The Need to Sojourn

Dec 21, 2002 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Vayehi

The book of Genesis ends as it starts, with its lead characters in a state of exile. The existential human condition is to be out of place, far from home. Jacob’s clan no longer resides in the land promised to his father and grandfather. Yet the narrator makes it unmistakably clear that their final destination was not Egypt, but Canaan, the land that would eventually bear Jacob’s other name, Israel, the one who “strove with beings divine and human and prevailed” (Genesis 32:29).

Zebulun, Issachar and the Importance of Jewish Education

Dec 25, 2004 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Vayehi

The enterprise of Jewish education, on which the future of the Jewish people rests, has always been a partnership between educators and patrons.

Genesis and Death

Jan 10, 2004 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Vayehi

Though the name of this week’s parashah is Va-y’hi (and Jacob lived), it deals entirely with how Jacob died. Yet, the name is not a misnomer: how we handle the inevitable onset of death impacts deeply on the conduct of our lives. Thus the story of Jacob’s demise has given rise to a font of midrashic wisdom on both life and death.

Returning to Joseph’s Pit

Jan 6, 2007 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayehi

On the surface, Parashat Va–y’hi, the concluding Torah reading of both Genesis and the Joseph narrative, is about death. Both Jacob and Joseph come to their respective ends; and the haftarah that we read turns to the final hours of King David’s life. And although this parashah ostensibly throws us a “curve ball,” the essence of this reading is found in the title, va–y’hi, meaning and “he (Jacob) lived.” Va–y’hi is more about life, than it is about death.

Hereafter and Here Now

Dec 25, 2004 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayehi

Sources of Comfort

Dec 10, 2004 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Vayehi

Some things, it seems, are not just coincidences. As I write these words, I am still in the sheloshim – the 30 day mourning period – for my 38-year-old brother Jonathan, who died suddenly of a massive heart attack. And our parasha deals with the end of the life of Jacob, who, though he lived one hundred and forty-seven years, described his “years of sojourn” on earth as “few and hard.” (Genesis 47:9)

Memories

Dec 21, 2002 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Vayehi

The death of a parent is, for most of us, a profound loss. When we lose our mother or our father, we lose the people who have known us most deeply from the very inception of our lives. For many of us, we lose the people who have been our most ardent advocates, our biggest fans, our most loyal supporters. We lose the anchor in our lives, the people who have nurtured and loved us, counseled and guided us through problems small and large. When a parent dies — though we may have love from partners, children and friends — the special love, the intense love of that parent dies with him or her. And we are left bereft.

A Model of Restraint

Dec 29, 2001 By Lewis Warshauer | Commentary | Vayehi

The end of the Book of Genesis also marks the end of the stories of Jacob and Joseph. Though separated for many years, their life—courses moved together. Both were younger sons who gained primacy over older brothers. Jacob, in his last days, is determined to bequeath to his son, Joseph, directly that which he had gotten from his father Isaac stealthily. He begins by adopting Joseph’s two sons as his own, thus giving Joseph the double portion of inheritance that usually goes to the oldest son. Jacob then gives his testament to all his sons.