Va-Va'chi: He Lived
This Torah portion transitions the stories of Genesis to the Exodus from Egypt. Jacob nears the end of his life and expresses his concern to be buried alongside his ancestors. Joseph takes his sons, Ephraim and Manassah who were born in Egypt, to Joseph. Jacob recognizes Jacob’s sons as his own and declares that they will share a portion of his (Jacob’s) allotment. Thus, Jacob lifted his grandsons to the same level of his genealogical list as his sonw.
Jacob then blessed Ephraim and Manassah, blessing Ephraim, the younger with his right hand and Manassah, the elder with his left hand. This seemed wrong to Joseph, and he tried to correct his father, saying that this would make the younger brother of greater importance. Jacob, however, refused to correct the order of precedence of his grandsons. This is a common motif in Genesis, where the younger supplants the elder.
Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manassah by saying: By you shall the people of Israel give their blessing, saying “May G~d make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.” This blessing is still used today by Jewish parents to their children.
Jacob then gathered all his sons together and gave each a personal blessing. In this blessing, Jacob set the future course for each son and foretells of the twelve tribes of Israel. The blessing has political overtones by giving some sons/tribes a brighter future than others. The blessing of Jacob also expresses his disappointment in some of his sons. The blessings of Reuben, Simeon and Levi, for instance, make it clear that they, although the oldest sons, do not have the prominent place in the family because Reuben slept with Jacob’s concubine and because Simeon and Levi lead the the senseless slaying of the people of Shechem. Judah received Jacob’s blessing to lead the family.
After Jacob’s death, Joseph received Pharaoh’s permission to bury Jacob in the Cave of Machpelah in Canaan, where Abraham and Isaac are buried. This is the burial plot that Abraham had purchased earlier following Sarah’s death. Joseph gathered the family together and they left Egypt for Canaan to bury Jacob, where they observed the traditional mourning period of seven days. After sitting Shiva, the family returned, to Egypt, as Joseph had promised Pharaoh.
Following Jacob’s death, the brothers feared that Joseph would take revenge on them for their treatment of him years earlier. He assured them that he had no such designs. He did ask, however, that following his death, he be brought out of the land of Egypt to be buried alongside his ancestor.
Joseph died at age 110 and was buried in a coffin, as was Egyptian tradition.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment