B"H
Thursday, Tevet 16, 5781 / December 31, 2020
The Torah concludes the Book of Genesis (Breishis) with this week’s Parsha, Vayechi. We read about the passing of Yaakov, the last of the Patriarchs, and the passing of his twelve sons.
This concludes the stories about the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Jewish people. The next Book of the Torah, Shemot, will begin with the enslavement of the Jewish people in Egypt, their subsequent liberation, the Giving of the Torah and the building of the Tabernacle.
In Parshat Vayechi Yaakov, before his passing, blesses his sons and two of his grandchildren, Ephrayim and Menashe. Yaakov singles them out from the rest of his grandchildren as only they were born in Egypt before Yaakov came there. In the Parsha, Yaakov makes his son, Joseph, swear that after Yaakov’s passing he will not bury him in Egypt, but take him to be buried in the family burial plot in Hebron.
Yaakov came to Egypt when he was 130 and passed away at the age of 147. He lived there for 17 years. Yosef (Joseph) was brought to Egypt at age 17 and passed away at the age of 110. Thus, he lived in Egypt 93 years.
Q. Where were Yaakov’s twelve sons buried?
A. They were originally buried in Egypt. When the Jewish people left Egypt at the time of the Exodus, they took their bones with them to be buried in Israel. Joseph was also taken out of Egypt at the time of the Exodus and later buried in the city of Sh’chem.
Q. Which of Yaakov’s wives was buried with him in the Me’arat Hamachpeila in Hebron?
A. His wife, Leah. His wife, Rachel, who died about 48 years before Yaakov, was buried near Bethlehem. Yaakov knew by Divine inspiration that the Temple would one day be destroyed and his descendants, the Jewish people, would be exiled from Jerusalem. He deliberately buried Rachel in Bethlehem at the side of the road, so when they pass by there Rachel would pray for them and invoke G-d’s mercy upon them.
Q. Yaakov’s blessing to his two grandchildren was, “In you will the people of Israel bless their children. They will say to their sons, ‘May G-d make you like Ephraim and Menashe.’” What is the meaning of this blessing?
A. From the beginning of creation we find in the Torah brethren rivalry as a result of jealousy. Cain killed his brother Abel; Ishmael didn’t get along with his brother, Yitzchak: Esau wanted to kill his brother, Yaakov; Joseph’s brothers sold Joseph into slavery. But Menashe and Ephraim, although Menashe was the older one, wasn’t jealous of Ephraim, whom Yaakov favored and blessed before him. This is the blessing Yaakov gave, that every parent will bless their children, that they be like Ephraim and Menashe – that there should be mutual respect and harmony between their children.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY