Parashat Vayehi 5770
The Profound Word
Howard S. Joseph
Joseph’s Final Legacy
Chapter 47
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28. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for seventeen years, and Jacob’s days, the years of his life, were a hundred and forty seven years. |
How were Jacob’s last years under the ‘hand’ of Joseph in Egypt?
Neziv understands the Hebrew ‘Vayehi’, from the word ‘hay’ and ‘hayyim’ as not only meaning ‘living’ but living well, lively, joyous, and contented.
Jacob lived a good and well ordered life to which he was unaccustomed in the land of Israel….
Jacob’s final years were good ones. The agony of the previous years, the loss of Joseph as the potential leader of the next generation, the hunger and famine- these were all gone. Jacob lived with his family intact again – and it was good. Jacob’s confidence in Joseph was correct. He was committed to the family dream and destiny. He was a man of peace and showed no vengeance towards his brothers. He genuinely believed his being sold to Egypt was part of God’s plan for the future well-being of the family.
Eventually, of course, Jacob too will die. Following the pattern of his ancestors he wants to bless the family, prepare them for the future. However, we find a lack of anxiety in choosing the future leader of the family. It is very difficult to discern Jacob’s choice among his twelve sons. Each one is recognized for who he was in himself. We see hints of leadership language in regard to Judah and Joseph. But there is no clear choice.
What has changed? There seems to be a confidence that the true leaders will emerge from the new reality, for the new reality is that the family is united together to face its destiny. Petty jealousy will not get in the way of the future. This family knows it is Israel, chosen to carry on the blessing of Abraham and unified around that mission. Under Joseph’s protection the family has matured. This is Joseph’s final contribution. This is his final legacy.
Neziv sees this recognition of Joseph in Jacob’s final words to him.
49:24 But his bow was strongly established, and his arms were gilded from the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob; from there he sustained the rock of? Israel….
Neziv explains:
Joseph’s bow was indeed strong and could have been used to hurt his brothers. But he showed the beauty of his arms to benefit them with plenty, wealth and good measure….
The verse explains from where Joseph received this good quality in such an exceptional manner: ‘from the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob.’ The obvious meaning of this phrase [he reads 'from the hands of the mighty Jacob'] refers to Jacob who had prodigious strength in the ways of peace … From Jacob this virtue was passed to Joseph who followed his father’s character.
However, the phrase can be read also as ‘the Mighty One of Jacob’ referring to the Blessed Holy One. This is understood according to what is written [in Deuteronomy 32:9] Because the Lord’s portion is His people Jacob, the lot of His inheritance. [The word translated as 'lot' is 'hevel' which means 'rope'.] I explained there that the nation of Israel is compared to a rope made of many strands thickly knotted above but loosely hanging below with each strand individually separated. So, too, the Blessed Holy One is the Soul of the Soul of Israel so that when an Israelite is distressed the Shekhinah is disturbed as explained in Tractate Sanhedrin. This is like disturbing one of the hanging threads at the bottom of the rope. The thick knot at he top is also disturbed.
This is Jacob’s great power. For this reason the Torah later prohibits revenge among Israel. This is the essence of Joseph.
The verse adds to this that ‘from there he sustained the rock of Israel….’
The Hebrew ‘roeh’ [here translated as 'sustained'] means that he repeatedly concentrates his mind in an idea in a sustained manner. Here it refers to Joseph’s wondrous ability to act kindly with those who might have hurt him [e. g., his brothers.] Joseph plans to combine the dust of Israel into a great rock. For when Israel is in exile they are compared to the dust as Jacob was told: your children shall be like the dust of the earth…. The nations of the earth are like water as in the Song of Songs and Isaiah…. When the water swamps the dust it can completely obliterate it. However, if one makes a strong rock out of the dust the water may move the rock but cannot destroy it.
So Israel in exile. When their ideas are [too] scattered and diverse and attacking each other they can be easily lost one by one, may the Merciful One protect us. However, if they join together and become the rock of Israel, no creature can hurt them.
Jacob is speaking of the absolute necessity of this quality of Joseph’s. Joseph focused on how to create the rock of Israel.
This analysis provides us with the key to a very different Jacob. The fear of fear itself is gone. Jacob evolved into a man of action, a man of the world, a man of the field. However, the ultimate genius who establishes the future for Israel is none other than Joseph. He rescues, feeds and sustains them. And, then he binds this very diverse group of brothers now grown into tribes into a strong and unified nation: a rock. Again we are back into the symbolism of rocks and stones with which Jacob began his dreams and journey. If there is an air of confidence and hope in Jacob it is duly warranted. If he is no longer worried about the future that is fine. There will be worries but there will be leaders who will arise to address them. That is what happens in a real nation.
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The End of the Beginning
We have arrived at the end of the beginning, the end of Bereishit. We have seen how Neziv understands the movement of the story. But what is this story all about?
In his introduction to Bereishit he reminds us that this is the Book of the Creation, the story of God’s plan and dream that there be a universe. But he also reminds us that the book is sometimes called Sefer Hayashar. This is a difficult word to translate. It can mean ‘upright’, ‘correct’, ‘straight’, or true. Truly straight or correct or truly upright might even better convey the intention.
The Book of Yashar refers to the Ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who, according to rabbinic tradition, are the ones referred to by Baalam when he prayed that he ‘should die the death of the Yesharim’ [plural for Yashar].
Neziv distinguishes Yesharim from Zaddikim [righteous] and Hasidim [pious]. God’s world cannot survive on these alone as demonstrated in the rabbinic view that the Second Temple was destroyed despite the fact that many Jews were Zaddikim and Hasidim and assiduous students of Torah study. This was not enough to prevent them from unwarranted hatred towards each other which led to rampant murder and all types of evil. This hatred was based on different views of piety and suspected others who differed from them as being Sadduccees and heretics.
Yesharim are distinguished by their commitment to correct living in the daily affairs of the world. They truly strive to live at peace with others even though this may be difficult? and not always successful. However, without Yesharim the creation cannot survive. So the advent of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a fundamental part of the creation story. Without this new direction in human history the creation almost did not survive the violent generation of the Flood, the tower of Babel and the other challenges described in Genesis. God’s hope for the creation came to rest on Abraham as the ‘father of many nations.’ The blessing of Abraham had to continue in order for the universe to continue. This is Neziv’s project for his commentary as outlined in his introduction to Bereishit. The Torah records the history of the development of Yesharim, the truly righteous and correct people who sustain the creation. They are the ones God was looking for from the beginning.
Profound words indeed.
Shabbat Shalom
Hayyim Shemuel Yosef
Tevet 16 5770
January 2, 2010