פּרשׁת ויחי
Sorry this is late, but here is the Dvar for Parshas Vayechi: So, the first
verse is ‘Vayechi Yaakov b’Eretz Mitzraim shiva esrei shanah, vayehi yi’mei
Yaakov sh’nei chayav; sheva shanim, vi’arbaim u’mi’as shanah/And Yaakov lived in the
land of Egypt 17 years; and it was, the days of Yaakov - the years of his life;
7 years, and 140 years.’ So, there are some nice commentaries on this verse
that I would like to share with you, with Hashem’s Help:
1) The Nikolsburger Rebbe
(Rebbe Yosef Yechiel Michel Lebovits shlita) asks; why does the Torah separate
between the ‘7 years’ and the other
140? Why is it written this way? So, in his beautiful way, he
answers this question by quoting the verse in Mishlei (24:16) that says
‘A righteous person falls seven times and gets back up again (vi’kam)’.
The Gematria/numerical value of the word ‘קם’, (to arise or get back up)
he says, is 140. So this, he explains, is
one of the reasons why the Torah lists Yaakov Avinu’s age the way it does:
The 7 first because a righteous person (like Yaakov Avinu) usually falls
at least seven times. But then afterward the 140 (see above), because
Yaakov Avinu always got up whenever he fell![1] This is very important for
every single person.
Sometimes
we might, Rachmana Litzlan/may the Merciful One save us, fall, but we can
always get back up and come back to HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Just because you
might have fallen and sinned doesn’t mean you can’t get back up. You can.
2) One time, when The
Tzemach Tzedek (Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson zt”l - the third Lubavitcher
Rebbe) was learning in Cheder, his teacher taught the first verse in
Parshas Vayechi according to the commentary of the Baal HaTurim zt”l
that Yaakov Avinu lived the best years of his life in Egypt. When he came
home, he asked his grandfather, The Alter Rebbe (Rebbe Shneur Zalman of
Liadi zt”l - the first Lubavitcher Rebbe) how Yaakov Avinu lived the
best years of his life in Egypt, when it is so spiritually barren and low?!?!
Answered Reb Shneur Zalman zt”l: It is written (in Parshas
Vayigash) that Yaakov ‘sent Yehudah ahead of him…. to show the way to
Goshen’. The Midrash explains that this was to set up a House
of Study for Yaakov’s sons to learn Torah. When one studies Torah, one is
brought close to Hashem, so that even in Egypt one can live a true life.
(Quoted in the book HaYom Yom).
3) The Tosher Rebbe (Rebbe Meshulam Feish Lowy
zt”l) asks; why does the Torah say ‘Vayechi Yaakov/And Yaakov lived’? Usually it would have said ‘Vayehi/And
it was’ - and it might have even been more grammatically correct to say it that
way!!
So, he
quotes from the Zohar, which says that the biggest light comes from
darkness. Like if you have a tough situation, it usually forces you to
bring out inner goodness from within yourself that you hardly even knew you
had. A greater good comes out from things that might look dark at first.
Mitzraim/Egypt, we know is like the lowest place on earth and Yaakov
Avinu was one of the best people if not the best person on earth, so it was
hard for him in Mitzraim/Egypt.
Think
about someone as spiritual as Yaakov Avinu in a place as lowly as
Mitzraim/Egypt!! So, Reb Lowy zt”l
explains that this is why these were the best years of Yaakov Avinu’s life.
Because he was forced - in spiritually barren Egypt - to bring out more
good from within himself, and as the Zohar says (see above), a greater
light comes out of darkness. And a proof for this that he brings is that
Gematria/numerical value of the word ‘טוֹב’ is 17 -
the amount of years that Yaakov Avinu spent in Egypt!! (From Avodas Avodah).
Okay;
back to the parsha: The Torah says that Yaakov was about to die, so he
called Yosef and had him swear that he wouldn’t bury him in Mitzraim/Egypt, and
he would bury him where his fathers were buried, i.e. Maaras Hamachpela.
As we know, Rashi HaKadosh brings 3 explanations for reasons why,
but this time we will focus on a commentary of one of the later commentators:
So, HaRav
Chaim ben Betzalel zt”l (brother of the Maharal zt”l) explains that
someone who is buried in Eretz Yisrael/The Land of Israel comes back faster
than someone who isn’t when Hashem in His Kindness brings everyone back to life
(may He do so very speedily in our days).
And,
based upon this, HaRav Avraham Yaakov Pam zt”l explains that this is one
of the reasons why Yaakov Avinu wanted to be buried in Israel; because he loved
Avodas Hashem/Service of Hashem so much, that he wanted to come back as quickly
as he could so that he could get back to Serving Hashem.[2] We should all
try to take this lesson from Yaakov Avinu, to love Hashem so much and want to
serve Him that much. May we be zocheh/have the merit to this, Amein
vi’Amein.
Back to
the parsha: Yosef HaTzaddik swore to Yaakov Avinu that he would do so. Soon, Yosef heard that Yaakov Avinu was sick,
and he took his two sons, Ephraim and Menashe with him, and he came to him. It
was told to Yaakov Avinu that Yosef had come to him, so he exerted himself and
sat up on his bed. Yaakov Avinu told
Yosef HaTzaddik that Ephraim and Menashe would be like his kids (they are part
of the 12 Shevatim/Tribes), but any kids that Yosef had after that, would be
his, i.e. Yosef’s. Yaakov Avinu was blind, and he told Yosef to bring his
kids to him, and he would bless them. Yosef brought Menashe – the older – to
Yaakov’s right hand with his left, and Ephraim to Yaakov Avinu’s left with his
right. Yaakov however put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, and his left
on Menashe’s. Now, as the older, Menashe would have usually had the right hand
on his head. Yosef told Yaakov Avinu that it wasn’t the right way to put
his hands, but Yaakov Avinu told him that Menashe would become great also, but Ephraim
would become greater.
Yaakov
blessed them saying: ‘Bicha yivareich Yisroel leimor; yisimicha Elokim ki’Ephraim vi’chi’Menashe/With you shall Israel
bless saying;, may Hashem make you like Ephraim and like Menashe.’ This is
why a lot of parents bless their kids on Shabbos that way. And the
question is asked; why do parents bless their children to be like Ephraim and
Menashe? Why not other great righteous people from the Torah - like the
Avos/Forefathers?
So, there
are two answers I will bring found in the Sefer M’Shulchan Govoha:
So, first it quotes from HaRav Shlomo Bloch zt”l: And he
explains that by blessing Ephraim and Menashe that they should ‘be like
Reuven and Shimon to me’, Yaakov Avinu was making them like people before
them. So, Reb Bloch zt”l explains, this made there be no Yi’ridas HaDoros
(the concept that each generation is not spiritually as good as the last one)
for them. And this is why parents bless their children to be specifically
like Ephraim and Menashe, he says: Because parents wish their children to
be as good or better than previous generations as well.
And then the
book gives a second explanation: Obviously, Menashe, being the firstborn,
would usually have gotten the blessing with the right hand!! It must have
hurt to have Ephraim get the right hand! But the M’Shulchan Govoha
says that Menashe was not even jealous of Ephraim! So, he explains that
parents want their children to be like this: Never getting jealous of
others and accepting what comes to them and what doesn’t. (From Sefer M'Shulchan Govoha)
Okay;
back to the parsha: Yaakov Avinu told Yosef that he was about to die, and
that Hashem be with him, and would bring him to the land of his Forefathers. In
Aliyah Revi’i, Yaakov called his sons, and he told them to gather around and he
would tell them what would happen in the end of days, i.e. Yemos HaMashiach/the
Days of Mashiach.
Rashi
HaKadosh quotes
from Gemara Pesachim (56a) and Midrash Bereishis Rabbah, which
explain that at the moment that Yaakov Avinu wished to reveal to them the End
(times of Mashiach), the Shechinah/Divine Presence left him and he
couldn’t tell them what would happen in times of Mashiach.
But then
the Ruzhiner Rebbe (Rebbe Yisroel Friedman of Ruzhin zt”l) says a
beautiful thing that essentially cannot be left out of a Vayechi Dvar
Torah: He quotes the “Rashi” listed above and explains that, true, Yaakov
Avinu was not allowed to reveal the End of Times, but…… he was allowed
to reveal to them how to bring Mashiach: By telling them to gather
around, he taught them that the way to bring Mashiach is for all the Jews to
gather together and have Achdus/oneness.[3] This is really something to
think about…..
So,
anyway, Yaakov Avinu now blessed his sons. But; you can notice that some
of the “blessings” that Yaakov Avinu gave his children were actually rebukes!
So why are they called blessings?
Answers HaRav
Shlomo Wolbe zt”l; the biggest blessing of all is making known to someone
their true self. Yaakov Avinu, in his blessings, essentially told his
children who they were - which lets them know what to work on and how to refine
themselves - and that is the biggest blessing of all.[4] We should ponder
this….
Okay, so
Yaakov Avinu gave Reuven a blessing, but also sort of a rebuke - the same for
Shimon and Levi - and to Levi he gave Kehunah/Priesthood. To Yehuda, he
gave kingship. About Zevulun, he said that he would dwell on the
seacoasts.
And Rashi
HaKadosh quotes from Midrash Tanchuma, which explains that this
means that he would be involved in business and support the people of
Yissachar, who would be involved in Torah study all day. About Yissachar,
he said that he was a strong-boned donkey.
And Rashi
HaKadosh tells us from Midrash Bereishis Rabbah that this means that
he would bear the Yoke of Torah - just like donkeys bear loads. (There is much
to say about the Yissachar-Zevulun relationship, but we will not get into it
here. See last year’s report for a commentary on it). About Don, he
said that he would avenge his people, and that he would be a like a serpent who
bites the horses’ heels causing the rider to fall backwards.
Rashi
HaKadosh explains
that this refers in part to Shimshon, who came from Don, and just like the
snake who doesn't touch the rider, but hurts him by hurting the horse, so too
with Shimshon, when he Davened/prayed for one last burst of strength, and his
prayer was answered, and he was able to pull out the pillars from the avodah
zarah/idol worshiping place, and though he didn’t touch the people, he still
killed them.
For Gad, Yaakov
Avinu said that a troop would troop forth from him. For Asher, he said
that rich food would come from him and he would yield delicacies. About
Naftali, he said that he was a swift gazelle, and that beautiful sayings would
come forth from him. For Yosef, he said that he was charming to the eye,
and that they (as Rashi HaKadosh, quoting from Midrash Bereishis Rabbah,
explains, his brothers and Potiphar’s wife) heaped bitterness upon him, and
became quarrelsome. But basically, he said that he held on to Hashem. For
Binyamin, he said that he was a wolf, in the morning devouring plunder, and at
night dividing spoil.
After
blessing his sons, Yaakov Avinu commanded them and said to them essentially
that he was going to die and he told them to bury him in the cave that is in
the field of Ephron (Maaras Hamachpela). The Torah then says that Yaakov
expired. Rashi HaKadosh quotes
the Rabbis from Gemara Taanis 5b who say that since it says that
Yaakov expired, and didn’t say that he died, then he didn’t actually die, just
went up to Shamayim/Heaven. Yosef cried over Yaakov, and he told the
physicians to embalm Yaakov, and they did. When the days of mourning the death
of Yaakov Avinu had passed, Yosef HaTzaddik asked Paroah’s household to tell
Paroah about the oath that Yaakov had him take – to bury him in Israel, and to
ask if he could. Paroah said that he could. Yosef, all Paroah’s servants,
the elders of his house, all the elders of Mitzraim/Egypt, Yosef’s entire
household, and his brothers and his father’s household went up with him. Only
their young children and their flocks and cattle did they leave in
Mitzraim/Egypt. Yaakov’s sons carried him to Israel, and they buried him in
Maaras Hamachpela.
Now, Gemara
Sotah Daf 13 discusses this: It says that Esav was arguing with
Yaakov’s sons about Maaras Hamachpela. He said that he, (Esav) should be buried
next to Leah, since she “should have been” his wife. They told him that he had
sold the birthright to Yaakov, so he (Esav) actually technically shouldn’t have
married Leah.
Esav said
to them that at least he should have some part in Maaras Hamachpela, but as the
Midrash says, when Yaakov Avinu encountered Esav after leaving Lavan’s
house, he put all his money down, and told him that he could have the money if
he would give him his share in Maaras Hamachpela, which Esav of course, agreed
to. So the brothers yet again could reject his argument. He asked
them if he could see the deed, but they said that it was in Mitzraim/Egypt. So
Naftali ran back to Mitzraim/Egypt to get the deed.
Meanwhile,
Chushim, the son of Don who was deaf, couldn’t hear what was going on, but he
was upset that Yaakov Avinu wasn’t getting buried, so he took something, and
hit Esav’s head off, and Esav’s head rolled into Maaras Hamachpela.
Now, I
have a question that I have not yet been able to answer: If you look
closely, you will notice that the people who “acted” in this situation were
Naftali - a son of Bilhah - and Chushim - a grandson of Bilhah. What is
the significance of the fact that they were the people who “took action” and
the fact that they were both from Bilhah? If anyone has seen anything on
this or has an answer please let me know. Thanks everyone.
But I posed this question to HaRav Daniel Yaakov Travis shlita, and he answered that perhaps it is to teach us that "little people" can do big things. (Bilhah, being the shifchah of Rachel, would have made her likely the lowest of the wives of Yaakov Avinu in other's eyes, unfortunately). But again, if you have seen an answer to this or think of one, please comment and let me know.
So,
anyway, at the end of the parsha, Yosef HaTzaddik dies at 110, and he was
embalmed.
And just
one last parting thought for Sefer Bereishis - a very beautiful one: Says
Rebbe Asher Weiss shlita: Sefer Bereishis is like the first day of
school: Our parents are accompanying us - walking with us to school
before our first day. They get us ready and help to encourage us.
And, as we walk into school, we keep looking back at them and waving.
Explains Reb Weiss shlita; in Sefer Bereishis, we are “walking” with our
parents - our Avos/Forefathers and Imahos/Foremothers, and they are helping to
encourage us and get us ready to “go to school” - to learn the rest of the
Torah. And, as we walk into Sefer Shemos, going into the rest of the Holy
Torah, we keep looking back at Sefer Bereishis - at our parents - and waving.
(From Minchas Asher).
There are
85 pessukim/verses in this parsha and 1534 pessukim/verses in the entire Sefer
Bereishis. B’Ezras Hashem Yisbarech/with the Help of Hashem, He is
Blessed, we will begin Sefer Shemos next week and start learning it together.
May everyone be zocheh/have the merit to do so, Amein vi’Amein, so may it
be Hashem’s Holy Will.
This Dvar
Torah is dedicated to all who need yeshuos – in whatever way. May this Torah be a zechus for them.
Chazak Chazak
V’Nischazeik!!!
I wish every single Jew a wonderful, wonderful week full of holiness!
Sources:
- From Nikolsburg.org.
- From YUTorah.org.
- From YUTorah.org. Told over by Reb Ari Mirzoeff shlita.
- From OU.org. Told over by HaRav Shalom Rosner shlita.
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