VAYECHI

Lilli Little, December 21st, 2002, 9 Tevet, 5763

With Parasha Veyechi we have now completed the Book of Genesis and the formative period in the history of ancient Israel has come to an end. In this dramatic parasha, both Jacob and Joseph die and are buried according to their wishes. The burials, however are very different from each other; Jacob's is traditional, but Joseph's foretells the adaptations we Jews made and continue to make in assimilating with the cultures around us. For both, the focal point of their wishes was still to be tied to the land of Israel.

Jacob extracts a promise from Joseph not to bury him in Egypt but to take him to the ancestral burial ground in Hebron. Jacob died what has been called "a good death", peacefully, with his wishes granted, in the midst of his family. He is unwracked by pain, with his wits about him and nothing left unsaid. The final verse of his story conveys a sense of closure and completion: (ch49:verse33) "When Jacob finished his instructions to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathing his last, he was gathered to his people".

Joseph was also surrounded by his family and achieved a sense of closure, of sorts. Again his wishes were also to be buried in the land of his forefathers. But he died and was buried in a foreign land, according to foreign customs. He died with a yearning for his homeland that could not be satisfied at that time. (ch50:verse23) "So Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, when G-d has taken notice of you, you shall carry my bones from here". So he was buried in Egypt. Although he prospered in that land, he certainly had to compromise his Israelite identity in the process - a process we know so well, still ongoing to the present and so much a part of our lives in the diaspora.

The Etz Chaim chumash observes that both deathbed requests are bound up with the divine promise of redemption and nationhood in the land of Israel.

Taking a step back to look at these 2 fascinating lives, we can see many similarities yet key differences. Why was Jacob one of our Patriarchs while Joseph, who did so much for the world, including his own family, was relegated to a lesser role in our history?

Jacob led such a full life, coming into the direct presence of G-d, who assured him that he would achieve great things in his life. He loved, fought, knew bereavement. It was a life complete with deceit (towards his Father and from his sons), treachery by his father-in-law, favouritism (towards the children of Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin), great joy (with his love for Rachel and the many children he was favoured with) and terrible sorrow (with the death of Rachel in childbirth and the apparent loss of his precious son Joseph).

Jacob is often considered the most fascinating of our forefathers. He was many different people in the course of his long life. He grows and changes over the years, from the mild man who stayed home, to the trickster who deceives and is deceived and finally to Israel, the mortal who struggles with G-d. We can see him as the exemplar of the flawed person who can outgrow his flaws. He seeks contentment and never really succeeds in finding it because there is always one more challenge to be overcome. The Eitz Chaim chumash says "to be a Jew is to be a descendant of Jacob, also known as Israel".

Joseph was also a complicated character whose story is so fully told in the Torah, and who also changed and grew during his lifetime. So why was he of lesser significance to the history of our people?

Perhaps Joseph is not one of our Patriarchs because his grand work was devoted primarily to save Egypt, rather than the Israelites. He prospered as an Israelite in a foreign land, but to what extent did he have to compromise his Israelite identity in the process? Jacob, while favouring Joseph in his lifetime, leaves our people's future to Judah. It is through Judah that G-d's mysterious designs will be carried on. It was Judah's tribe that survived the Babylonian deportation and that provided continuity for the children of Israel. It was from Judah that we Jews took our name.

Rabbi Plaut says that Joseph's greatness is in large measure due to his own awareness that he was serving a higher destiny. He does not get to talk directly with G-d, but G-d's hand is apparent through Joseph's dreams and their interpretations.

While Joseph is not counted as a patriarch and we don't cite his name in the Amidah like his forebears, he does have the special merit of having two of the 12 tribes coming from him -- Ephraim and Menashe. His brothers only merited one tribe each. It's also a special merit that we bless our boys after Joseph's sons Ephraim and Menashe.

Joseph was a man who, in many ways, represented the Jew-to-be, who remained a son of his father and of his people, who wants to return to his origins. He speaks not of his own survival but of that of his heritage. He was competent, beautiful and eloquent of speech, but he acknowledged his human limitations in the midst of his affluence and power. At the same time he recognized the ultimate power of G-d. In Genesis (ch50:verse19) Joseph asks "have no fear, am I a substitute for G-d?" In this way he shows himself to be the prototype of the religious person which we Jews are still aiming to be.

Joseph is distinct, but, in the end, -- he's not a patriarch. He doesn't build an altar, and God doesn't speak directly with him, reaffirming the covenant as was done with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now we move on to Exodus and the covenant passes not to one person in the next generation as it had until this point, but to everyone in the next generation -- all of Jacob's progeny whatever their character, whatever their strengths, whatever their weaknesses, whatever their faith. And that's the model we still live by today.

Shabat Shalom