“He–and We–Live”–A Torah Study for Parashat Vay’chi

Led by Rabbi J.B. Sacks on December 18, 2021

Today’s Torah reading is Parashat Vay’chi. “Vay’chi” means, “And he lived,” and this portion ends the book of Genesis.

It records a lot. Try to take in this listing:

• The last years and death of Jacob;
• Jacob’s request of Joseph to be buried in the Cave of Machpelah way off in Eretz Yisrael, where his parents, Isaac and Rebecca, and his grandparents, Abraham and Sarah, are buried;
• Jacob’s adoption of his grandchildren Manasseh and Ephraim, and his transmission of the blessing to them and not to any of his other children;
• Jacob’s elevation of the younger Ephraim over Manasseh;
• Jacob’s gathering all his sons to his bedside and his offering of final words to them, words tailored to each one individually;
• Jacob’s death and embalmment;
• The transporting of Jacob’s body to Eretz Yisrael, escorted by an official Egyptian delegation
• Jacob’s burial by his sons in the Cave of Machpelah.
• The approaching of Joseph by his brothers–wallowing in guilt, they fear Joseph might punish them for their actions decades earlier, now that their father died. Joseph not only reassures them; he promises to care for them and their families.
• Joseph lives to the age of 110
• Joseph tells his family that G!d will return them to Eretz Yisrael and instructs them to carry his bones up from Egypt at that time.

How does this week’s Torah reading, Vayechi, conclude Genesis? (We spent time brainstorming. The following are just some ideas!)

• Genesis 49:29 mentions the field of Ephron the Hittite, which brings up a number of themes–honoring the dead, interfaith relations, the connection of commerce and culture, and that we are bound to Eretz Yisrael. All of these have been featured throughout the book of Genesis. For example, our people began in Mesopotamia and are now in Egypt, so we have had to navigate interfaith relations everywhere, including at this point in the story. One of Abraham’s only mentioned acts of commerce is the purchase of the Cave of Machpelah, which not only speaks of commerce, but begins a distinctly Jewish approach to death. Finally, with all this wandering, will we yet receive a land to call our own?
• In Genesis 50:1–Joseph kissed his father. In Genesis 31:28, Laban scolds Jacob for running off without letting him kiss his daughters. He finally does so in 32:1. Esau kisses Jacob in 33:4. Finally, in Genesis 45:14, Joseph kisses all his brothers after he discloses his identity to them. Literarily, these scenes of kissing might mean a lot of things. Our commentary here considers it “an act of farewell,” but it feels in all of these places fraught with much, much more. We are left to think about family and how we use affection and specifically the many types of kisses people employ for many different reasons.
• Genesis 50:17–brings up the concern for forgiveness, and the theme of recognizing G!d, both begun with Abraham’s journey (at least). Just as we might wonder if Adam and Eve ever forgave Cain for murdering Abel, or if Isaac ever forgave Abraham for nearly killing him, we wonder if Joseph really forgave his brothers. Forgiveness and trust haunt the text even as they continue haunt us.
• Genesis 50:24–mentions the avot (patriarchs): Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So let’s think about them:

1. Abraham: terrifying, distant father who sees only the vision and willing to do all for it;
2. Isaac–enigmatic, victimized, yet perhaps clever manipulator masking as a doddering old fool–a quiet man carrying the scars of a traumatic event;
3. Jacob–mercenary ambition when young but grows into the role of a patriarch though he, too, is a lousy father–ignoring most, favoring few; and
4. Joseph starts off the spoiled brat whose the cause of his own misfortunes but who has the guile and adaptability to rise to the top.
5. Meanwhile the women, on the surface mere props and property are smart, clever and able to affect the course of history

• Theme of what makes for Jewishness–and the divide between acculturation and assimilation–many intermarry, but Joseph alone seems fully integrated into his Egyptian landscape; 50:25–Joseph is clearly Egyptian–his gets embalmed, but he clearly considers himself an Israelite, a Jew, as he wishes to be buried in Eretz Yisrael. What are the boundaries that we have had, and continue, to navigate in participating fully in society yet remaining grounded in our Jewish heritage?
• Rivalry among the human family led to the flood became rivalry among birth family, culminating in the Joseph story.
• Theme of exile and return–Abraham arrives in Eretz Yisrael and throughout the book there are a number of times the family must leave and return.
• Recall that “Vay’chi” means life. Genesis opened with the beginnings of all life, culmination in the creation of human life. We, the Jewish people, still have life

Now, let’s consider how Vayechi paves the way for the book of Exodus (We spent time brainstorming. The following are just some ideas!)

• Jacob gives final words (Genesis 49) to the gathered brothers; the beginning of Exodus reminds us of all the brothers coming down to Egypt, who become the eponymous tribes of Israel.
• Genesis 50:24-25 contains the phrase, “G!d will surely take note of you,” which becomes a rallying cry in Exodus 3:16.
• In Genesis 50:25–Joseph commits the family to burying his remains in Eretz Yisrael. This is carried out in Exodus 13:19. He seems to be buried in a plot that Jacob once bought in Shechem (cf. Gen. 33:10 and esp. Josh 24:32).
• A coffin in Egypt foreshadows the period of enslavement–where the Israelite male babies are killed. But it also portends promise, as Moshe will be placed in a coffin-like basket on the Nile.
• Mitzrayim, Egypt, has been a major location and in Exodus becomes a major character.
• Human rivalry and family rivalry in Exodus becomes intense rivalry again among the human family, threatening G!d’s creation.
• When Jacob gives last words to his sons, he only directly addresses Joseph and Judah–the Joseph tribes, especially Ephraim, become the dominant tribe in the northern country of Israel, while Judah becomes the dominant tribe in the southern country of Judah.
• Interestingly, this is the only parashah that begins in the middle of a paragraph, perhaps indicating that we are still in the middle of a story, a story that perforce continues in the book of Exodus.

We’ve just concluded the Book of Genesis and looked back at it, and we’ve also looked forward to sefer Sh’mot/Exodus. This is the last Shabbat service we’ll have before the new calendar year 2022. As we approach 2022, we also look back and look forward. What lessons does Genesis in general and Vayechi in particular gift to us to end a year and confront a new one?

THOUGHTS?

(We took time to share lessons from the parashah and from Genesis in general that can help us move into and through the New Year. Rabbi wove these into a blessing for us, with the idea of “b’reishit…vay’chi,”–We recall all that we went through from the beginning, and we realize that we are still gifted with life. We are here. What gifts did we have that helped us persevere? How might we show gratitude to God? What might we wish to explore in 2022? What relationships might we expand? What learning and what growth can we achieve?

Where there’s life, there’s hope.

May 2022 be a year of life and health, of hope and healing, of generosity and joy.

Amen.

Shabbat shalom!