Vayechi - 6th Portion

Join me as we learn for Friday Parishes the six Torah reading chapter 49 verse 27. Yesterday we learned how the la next five uh sons and tribes received the blessings from Yakov. Today we come to the final child of Yakov, his youngest child. Binyammen gets his blessings and it tells us about the passing of Yakovy in verse 27 will be like a wolf that grabs in the morning he will devour his plunder and in the evening he distributes his spoils. What is he referring to and what does he mean here? The is compared to a wolf, a wolf that devours from others. That devours from others. He now prophesies with his blessing on the tribe of they're going to be like wolves that grab things. What is this referring to? That one will grab a man and his wife. The pilgiva, a very tragic story that is described in the book of judges where people from the tribe of killed a pilleg, a concubine that was staying in their place. And because of that, many of the tribes made a ban that they would not marry within the tribe with within the within the tribe of. Because of that, the family of Minyammen or the tribe of Minyammen were looking for women to marry and they would have to take from other tribes and looking to get women from there. He also was giving a prophecy about who came from the tribe of that'll be victorious on his enemies that are around him like a wolf. As it says was successful in all the surroundings that he was able to overcome and take the enemies that were there. In the morning you will eat in the morning you will devour the plunder. meaning the plunder that he got like we find this in the different wars the same use the terminology of we also find other times that this is used as well we find this terminology that means spoils that they would get this is also found by king soul who Jacob is saying that because he was appointed as the king. He was the one that was appointed as a king at first with a horn and he was the first one who was the first king of the Jewish people. So therefore he calls them in the b in the morning they eat their they eat their plunder they'll devour their plunder meaning that was going to be the first one to lead the Jewish people which is referring to the time of exile which is compared to evening even when the time is dark for the Jewish people when the sun goes down of the Jews through that he will exile them to Babylonia even then there will be people from the tribe of that will lead the Jewish people referring to the time of and Esther that they come from the tribe of they are going to split up the spoils of Hmon as it says in the book of Esther Esther behold the house of I gave to Esther and explains it as the spoils of the in the time of the amdos that they give at night the leftovers that they split amongst the kanim to eat Now that he concluded blessing the all the tribes as the Torah tells us verse all of these are the tribes of Israel this is what their father spoke to them and he blessed them each person with their appropriate blessing he blessed them individually however if you look Why do you say each one of them was individually blessed but they were the first three were not blessed? He actually rebuked them. But this is the explanation of the verse. This is what their father spoke to them when he spoke to them each one according to their subject. You might think that he didn't bless and he only rebuked them. Therefore, the verse tells us he blessed them as well that he blessed every single one of them. Each person according to their blessing. He blessed them about what will happen to each one of them. He blessed them individually. He could have already said that each person just he blessed them individually. Why does he have to conclude by saying he blessed them? I understand he blessed them individually. That means he blessed them. What's it telling us? Why does he tell us that he blessed them in plural? Because he gave to the gave to the strength of a lion to gave the grabbing of a wolf and he gave the swiftness of a deer. That they were only blessed with these and he didn't include the other ones. He did not include all of them in all of the blessings. Therefore, he says, "Bless them." Though he may have gave particular blessings to individual sons, but all of them were included in all of the blessings that all of them got verse 29. And he commanded them, saying, "And he said to them, I am about to gather unto my people Bury me together with my forefathers in the cave that is in the field of verse 29. Why is it called I am gathering because the souls go back in the place where they are hidden the place where they are near initially in the world to come. The the point of the word gathering in Hebrew means bringing in to the appropriate place. For example, bringing them home. You bring it to your house. When you gather your wheat, bringing into the home because of the rain. Gather your work. Anytime you find the word gather when a person's dying it means bringing the soul back to its eternal resting place to my fathers meaning with my fathers verse 30 what are you going to bury me in the cave that's in the field of the m which is on the plains of mam in the face of the facing the plains of Mamrayan in the land of already bought this field for a burial property. Verse 31 was buried there was buried his wife and there I buried Leia as well. 32n the purchase of the field in the cave. that was then the cave that's in it was done from theites with this continues to tell his children the rules of when he passes that he only wants Jewish people not to allow the Egyptians to help carry his coffin only the 12 tribes were going to carry him as we're going to see later on as the Torah tells us verse 33 and Yakov concluded included giving his instructions to his sons and he drew his feet up onto his bed and he breathed his last and he was gathered unto his people explains verse 33 this also means he put his feet on his bed why doesn't he use the terminology death and our sages tell us in the track that Tus Jacob of that Yakov did not die. He lives for eternity because his children are alive. So therefore he is alive as well. Verse 34 sorry chapter 50 verse one. As soon as Jacob passes and Yoseph fell on his father on his father's face and he wept over him and he kissed him. Verse two, Yseph then ordered his servants, the physicians to embomb his father. So the physicians embombed Israel, his father. What does the word embing mean? What does the word? This was taking a mixture of incense that they would shmear it on the dead person to preserve it that it should not rot and give it a good smell, a good smell. And when 40 days, his 40 days have passed because that was the time that was required for bombing. The Egyptians mourned for a total of seven days. That means an additional 30 days, 40 days of bombing and then as we know the 30 days of the 30 days of which is a total of 70 days. They can in addition to the time of embombing they let it go for 40 days 40 days of embombing and 30 for crying. Why were they crying and mourning Jacob's passing so much? because they realized because of they received a blessing that the hunger stopped also and because of at that time the river of the Nile River would come up and overflow and this way all of Egypt was then uh fed with water and because of that they realized Jacob's blessing that he brought to Egypt and be and and they mourned his passing for 30 days 70 days total verse four And it passed. The days of weeping were over. And Yseph spoke to the house of saying you'll find favor in your eyes. Please speak to Pharaoh as follows. Verse 5 of labor my father made bound me by an oath saying behold I'm going to die and I would like you to bury me in the uh grave that I have purchased in the land of there you should bury me now please go up to the land of Israel of I would like to go to the land of Israel and bury my father there I will turn verse five. Simple interpretation is that I dug it out when a person ditch. However, the medit explains it even better with the meaning. It said it sits better with the terminology that I bought it said. When I went to the cities of the sea, I used to hear that they would use the word that they would use the word to purchase as digging. And therefore, the word can also mean purchasing. The word comes like a pile meaning took all the money that he received the gold and silver that he got from the house of he made it into big mound into a pile and he told Zette take all this money because I want to get your portion in the cave of the patriarchs. Verse six told him go and bury your father like you swore to him. Verse six, what does it mean like you swore to him? But if not for that oath I would not know you. Why did Pharaoh say only because of the oath? He explains as follows. Pharaoh is afraid to tell Pharaoh you just transgress on the oath. Who cares about the oath? Don't listen to it. Why? Because then can tell Pharaoh, if you tell me not to follow my father's oath, I'll say I won't follow your oath that I made to you, I will not reveal to the Egyptians that I know one language more than you and I know Hebrew one language more than the 70 languages and you don't know it. And the law in was that the king had to know all 70 languages. And if you don't know the language and I know it, then I should be king. So if you make me go against the oath that I made to my father, I'll go against the oath that I made to you and I'll be able to bury him anyway. Like it says verse seven. So Yseph went up to the land of Cananan to bury his father and went with him all the ser and with him went all Pharaoh's uh servants. the elders of his court and the elders of Egypt. Verse eight and all of the family, the household of Yoseph and his brothers and his father's household of only their small children and their flock and their cattle. They remained they left in the land of Gan. Verse 9 and with them left also chariots and horsemen that went up with them. And it was a very sizable retinue of people that were traveling. This entourage was a lot of people. Verse 10. And they came to that's on the other side of the Jordan. And they conducted a great eulogy for him there. misp a ceremony of lamentations in a very great way. And at that point, Yose made for his father a 7-day morning period which today we know is called verse 10. Why was it called? And that is because it was surrounded by hedges of thorns as he explains as follows. Rashi because of it was it had a big area that was surrounded with edge with hedges hedges that were surrounded of thorns. The rabbis explain is actually an episode that happened in that place when they saw that Egypt was approaching and they all came out the kingdoms of Kenan and the leaders of came to war against the people of against the children of Yakov. However, once they saw the crown of Yoseph totally by Yak was hanging on the coffin of Yakov, they realized who this great individual was. They all stood back. They took off their crowns and hung it on the coffin and the entire coffin was surrounded with crowns like a like an orchard that is surrounded with a fence of thorns. Verse 11, the people of the land when the Canadanian inhabitants of the land saw the morning in the The morning when they said this must be a very great morning for terrible morning for the Egyptians of the Egyptians. Therefore they called that place Egypt's morning which is beyond the Jordan. Verse 12. And Jacob's sons did for him exactly as he instructed them. What was it that he instructed them? We look in the next verse. What it was that he instructed them? Verse 13. And the sons therefore carried him to the land of Cananan. They buried him in the field of the cave of the bought that he bought for a place to be buried which was profing the property of M 13 and his brothers carried him only his brothers only and his I'm sorry that his sons carried him and not the grandchildren This is the way Jacob carried the commanded. Do not allow any of the Egyptians to carry and neither any of your children which their children were then born to women that wereanite women only you. And he set where each one of them should be standing three on each side and that's the way all 12 were carrying him only his sons. The same way later on in the book of numbers when we talk about the tribes of the Jewish people carrying three tribes of each side of the tabernacle that was the exact setup of how they were standing in position when they were carrying Yakov's coffin ley. However, Ley was the only one that was not going to carry because he was going to have to carry the ark of the covenant. Yoseph also did not carry mel because he's a king and it's not respectful and who were the ones that took and lady's place was they would be the ones to carry. They were the only ones of the grandchildren that were able to carry. So that's why if you look later on in the book of numbers and it says that each one according to its tribe and according to the signs of their father and the sign the same way they were told to carry their father's coffin that's the same way they would travel around the ark and that's the way they would travel in the desert verse 14 and Yseph returned to Egypt him and his brothers and all those that were with him to bury his father after burying his father who all those that went with him. Why does the Torah change over here? When they went back, he first counts Yoseph and the brothers the and before the Egyptians that went with him. But when they went to the land of Cananan, he mentions the mit before his brother and only afterwards the brothers of Yoseph Ella. The reason why he did this was because the Egyptians did not have that respect that they allow the children of Yakov to go before them. They considered themselves important and therefore they went first. However, once the Egyptians sawan, the great respect that even the kingdom of Kanan did for Jacob that they put their crowns on Jacob's coffin. Then they had a whole new respect for Yak for the sons of Yakov. Verse 15, the brothers of Yseph saw that their father has passed. And they said to each other, Perhaps Yoseph is nursing a hatred towards us and he will reciprocate or repay us for all the bad that we did to him. Now that father's gone, maybe he's going to get back at us for everything we did to him. Rashi 15 doesn't mean they saw they recognized they felt it. It was bothering them that their father was missing by because it used to be very often that they would sit together at the same table together by that when Yseph would have his father over and he would have all his brothers over by his table. But once after Yakov died, he never invited them to their meal. So they realized that there's a change in attitude. Something changed here. What does this mean? Maybe he has some type of hatred that's within him. The word can mean many different things. There could be a which means please if only if only your words will be this way. Please listen to us. If only you come there. And there can also be which can also mean if he is if he is intelligent. If you would only listen to my mitzvah. There could be that can also mean maybe like in our case. Maybe he has some hate against us. There are not too many other similar similarities in the verse. The word is very similar to the word that it can also mean if only or maybe and if as we find as maybe there are 50 righteous people. Verse 16 and therefore they said they commanded to Yoseph. So they had this message conveyed to Yseph saying your father has given the following instruction before he died. What does it mean? They didn't tell it, but they sent the messenger to Yseph saying he told Moshar to be his messengers to the Jewish people also in this case. They sent a message to be their to tell the following statement to tell him this. Who did they tell this to? The children of Because he got along very well with the children of Villa. He therefore they sent these sons to tell Yoseph the following message. Your father commanded they changed. Why? Even though it wasn't true because the father never said such a thing because of peace would have never said such a thing. Because in his eyes, Yseph would never do such a thing. He never would think that Yoseseph will bear a grudge against his brothers. So therefore, Yakov never said anything of the such. However, they said that he said it because when it comes to peace, one is able to exaggerate or change things for the sake of peace. So you should tell Yseph. Please now forgive your brothers and their and their sins, their transgressions and the bad that they have done to you, how they have treated you. And now please forgive their crime. God of our fathers, the servants of God of your fathers, and Yseph cried a love when they were telling him this message. meaning what are they saying over here? They're depending their forgiveness in the fact that they are servants of God. If your father died and therefore you're not concerned about his honor, at least think about his God is around. We are his servants. And his brothers then went and they fell before him, threw themselves before him. They said, "We are hereby your servants." Verse 18 besides sending the messenger with the children of they came along afterward and also said that they will be the servants and said to them don't be afraid for am I in the place of God he said this in a question am I the one to be able to avenge for God. Even if I wanted to do something bad to you, I'm not able to. I'm not God. You all thought about me that this was going to be a bad thing. You wanted to harm me. God switched it all upside down and made it the best thing. So, you see, if you couldn't harm me, you couldn't do any bad to me. God switched it around. How do you think that I'm going to be able to do bad to you? Verse 20, as he sees it, you plan to do intended to do bad harm to me. But God intended it for good. So in order to bring things to the way they are today to save many people. This concludes the Torah reading for Friday. The sixth Torah reading of Harshes.