Vayechi – Peninim on the Torah

לא יסור שבט מיהודה ומחוקק מבין רגליו עד כי יבא שילה

The scepter shall not depart from Yehudah, nor a scholar from among his descendants until Shiloh arrives. (49:10)

Chazal teach that Yaakov Avinu was about to reveal the keitz, End of Days, the coming of Melech Ha’Moshiach, and an end to all of our tzaros, troubles. When he saw the Shechinah, Divine Presence, depart from him, he understood that now was not the time for such a revelation. While he did not reveal the “when,” he did allude to the “who” as a descendant of the shevet, tribe, of Yehudah. Dovid HaMelech, a direct descendant of Yehudah, would be the progenitor from whom Moshiach would descend. Indeed, every leader of the monarch level was a descendant of David…

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גור אריה יהודה ... כרע רבץ כאריה וכלביא מי יקימנו

Sruly Schnair In 5786, Vayechi

A lion cub is Yehudah … He crouches, lies down like a lion, and like an awesome lion, who dares rouse him. (49:9)

The Torah compares five of Yaakov Avinu’s sons to animals: Yehudah – a lion; Binyamin – a wolf; Dan – a snake; Yissachar – a donkey; Naftali – a deer. While four of them are identified directly with the animal, Yehudah stands out as being compared both to a lion cub and a full-grown lion. Chazal address the singular distinction accorded to Yehudah. They explain that, because of his future leadership and monarchial obligations, he was given both the might of a lion and the brazenness of a young cub. As Horav S.R. Hirsch, zl, observes, Yehudah was to combine…

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ויברכם ביום ההוא לאמר בך יברך ישראל

Sruly Schnair In 5786, Vayechi

So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you shall Yisrael bless.” (48:20)

Yaakov Avinu assured his son, Yosef, that, for all time, Jewish parents would remember that he was the father of sons – Ephraim and Menashe — who achieved shevet, tribal, status equal with Yaakov’s sons. Parents will strive to see their sons reach such a level. The commentators, each in his own inimitable manner, offer explanations for the elevation of Menashe and Efraim to tribal status. Most focus on their characters and the fact that they were able to maintain their extraordinary commitment to Torah and mitzvos, despite the spiritual bankruptcy of the society in which they lived. Nothing of…

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יהודה אתה יודוך אחיך .... כרע רבץ כאריה וכלביא מי יקימנו (49:8-9)

Sruly Schnair In 5785, Vayechi

Yehudah—you, your brothers shall acknowledge… He crouches, lies down like a lion, and like an awesome lion, who dares rouse him. (Bereishit 49:8-9)

Yehudah was the acknowledged king of the shevatim. He is compared to a lion, the king of beasts. This was Yaakov Avinu’s vision of Yehudah for the future. Horav Shalom Yosef Zevin, zl, expounds on these two terms: crouches; and lies down. Both are characteristics associated with the lion. A person’s emotional state affects both his physical and ethical/moral conduct and his demeanor. One who feels down or discouraged can easily fall into a state of despair, which not only affects his motivation and drive, but can also lead to ethical compromises. He simply does not care. When one feels…

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פחז כמים אל תותר כי עלית משכבי אביך אז חללת יצועי עלה

Sruly Schnair In 5785, Vayechi

Water-like impetuosity—you cannot be foremost because you mounted your father’s bed, then you desecrated Him who ascended my couch. (49:4)

Reuven had it all—and lost it—due to an impetuous move on his part. Make no mistake: Reuven did not mean to sin. Indeed, he thought he was acting virtuously to defend his mother’s honor. He even repented after he was informed of his own imprudence. Nevertheless, it does not change the fact that he acted impulsively. A king, a leader, a Kohen, must act with deliberation and circumspection. Thus, the birthright that had been Reuven’s was transferred to Yosef, the monarchy to Yehudah, and the Kehunah/Priesthood to Levi. A leader does not have the luxury of acting in haste. Yaakov…

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ואני נתתי לך שכם אחד על אחיך אשר לקחתי מיד האמורי בחרבי ובקשתי

Sruly Schnair In 5785, Vayechi

As for me, I have given you, Shechem, one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the Emori with my sword and with my bow. (48:22)

Yaakov Avinu awarded Yosef an extra portion of land: Shechem. This was bequeathed to him for taking the initiative to inter Yaakov Avinu’s remains in Eretz Yisrael. To protect Shimon and Levi, who had gone to Shechem to retrieve their sister, Dinah, and to avenge the family’s honor, the Patriarch took up arms, preparing to battle the Emori. Hashem provided the Patriarch with a miracle, so that he would emerge triumphant. Sword and bow are figurative terms for the spiritual weaponry that our Patriarch employed. This teaches us that true strength is not physical in nature, but rather, spiritual strength…

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ועתה שני בניך הנולדים לך בארץ מצרים...אפרים ומנשה כראובן ושמעון יהיו לי

Sruly Schnair In 5785, Vayechi

And now, your two sons who were born in Egypt… Ephraim and Menashe shall be mine like Reuven and Shimon (48:5)

Yaakov Avinu underscores the fact the Menashe and Ephraim were Egyptian-born. He could just as easily have said, “your two sons, Ephraim and Menashe,” without adding their origins. HaRav Yaakov Kamenetzky, zl, explains that Yaakov was concerned about his grandsons’ origins because of the harsh, foreign spiritual influences they might have sustained. In order to include them among the Shevatim, they had to have remained on a spiritual plateau in some way equal to the Shevatim. Yaakov intimates that he was bringing Ephraim and Menashe close because, since they were born and raised in Egypt, they needed that spiritual TLC….

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ברכת אביך גברו על ברכת הורי... תהיין לראש יוסף

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Vayechi

The blessings of your father surpassed the blessings of my parents… Let them be upon Yosef’s head. (49:26)

When Yaakov Avinu blessed his sons, he gave an extra blessing to Yosef. Rashi translates Gavru al Bircas horai, “The blessing of your father gavru, surpassed, the blessings of my father.” This means that the blessings that Yaakov received from Hashem surpassed the blessings he received from his father. These should rest upon Yosef. Targum Onkelos translate gavru as “in addition.” This means that all the blessings – Yaakov’s father and those of Hashem, should all come to fruition in Yosef. This was the Patriarch’s way of saying that all the blessings will rest upon the head of he who…

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ועשית עמדי חסד ואמת אל נא תקבריני במצרים

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Vayechi

And do kindness and truth with me – please do not bury me in Egypt. (47:29)

Chesed shel emes, true kindness, or kindness of truth, is a fundamental concept in Jewish life. It underscores the importance of performing acts of lovingkindness for others for the sake of “kindness,” for Heaven’s sake, and not for any form of remuneration. For the most part, it pertains to the compassion and respect inherent in preparing the deceased for burial. The Chevra Kaddisha, Jewish Sacred Society, is charged with seeing to it that every Jew is accorded a proper and dignified burial. Chesed shel emes highlights the selfless and unconditional love that one should exhibit towards others – at all…

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ויחי יעקב בארץ מצרים שבע עשרה שנה

Sruly Schnair In 5784, Vayechi

Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. (47:28)

After (what seemed to be) a life of difficulty, Yaakov Avinu arrived in Egypt to spend the last seventeen years of his mortal existence. The tranquility, joy and harmony that he enjoyed in some way ameliorated what he had endured in the past. While there can be no tradeoff for the pain and sorrow that our Patriarch experienced, we do know that the last seventeen years of his life were reasonably calm and filled with nachas. Chazal (Talmud Yerushalmi, Kesubos 65b, Bereishis Rabbah 96:5) teach that Yaakov Avinu and Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi were intrinsically joined. This matter was not unknown…

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לא יסור שבט מיהודה ומחוקק מבין רגליו עד כי יבא שילה

The scepter shall not depart from Yehudah, nor a scholar from among his descendants until Shiloh arrives. (49:10)

גור אריה יהודה ... כרע רבץ כאריה וכלביא מי יקימנו

A lion cub is Yehudah … He crouches, lies down like a lion, and like an awesome lion, who dares rouse him. (49:9)

ויברכם ביום ההוא לאמר בך יברך ישראל

So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you shall Yisrael bless.” (48:20)

יהודה אתה יודוך אחיך .... כרע רבץ כאריה וכלביא מי יקימנו (49:8-9)

Yehudah—you, your brothers shall acknowledge… He crouches, lies down like a lion, and like an awesome lion, who dares rouse him. (Bereishit 49:8-9)

פחז כמים אל תותר כי עלית משכבי אביך אז חללת יצועי עלה

Water-like impetuosity—you cannot be foremost because you mounted your father’s bed, then you desecrated Him who ascended my couch. (49:4)

ואני נתתי לך שכם אחד על אחיך אשר לקחתי מיד האמורי בחרבי ובקשתי

As for me, I have given you, Shechem, one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the Emori with my sword and with my bow. (48:22)

ועתה שני בניך הנולדים לך בארץ מצרים...אפרים ומנשה כראובן ושמעון יהיו לי

And now, your two sons who were born in Egypt… Ephraim and Menashe shall be mine like Reuven and Shimon (48:5)

ברכת אביך גברו על ברכת הורי... תהיין לראש יוסף

The blessings of your father surpassed the blessings of my parents… Let them be upon Yosef’s head. (49:26)

ועשית עמדי חסד ואמת אל נא תקבריני במצרים

And do kindness and truth with me – please do not bury me in Egypt. (47:29)

ויחי יעקב בארץ מצרים שבע עשרה שנה

Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. (47:28)

YEARS

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