Vayechi

This is the last book in Sefer Bereshit (the book of Genesis). Jacob is old and about to die and brings his sons around his death bed to "bless" them. Some of the blessings are in fact curses. The style is poetic - indeed this is the first long piece of poetry in the Torah. Jacob dies, and Joseph and his brothers in a roundabout way are entirely reconciled. The book ends with Joseph's death and a promise to return Joseph's bones to Israel.

Another Voice

Parashat Vayechi - Jonathan Magonet

Rabbi Professor Jonathan Magonet has recently retired after twenty years as Principal of Leo Baeck College where he taught Hebrew Bible. He is the editor of the recent 8th Edition of Seder Ha-t'fillot, 'Forms of Prayer', the Shabbat and Daily prayerbook of the Movement for Reform Judaism. Throughout his rabbinate he has pioneered Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Christian-Muslim interfaith dialogue. He lives in London with his wife Dorothea. They have a son Gavriel and a daughter Avigail.

Our parashah begins and ends with a death, that of Jacob at the beginning and Joseph at the end. Both at the end summon their family to give a final blessing or instruction, anticipating the future existence of the family in the land promised by G-d to Abraham. All the human drama of their respective lives, the extraordinary ups and downs of fortune, the distressing and at times tragic events that both endured, the enormous passions of hatred and fear they had experienced, all fade into this one focus. Each in his own way read his life in terms of a particular destiny, not always grasped, sometimes fled from, yet always there.

Jacob had a special love for Joseph.   It is explained as being because Joseph was 'ben z'kunim' (Gen 37:3), usually translated as 'the son of his old age'. This translation may speak to the emotional state of Jacob, but is not the only possible meaning of the phrase. 'Zaken' means old age, but is also the term used to designate the 'elders', the important tribal leaders in the later Israelite society. So it is possible that Jacob saw in young Joseph a leadership role, perhaps his ultimate successor as head of the family. The same sentence that tells of Jacob's love for him records the giving of the 'coat of many colours', itself a sign of a special status. No wonder that immediately after we learn of Joseph's dreams of power over the rest of his brothers. Joseph understood his father's intention. Despite the anger these dreams evoked, Jacob too 'kept the matter in mind' (Gen 37:11). Himself the recipient of an important dream, Jacob must have seen his intuition about the boy reinforced.

The dual nature of Jacob plays out in the changing way he is named, whether as Jacob the often tricky and difficult individual or as Israel the bearer of G-d’s blessing and a special destiny.   So it is significant that it is 'Israel' who loves Joseph as the 'ben z'kunin'. It was as 'Israel' that he sent Joseph off to find his brothers (Gen 37:13), but after he learns of Joseph's supposed death he slumps back immediately into his Jacob identity (Gen 37:34) as if defeated in his special hopes for the child. These two names interchange throughout the narratives as Jacob moves in and out again of his sense of destiny, the one who wrestles with or for G-d, a role that he cannot always hold.  

Joseph has only one name, and the name given him by Pharaoh is never mentioned again. In our parashah the dreams of his childhood are largely fulfilled when his brothers come to plead for mercy from him after the death of Jacob and indeed bow down before him (Gen 50:18). Joseph does fulfil that leadership role his father envisaged, but remains nevertheless a transitional figure. No tribe will bear his name, though his bones will find their final resting place in the promised land.

Another Voice - Batya Elliott

 THE SIGNIFICANT RESPONSE OF SILENCE By Rabbi Avi Weiss

As Jacob blesses his children, he tells his eldest, Reuven, that kingship will not come from him as he forfeited the birthright when he had relations with Bilha, Jacob's wife/maidservant. (Genesis 49:4) Shimon and Levi suffer a similar fate in that their blessing, too, is a disappointment. Their mistake was the destruction of the entire city of Shechem after the rape of Dinah. (Genesis 49:5-7)

What is striking is that during both of these incidents, Jacob remained virtually silent. Why does he hold back and say nothing or little until the end of his life?

Perhaps Jacob's approach teaches us something about speech. On the one hand it is speech which makes us unique. Rabbi Yehuda Halevy in his Kuzari labels the human being as a medaber. Speaking is central to human relationships. As long as a couple, for example, is speaking to each other even acrimoniously, the relationship is soluble. But if they are silent, unable to talk, trouble is at hand.

There are occasions when it is best not to speak, as saying something could destroy a relationship. Good judgment is needed to know when the timing is appropriate to reveal a deep hurt. But it often takes great wisdom to know when it is best not to talk and not to reveal a deeper emotion.

It may be that Jacob does not speak as these incidents unfolded, fearful that whatever he would say could possibly ruin his relationship with his eldest children. Only years later, when the relationships were solid, was it the time right to speak out. Openness is often best displayed in a safe environment and silence can sometimes preserve relationships.