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A Nation Apart — A Vayechi Essay

“…If statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky way. properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world, in all the ages; and had done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it.

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Vayechi

The Rebbe says:

1. In this week’s Parshah Ya’akov Avinu (our father) blesses each one of his 12 children (Chapter 49, Verses 1 through 28).

When Ya’akov Avinu blesses his son Asher he says “From Asher- his bread is rich, he will provide kingly delicacies” (Chapter 49, Verse 20).

Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) explains this blessing and says: The food which comes from the land that Asher received as an inheritance is rich and fat because there are many olives in his portion which give oil like a spring. As we see that Moshe Rabbeinu (our teacher) also blessed Asher by saying “and he will (even be able to) dip his feet in oil”.

The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Vayechi – Let’s Not Sell Ourselves Short

Please speak in the ears of the people: Let each man request of his fellow and each woman from her fellow silver vessels and gold vessels.– Exodus 11:2

G-d asked Moses to make a special effort to prevail upon the Jews to request valuables from their Egyptian neighbors, because unless they did so, the soul of Abraham would have a grievance against G-d. He would say that G-d carried out in full measure the prophecy that his offspring would be oppressed, but not the companion promise that the Jews would leave their captivity with great wealth (Genesis 15:14-15). To forestall this, G-d pleaded, as it were, with Moses to prevail upon the Jews to request valuables from the Egyptians – Rashi from Midrash

“Yaakov never died,” declares the Talmud: “Just as his progeny is alive, so too is he alive.” This revolutionary assertion may be understood on multiple levels, the most basic of which is the idea that the righteous live on through the perpetuation of their progeny and accomplishments.