[Jewish] [Mindful Torah] Stop Moving! a (Belated) Commentary on Parshat Vayekhi

[Rabbi Steven Nathan]

Between general vacation time with my children and the celebration of
the secular new year I did not get a chance to send out a commentary
this week. but, better late than never!
Happy New Year! May it be a year filled with joy, gratitude and
learning!

Stop Moving! A Commentary on Parshat Vayekhi

This week’s parashah, Vayekhi (Bereshit/Genesis 47:28 – 49:33), brings
to a
close the book of Bereshit/Genesis. Jacob is finally able to settle
down and rest in
Egypt with his sons and their families. Until now he has not been able
to stop moving either physically or emotional.

This began when he traded Esau a bowl of lentils for his birthright and
then manipulated his father (with the help of his mother) into giving
him Esau’s
blessing. And so he ran from his brother’s anger and vengeance and went
to the land from which his parents came. There he worked for 14 years
in order to finally marry Rachel and Leah (the latter due to at trick
played on him by her father).

Then, somewhat covertly, he moved his family away from his
father-in-law Laban’s home in order to set out on his own. But still he
never found rest. For next he had to respond to his daughter Dinah’s
rape (which he did not really respond to effectively – but that is for
another time), the fall out of his sons’ murderous vengeance on the
people of Shechem (whose prince had raped Dinah) and beyond. He was
always moving. Even once settled he was never truly able to rest. Once
he seemed to settle down Esau returned on the scene and once again, he
feared for his life. In short, he was constantly moving or needing to
respond to crisis after crisis – whether real or perceived.

Once he believed Joseph to be dead, one might think that he would have
settled down simply out of grief. Yet, the Torah makes it clear that he
never stopped mourning for Joseph or for his beloved wife Rachel,
mother of Joseph and Benjamin. This kind of constant, unrelenting grief
itself takes a great deal of energy, and so even if he were sedentary
in a physical sense, emotionally he was still unable to settle down and
simple enjoy life.

With the discovery that Joseph was alive, he was again on the move, as
he
went down to Egypt in order to see his son. Perhaps it was the ability
to
rest after being reunited with Joseph that finally allowed him to let
go and
find some respite – and that prepared him to die.

Even though the days of peace and tranquility in Jacob’s life were few
and
fleeting, it is significant that the name of this parashah – Vayechi –
means
“and he lived.” As always, the name is simply taken from the first
verse of
the parashah, “And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for 17 years…” Not
coincidentally, Jacob lived the same number of years in Egypt as Joseph
had
lived with him before being sold by his brothers into slavery. As
stated by
the medieval commentator, R. David Kimchi “Just as Joseph was in the
lap of
Jacob for 17 years, Jacob was in the lap of Joseph 17 years.”

It is true that Joseph was able to care for his father the same number
of
years that his father had cared for him. However, I believe the
significance goes beyond this. For it is possible to (interpretively)
translate the opening verse to read “And Jacob was finally able to live
during the 17 years that he spent in Egypt.” Finally, Jacob was able to
let go of his need to control others, or run from them. He was able to
live without his mind being constantly torn apart with grief over
Joseph and Rachel. For even though Rachel was dead, knowing that her
two sons were alive and with him allowed him to let go of the crippling
grief that prevents one from being able to truly live.

After 17 years of living, watching, and enjoying life, it was as if the
scales had been rebalanced. The 17 years that he spent doting on Joseph
– which helped to create his brothers’ hatred for him – had now been
balanced with 17 years of peace and tranquility living together with
the sons of Rachel, Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah. Jacob can finally die, now
that he has finally allowed himself just to live.

Then, as he prepares to die something happens. It is as if he realizes,
after 17 years of simply living, that this is his last opportunity to
act. And so he sets about to bless Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and
Menasseh. In reading the passage that describes the blessing of Ephraim
and Menasseh, the use of Jacob’s two names caught my attention.

The verses read, “And someone told Jacob and said, ‘Look, your son
Joseph [with his two sons] is coming to you.’ And Israel summoned his
strength and sat up in bed.” Then Jacob recounts to Joseph when God
first appeared to him and blessed him, and then tells him that he is
about to bless the two boys. We then read, “And Israel saw Joseph’s
sons … and Israel’s eyes had grown heavy with age … and he kissed them
(Ephraim and Menasseh) … and Israel said to Joseph ‘I had not thought
to see your face, and, look God has also let me see your seed.’ ” It is
then that Israel blesses the two boys.

Though the Torah often uses the two names of Jacob/Israel
interchangeably without any obvious reason, I became aware of a clear
message in these particular verses. For though it is Jacob, whom Joseph
first encounters and who recounts his first meeting with God (when he
was only known as Jacob) it is Israel who summons his strength, sits up
and then takes over. It is Israel, meaning the one who struggled with
beings both Divine and human and that prepares to bless his
grandchildren. Jacob may be the one who is willing and able to let go
of his history of running, hiding, and manipulating, but somewhere
inside him there is still a part that not only wants to act one last
time, but who realizes that it is necessary. Therefore, even though
Israel’s “eyes had grown heavy with age,” and perhaps with disuse, they
were still able to see what needed to be done at that moment. It is
Israel who acknowledges the miracle of being reunited with Joseph and
then blesses the boys.

Of course, it is also Israel who intentionally gives the younger,
Ephraim, the blessing that belongs to his elder brother, Menasseh, by
crossing his hands when blessing them. When Joseph points this out to
his father, he makes it clear that he knows what he is doing. The
younger will continue to serve the elder, just as has happened all
along. Israel, who struggled with God, has the strength and the clarity
to see that this is God’s will and to insure that it happens. It is not
birth order that determines who is blessed, nor has it ever been. It is
God’s will, and God’s will alone, which determines this. At this
moment, it becomes clear that the trickery that assured Jacob the
blessing that was thought to have belonged to Esau, was as much a part
of God’s plan as is this exchange of Menasseh and Ephraim ’s blessings.
Joseph was not the only one who realized that he was simply an
instrument of God’s will, as he told his brothers in last week’s
parashah and which he will reiterate this week.

In analyzing the use of the names Yisrael/Israel and Yaakov/Jacob in
this parashah, the message is simple. First, we learn that it is those
who struggle in this world that are able to eventually discern most
clearly God’s will. Those who wrestle and struggle are able to become
aware of what God wants of us. However, it is important to remember
that the struggle is not in order to achieve control or mastery of the
world, but merely to understand what it is that is expected of us. This
is what it means to be Israel/Yisrael.


As the people of Israel, we must continue this struggle as we attempt
to become conscious of what it means to be created in the image of God
and to be partners with God in the ongoing work of creation. However,
we must also remember that Israel was not able to reemerge until after
Jacob was able to live. So too, we must take the time to simply
experience and pay attention to life. This is what provides us with the
strength and conviction to then become God wrestlers so that we can
change the world not in order to meet our own needs or desires, but to
bring the world closer to the imagined Divine ideal.

This does not mean that we are simply pawns in a Divine chess game.
However, it does mean that there is a Divine plan of which we are all a
part. Yet, we need to let go of our desire to control life and the
world around us in order to discern where we fit in to the plan and how
we are to act. This requires effort and struggle, but also it requires
letting go of our need to understand every detail and be in control of
every occurrence.

As human beings, this is not always easy to do. As descendants and
recipients of the blessing of Israel, it is what we must do. That is
the struggle. That is the challenge. That is life.

Shabbat Shalom. (or, in this case, Happy New Year and Shavuah Tov - a
Good Week!)


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Posted By Rabbi Steven Nathan to Mindful Torah at 1/03/2010 01:45:00 PM
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