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.

Yaakov’s eternal life and legacy, according to this, is not at all restricted to his physical existence. It is, in fact, even more pronounced after his soul’s departure from his body.

This phenomenon helps explain the name of our Torah reading: “Vayechi” and he lived – referring to the life of Yaakov – despite the fact that in actuality it talks about his demise and the events that preceded his final days in this world. Since, however, the life and legacy of the Tzaddik is not defined by physical existence, the events of our Parsha come under the title of “Vayechi” – his true and eternal life – notwithstanding the fact that most of them revolve around the end of his existence in a mortal body.

Of the central occurrences described in our Parsha, is the dramatic episode of Yaakov’s blessings to his grandchildren, Menashe and Efraim. The Torah relates, in considerable detail, how Yosef presented his son’s, when preparing them for Yaakov’s blessing, in a way that Menashe, the older of the two, would be across Yaakov’s right hand and Efraim, the younger, opposite his left hand.

Yet, to the surprise and disappointment of Yosef, Yaakov maneuvered his hands in such a way that his right hand ended up on the head of the younger son and vice-a-versa.

Oblivious as to Yaakov’s intention and reason, Yosef attempted to correct Yaakov’s hands, saying: “Not so father, this is the older son, place your right hand over his head.”

Yaakov, however, was not pleased by Yosef’s effort to correct him. Do you realize whose hand you are attempting to guide? This is the hand that has wrestled with the Divine and with man and has prevailed. “I know my son, I know,” said Yaakov, I know exactly what I’m doing; “He too [Menashe] will become great; yet his younger brother shall become greater than he.”

This narrative, on a surface level, leaves us with a lot of questions. Why must we learn of yet another story involving sibling rivalry; another tale of the younger son outshining the older?

Even more perplexing is the mindset of Yaakov. The victim of a bitter rivalry with his own brother, which caused an abundance of pain and anguish to himself, his brother and his parents – the casualty of an ugly competition between his own sons, which led to more sorrow and grief – you would think that he would be sensitive to this phenomenon.

Why, of all people, would he stir up more trouble, this time among his grandchildren? What was he possibly thinking? Could it be that this was precisely what was on Yosef’s mind? “Oh father, not again!”

Finally, where in this story – a story that comes under the title of “Vayechi” – do we see Yaakov’s essential and eternal greatness?

The deeper Chassidic interpretation of these events, as expounded by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, helps answer these questions.

Menashe, as his name indicates represents the notion of surviving and overcoming the hardship of exile: “G-d has made me forget my hardship.” Ephraim, on the other hand, signifies the idea of growing from and through the pain and adversity of Galus: “G-d has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

According to this, there was a deep ideological debate taking place between Yosef and his father. Yosef argued let Menashe be the dominant and prevailing ideology, i.e., let there be an end to the exile the sooner the better – let us move on to the days of holiness and redemption as quickly as possible and forget the time of suffering.

Yaakov, however, disagreed. Yaakov was of the firm opinion that it is not enough to survive Galus – it is not enough to endure and forget – we must actually grow and reap the rewards of the bitter exile, otherwise it is all in vain.

Yaakov insisted: “As much as I understand where you are coming from; as much as I share your vehement dislike for the suffering and challenges of the exile, it is Ephraim – to be fruitful in the land of my suffering – that must be the dominant future of the Jewish people. Yes, we must seek an end to the darkness and adversity of the Diaspora but we dare not abandon the spoils of war.

G-d has repeatedly promised that when the Israelites will leave Egypt they will take the wealth of that nation with them. Metaphorically, this represents the spiritual rewards that are reaped as a means of the darkness of exile.

By prevailing in his difference with Yosef over who should receive the choicest blessings, Yaakov has insured that we will not just survive the darkness of the Galus but we will indeed capture the treasures of the corporeal world and harness its energy for the sake of holiness and spirituality.

There is a very timely message contained herein. There are those who argue that enough is enough. We have survived Egypt, we’ve survived the Romans, the Inquisition, the Nazis the Communists, etc., we have finally found freedom, we are free in America, in Israel and most other countries to live in peace and harmony, let this be the final redemption.

Why must we pray for Moshiach? Why must we seek a time of spiritual blessings and reward Let us take what we can get and be happy! They even quote the Talmudic passage: ”One who grabs too much, grabs nothing.“ So, they say, let us be happy with the peace, tranquility and prosperity of our times and call it paradise. Let us, in other words, take the blessings of Menashe.

Comes the Torah and tells us that this is not a new debate. Yosef has already pleaded to shorten the Galus at any cost, but Yaakov has stopped him cold. ”I know my son where you’re coming from, but Heaven forbid that after all the suffering we should compromise away the profits and forget G-d’s whole intention for the exile to begin with. The ultimate blessing is that of Ephraim: “G-d has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

May this be realized with the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days.