Vayechi – Page 5 – Peninim on the Torah

אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך שים נא ידך תחת ירכי ועשית עמדי חסד ואמת

If I have found favor in your eyes, please place your hand under my thigh and do kindness and truth with me. (47:29)

Placing one’s hand beneath the thigh was the means of taking an oath. Yaakov Avinu insisted on an oath, because he knew that Yosef would be under intense political pressure to bury him in Egypt. He now had a reason to justify his actions, having made a promise to his father, which he was obligated to keep. Horav Yehudah Asaad, zl, renders this episode homiletically, thereby teaching us a practical and inspiring lesson. Rav Assad begins by defining the words and underlying implied homiletical meaning of: yerech, thigh; yad, hand; chesed, kindness; emes, truth. In Devarim 15:8, the Torah addresses…

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ועתה שני בניך הנולדים לך בארץ מצרים עד באי אליך מצרימה לי הם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Vayechi

And now, your two sons who were born to you in Egypt before my coming to you in Egypt shall be mine. (48:5)

Horav Moshe Feinstein, zl, derives from this pasuk that the symbol of the pertinacity of a Torah education; its staying power, and ability to overcome challenge, is whether it is still perceived in later generations. An education that endures generations is a good education. This idea is gleaned from Yaakov Avinu’s statement concerning Yosef’s children who were born prior to the arrival of the Patriarch in Egypt. Li heim, “They are mine!” has meaning only if they had been born and raised in the moral filth of Egyptian society without Yaakov Avinu to serve as a positive influence, as the…

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ראה פניך לא פללתי והנה הראה אתי אלקים גם את זרעך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Vayechi

I dared not accept the thought that I would see your face, and here G-d has shown me even your offspring. (48:11)

Yaakov Avinu is overjoyed as he shares his innermost feelings with his long lost son, Yosef. For twenty-two years he had mourned a son who supposedly had been mauled to death by a wild animal. Little did he dream of ever seeing Yosef again. Now, not only does Yosef stand before him, but even Yosef’s children are there waiting for his blessing. Lo pilalti – “I dared not accept/I dared not dream”; after all, it was impossible. Yosef was dead! What is there to dream about? In this vein, pilalti means resignation, a lack of acceptance, an unwillingness to hope,…

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ויקרא בהם שמי ושם אבתי אברהם ויצחק

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Vayechi

So that my name and the names of my Fathers, Avraham and Yitzchak, may be called in them. (48:16)

Yaakov Avinu blesses his grandsons with a blessing that has become the standard for parental blessing throughout the ages. V’yikarei bahem shemi v’shem avosai, Avraham, v’Yitzchak, “So that my name and the name of my fathers, Avraham and Yitzchak, may be called in them.” The commentators wonder why the Patriarch placed his name first in the sequence of the Avos, Patriarchs. Simply, I would venture to suggest that he was alluding to the sorry state of affairs that exists when one must revert back to the previous generation to find someone whose spiritual repute is worth emulating. Sadly, we find…

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וירא מנחה כי טוב... ויט שכמו לסבל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Vayechi

He saw that serenity is good… He bowed his shoulder to bear. (49:15)

When one peruses the brachah, blessing, given to Yissachar, it appears as a lesson in contradiction. Yissachar symbolizes the ben Torah who devotes himself to Torah study under all circumstances. One would think that, if he is confronted with peace and serenity, it would be an opportunity for relaxation and rejuvenation; rather, the Torah tells us that the peaceful repose is not Yissachar’s reaction to serenity. Instead of rest, Yissachar girds himself for hard work. Is this not counterproductive? Horav Yeruchem Levovitz, zl, explains that, if one wants to raise a healthy, content and happy child, showering him with material…

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ויחי יעקב בארץ מצרים... ויהי ימי יעקב שני חייו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Vayechi

Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt… and the days of Yaakov – the years of his life. (47:28)

The popular adage, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life,” rings true in the ears of the committed who are acutely aware of the meaning of every moment of G-d-given life. We have no guarantees. Life is short, and it is up to each and every one of us to make the most of every minute. This is unlike the attitude of some who believe that everything belongs to them. Parashas Vayechi deals primarily with the last mortal days of Yaakov Avinu: how he prepared for death, and the blessings he gave his children before he…

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יהודה אתה יודוך אחיך... בן פורת יוסף

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Vayechi

Yehudah – you, your brothers shall acknowledge. (49:8) A charming son is Yosef. (49:22)

In Yaakov Avinu’s blessings to his sons, we see the Patriarch delineate the specific area of avodas Hashem, service to Hashem, of each individual tribe. Together, their service coalesces and the purpose of Creation is realized. Each tribe’s personality was different. This variation reflected a different approach to avodas Hashem. Yaakov’s blessing ensured that the shefa, spiritual flow from Above, would be endemic to the requirements of each individual shevet, tribe. The blessings of the Patriarch singled out two tribes for monarchy: Yehudah and Yosef. Each was uniquely suited for his role of leadership, based upon his individual character traits….

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אפרים ומנשה כראובן ושמעון יהיו לי... ומולדתך אשר הולדת אחריהם לך יהיו על שם אחיהם יקראו בנחלתם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Vayechi

Efraim and Menashe shall be mine like Reuven and Shimon… but progeny born to you after them shall be yours; they will be included under the name of the brothers with regard to their inheritance. (48:5,6)

According to Rashi, Efraim and Menashe are considered among the total of the other sons, thus receiving an equal portion in Eretz Yisrael in the same manner as their counterparts among the actual sons of Yaakov Avinu. In the Talmud Bava Basra 121b, Chazal debate whether the new status of Shevet, Tribe, accorded to Efraim and Menashe had any bearing on the amount of land they received in Eretz Yisrael. Rashi and Ramban continue this debate. Rashi is of the opinion that, while Eretz Yisrael would be divided into twelve parts, these portions would not be equal in size. The…

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יששכר חמור גרם רובץ בין המשפתים וירא מנוחה כי טוב... ויט שכמו לסבל ויהי למס עובד

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Vayechi

Issachar is a strong-boned donkey; he rests between the boundaries. He saw tranquility that it was good… yet, he bent his shoulder to bear and he became and indentured laborer. (49:14,15)

The Torah’s characterization of the talmid chacham, Torah scholar, using the simile of a strong-boned donkey, implies Yissachar/the Torah scholar’s spiritual role as the bearer of the yoke of Torah and the cultivator of the nation’s spiritual treasures. As the donkey toils day and night without resting its weary body, so, too, does the Torah scholar incessantly apply himself to his books. The Chafetz Chaim explains that the donkey never tires to the point that it lay down in such a manner that it must have its load removed. It sleeps standing, with its bags still on it. Likewise, the…

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ועשית עמדי חסד ואמת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Vayechi

And do kindness and truth with me. (47:29)

Rashi teaches that the kindness one performs for the deceased is chesed shel emes, kindness of truth. Under such conditions, one executes his duties for the express purpose of performing an act of chesed. There are no thanks, no accolades, no payment whatsoever. It is all l’shem Shomayim, for the sake of Heaven. When it comes to acting on behalf of one who is deceased, the reward is unusual. I think the reason is simple. When we act kindly to a fellow Jew, the individual, for the most part, is acutely aware that he is the recipient of a favor…

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אם נא מצאתי חן בעיניך שים נא ידך תחת ירכי ועשית עמדי חסד ואמת

If I have found favor in your eyes, please place your hand under my thigh and do kindness and truth with me. (47:29)

ועתה שני בניך הנולדים לך בארץ מצרים עד באי אליך מצרימה לי הם

And now, your two sons who were born to you in Egypt before my coming to you in Egypt shall be mine. (48:5)

ראה פניך לא פללתי והנה הראה אתי אלקים גם את זרעך

I dared not accept the thought that I would see your face, and here G-d has shown me even your offspring. (48:11)

ויקרא בהם שמי ושם אבתי אברהם ויצחק

So that my name and the names of my Fathers, Avraham and Yitzchak, may be called in them. (48:16)

וירא מנחה כי טוב... ויט שכמו לסבל

He saw that serenity is good… He bowed his shoulder to bear. (49:15)

ויחי יעקב בארץ מצרים... ויהי ימי יעקב שני חייו

Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt… and the days of Yaakov – the years of his life. (47:28)

יהודה אתה יודוך אחיך... בן פורת יוסף

Yehudah – you, your brothers shall acknowledge. (49:8) A charming son is Yosef. (49:22)

אפרים ומנשה כראובן ושמעון יהיו לי... ומולדתך אשר הולדת אחריהם לך יהיו על שם אחיהם יקראו בנחלתם

Efraim and Menashe shall be mine like Reuven and Shimon… but progeny born to you after them shall be yours; they will be included under the name of the brothers with regard to their inheritance. (48:5,6)

יששכר חמור גרם רובץ בין המשפתים וירא מנוחה כי טוב... ויט שכמו לסבל ויהי למס עובד

Issachar is a strong-boned donkey; he rests between the boundaries. He saw tranquility that it was good… yet, he bent his shoulder to bear and he became and indentured laborer. (49:14,15)

ועשית עמדי חסד ואמת

And do kindness and truth with me. (47:29)

YEARS

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