In the final sedra of Genesis, parashat Vayechi, we conclude the last years of Joseph's life that ends with his death before we turn to Moses and Israel next week in Shemot, or Exodus. But the editor of this part of the Torah has us circle back to reencounter Jacob at the end of his life first. The Jacob we met a long time ago was a dreamer and had visions, and as a spiritual man, we see that on display in his final words with his sons.
Jacob lived (vayechi) another 17 years in Egypt before he would die. Transcending identity, religion, race, gender or what have you, like most people at the end of life Jacob has words he is compelled to share with his family. In so doing he approached Joseph one way and his brothers another. Perhaps as we learn from the Talmud (Berachot 13a), while both names may be used (Jacob and Israel are used interchangeably), Joseph understood the difference unlike his brothers who did not. In this case “Israel” had a greater significance beyond just the name of his father but as a people who would be the eventual caretakers of Torah and matters of God. What we do know for sure, however, is that Jacob wanted to bless all his sons and said, “The Messenger (God) who has redeemed me from all harm— Bless the lads” (Gen. 46:18). But according to a Midrash (Tanhuma Vayechi 10) Jacob did so while “calling out in anguish” as he was pained to share with them. In his parting blessing to Joseph’s children, Jacob proclaims that Ephraim and Manasseh shall be his offspring as is Reuven and Shimon, two names that will unfortunately be blotted out in the future. Here the Ishbitzer Rebbe, Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner (A past leading Rabbinical figure in Poland), says that the source of Jacob’s anxiety lay in the fact that he wants to bless his children but is now uncertain whether he should, seeking Divine wisdom given a loss for words in that moment.
But are Jacob’s words considered blessings? Ibn Ezra answers that by saying: "Those who say that they (Jacob’s words) are blessings, are mistaken. Where is the blessing in what was said to Reuven, Shimon and Levi?" Likewise Abravanel teaches that Jacob's words are "not meant to be a blessing, nor meant to be a reproach, nor to foretell the future... but to say whether or not they were worthy of having sovereignty and dominion." This is what we also see in the Haftarah, 1 Kings 2, where on his deathbed King David instructs his son Solomon regarding his duties to the Kingdom of Israel. The lack of Jacob’s son’s unified mindfulness in the text is why the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 65) teaches: based on Reuven’s sin the birthright was transferred to Joseph, the priesthood to Levi and the royalty to Judah. Likewise, Shimon is punished for his part in Joseph being sold into slavery so many years earlier and for what happened in Shechem (Bereshit Rabbah 80:12). The result? God says, “I (God) will divide them in Jacob,” a foreshadowing of a broken unity (the family tribes of Reuven and Shimon would eventually disappear as part of the 12 where the tribe of Levi would no longer be counted amongst the 12 but only as caretakers of the Temple). Jacob understood and knew the following: he had a broken family and questioned if their lack of unity would compromise Israel in the future. He also knew he must speak up! Jacob wanted his sons to know what Jewish mystics would teach one day, “leit atar panui minei,” there is no place devoid of the Divine presence. What the sons did in their now mattered tomorrow. That is no different today with us.
The Laws of the Shema in Mishneh Torah (Hillcot Kriat Shema) for Maimonides has to do with faithfulness based on the unity of one nation and/or people. In his teaching Maimonides calls upon this parasha and in particular the words Jacob speaks to his son’s right before he dies (cf. Gen. 49:1ff). Calling again on the “sea” of Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 98), Jacob’s final words are more of a lament to his children saying, “God forbid that I may have produced an unfit son— as happened to Abraham, my father's father, out of whom sprang Ishmael, or as happened to my father Isaac, out of him sprang Esau?” In response, his children replay in faithful affirmation, “Hear, O Israel [our father], The Lord is our God, the Lord alone' [Deut 6:4]. Just as in your heart there's only the One, so in our hearts there is only the One.” Maimonides tells us that this is why Jacob said in joyful response, “Blessed be the name whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever,” a conflation of two Biblical texts into our current Shema prayer.
Jacob’s words and the Shema are about unity, a word that has far reaching implications. It is no longer a wonder to me that the world does not, in agreement, stand behind Israel or speak out against acts of antisemitism. I am however perplexed why Jews stand opposed to other Jews who support Israel; are we not all saying the words of the Shema as the diversity of our familial ties runs deep?? Okay so we disagree about this or that, but why be a detractor? Can a Jew or our communities stand up against hate in America but oppose Israel as if the two are somehow disconnected? This of course can apply to virtually anything, but this text (and others) encourages us to think about how both the good and the bad have the power to forever alter the future based on our unity or lack of. Jacob knew this. He knew that his son's connection went way beyond their physical proximity as their oneness was tied into what went before and what goes after them, a connection to the people of Israel and their future plight, but also to the physical and spiritual worlds. Jacob knew that future success for his descendants had everything to do with his parting words, so he said to his sons, Shema Yisrael - Listen Israel to the voice of your father Jacob - you need to be one as our tomorrows depend on it!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Adam Ruditsky
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