Shabbos Parshas Vayechi - 5778

Shabbos Parshas Vayechi - 5778 Rabbi Hal Miller Rachel died on me in the land of Canaan on the road, while there was still about a beras

of land to go to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. [Bereishis 48:7] Our parsha combines two incidents, Rachel's burial and the end of Yaakov's life, from which

we derive numerous laws plus some of the Divine Will. Both incidents concern death, yet the

derivations and lessons concern life. As Yaakov reaches the end of his days, he closes out his books. First he tells Yosef why he

did not bury Yosef's mother Rachel in the Cave of Machpelah, then he sets out as much of

the future legacy of the Jews as he is able. He "takes" Yosef's two sons, Manasseh and

Ephraim, as his own, to make them "Tribes" along with their uncles. He then gives to each

son a comment on who they are, which also is a vision of what their future holds. Most commentators view our pasuk as Yaakov's apology to Yosef for not having taken

Rachel's remains to Machpelah. Although it is often said that Rachel wasn't buried "in the

Land", our pasuk says she did in fact die and reach a burial in Eretz Yisroel. Why was she not

buried in the Cave? There was potential dishonor of Leah and Rachel since eventually the

Torah would prohibit the marrying of sisters. However, as one is not held accountable for

something that has not yet become prohibited, it would seem that Rachel's final place is in

fact a good thing -- she is in a position to cry for, pray for, and guide home all the B'nei

Yisroel during future exiles. Yirmiyahu says, "A voice is heard in Ramah, Rachel is weeping

for her children. And the Holy One, Blessed is He, answers her, 'There is reward for your

deeds, and the children will return to their borders'." Our Mother Rachel is calling us home,

and pleading with the Ribbono Shel Olam to protect us on our way. Rav Hirsch ties this to Yaakov's "taking" of Manasseh and Ephraim. Noting that most

commentators refer to the Rachel burial issue as an apology to Yosef, Rav Hirsch says this

would only make sense if it had been part of Yaakov's request to Yosef to bring him back to

Eretz Canaan for burial. The "apology" is rather part of the conversation regarding Yosef's

two sons. He says, "It can only refer to the matter of the discourse here, the decision about

the sons of Yosef." In context, Yaakov must be talking about the future of the Jewish nation. Yaakov had twelve sons. There were to be twelve tribes, and twelve portions of inheritance

in the Land. However, those "twelves" do not directly correspond. The tribe of Levi is removed

from an inheritance in the Land, and there is the double portion awarded to a firstborn.

Yaakov's comments clearly remove from Reuven the role of firstborn, although that had for all

intents and purposes been done long previously. Bava Basra describes how a father is able

to do this. Yaakov chose Yehudah as the future leader, but awarded the double-portion to

Yosef. He implemented that by assigning one share each to Yosef's sons, and by combining

Shimon and Levi in his verbal legacy. Yaakov crafted his legacy very carefully. He set up the

future division of Eretz Yisroel via the gifts that he gave them while still alive. Nechama Leibowitz asks what the status was of the family of Yaakov at the time. She

refers to the last pasuk of last week's sidra [47:27], "And Israel settled in the land of Egypt,

in the land of Goshen, and they had possessions therein, and were fruitful and multiplied

exceedingly." She tells us that this rosy situation is exactly what Yaakov feared, that a

complacency and comfort had consumed his people. He needed to show them the danger

of forgetting who they are, to remind them that they are not Egyptian but B'nei Yisroel,

whose homeland was vacant and awaiting their return. Demanding that his burial take

place in Eretz Yisroel was the most clear signal he could send about the importance he

placed on this legacy. In each generation we have found ourselves in a host country that seemed comfortable

and welcoming. We thought, "it can't happen here", and that we could actually integrate

ourselves into the social fabric of that nation. Yaakov is telling us that this is not the case.

We have a special role to play as a light to the nations, which can only be fulfilled if we

are visible, thus separate. We cannot be integrated, we must remember who we are and

where we belong. Mother Rachel is crying for us, praying for our deliverance, and waiting to guide us home.