, offers the
following homiletic interpretation: The person who makes his teeth white by
smiling affectionately to his fellow man, has done more good than the person
who offers his fellow man milk to drink. Rather than interpreting the verse
“u’leven shinayim maychalav” – “teeth white from milk”, one should read
“u’levone shinayim maychalav” – “showing the whiteness of your teeth is more
beneficial than milk”.2 What is the connection between the homiletic
and literal interpretations? Why should this message be relayed in the blessing
of Yehuda?
The Talmud teaches that were it not that Hashem
provided for the animals, each animal would be suited for a particular
profession. The fox would be most competent as a storekeeper and the lion as a
porter.3 The Maharal explains that the fox symbolizes shrewdness, a
trait necessary for a storekeeper, to convince his customers to purchase his
wares. A lion symbolizes strength, and therefore, is physically suited for the
job of a porter.4
It is difficult to understand why the lion, who is
the symbol of sovereignty, the lion being the symbol of Yehudah5,
would be depicted as a porter, which is from the least respectable of
professions. Chazal must be teaching us that the unique nature of Yehuda’s
sovereignty is that he is the ultimate servant of the people. Yehuda does not
beat his subjects into submission to fulfill his own agenda; rather, he serves
and caters to the needs of his people, submitting himself to their agenda.
Therefore, the lion is appropriately described as a porter, who is willing to
carry the burden of all those whom he serves.
Yehuda’s nature is aptly depicted in last week’s
parsha, when he is willing to become a slave to Yosef so that Binyamin may go
free.6 Yehuda sets aside his own personal agenda for the well-being
of another.
The notion of greeting everyone with a genuine
smile so that they will feel appreciated and significant reflects the same
quality portrayed by Yehuda. A person is required to set aside all thoughts or
worries which trouble him, and relay a genuine sense of joy for the well-being
of another.
1. Rav Saadya Gaon, Bchor Shor, Akeida 2. Kesuvos
111b 3. Kiddushin 82b 4. Chiddushei Agados ibid. 5. 49:9 6. 44:33
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