B"H
Monday, Tevet 13, 5785 / January 13, 2025
In last week’s Parsha, Vayechi, we read about Yaakov’s (Jacob) blessings to his children and grandchildren, before his passing.
Yaakov requests that he not be buried in Egypt. He makes his son, Yosef (Joseph), swear that he will bury him in the Me’arat Hamachpeila, in Hebron, alongside his parents, grandparents and his wife Leah. The Torah describes the great honor and royalty extended to Yaakov after his passing.
The Parsha ends with the passing of Yosef. Like his father, Yosef also requested to be buried in Israel. But contrary to his father, whose body was carried back to Israel soon after his death, Joseph's body stayed in Egypt until the Exodus when the entire Jewish people left Egypt. He and his brothers were then carried out of Egypt to be buried in Israel. Yosef was buried in the city of Shchem.
Yosef was sold into slavery and brought to Egypt at the age of 17. Egypt was the most immoral culture of its time. He spent many years exposed to the Egyptian culture. He spent years in an Egyptian prison. Yet he stayed true to his religion and to his moral values. He ultimately became the ruler of the land of Egypt and saved the people of starvation. The Torah describes his life story in great length.
Q. At what age did Yaakov pass away? How long after Yaakov & at what age did Yosef pass away?
A. Yaakov was 147. Yosef was 110. Yosef passed away 54 years after Yaakov.
Q. Which of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) lived the shortest and who lived the longest?
A. Yaakov lived the shortest; Abraham lived to 175. Yitzchak (Isaac) lived the longest to 180.
Q. Why wasn’t Yosef buried in Israel right after his passing just like Yaakov?
A. Yosef was the ruler of Egypt; thus, he had the power to fulfill his father’s wish. But when Yosef died, Pharaoh didn’t allow his body to be taken out of Egypt.
Q. How many years passed from Yaakov's coming to Egypt until the Exodus?
A. Two hundred and ten years.
Q. Of Yaakov’s children who lived the longest and who lived the shortest?
A. Yaakov’s third son, Levi, lived the longest, 137 years. Yosef, who was the ruler of Egypt, lived the shortest. He passed away, before his brothers, at age 110. Our sages say that leadership is not a recipe for long life. Although Yosef’s life span was the shortest, he overcame many adversities and achieved much more during his lifetime. The length of one’s life is not necessarily measured in quantity, but in quality and accomplishments.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY
UNITED WE STAND WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CAPTIVITY. MAY THEY ALL BE RELEASED NOW