Finding Strength in Diversity

Vayechi

Genesis 47:28 - 50:26

Précis: As the Book of Genesis comes to a close, Jacob lived (vayechi) in the land of Egypt for 17 years and dies after giving a final, poetic, individualized ethical testament to each of his sons. In a great funeral procession, Joseph, his brothers, and Pharaoh and his court bring Jacob’s body to Machpela to be buried. At the end of the parasha, Joseph dies after exacting a promise to bring his remains to the land of Israel as well.

Gen. 50:26 “Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years, and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.”

            Arthur Sandman, of the Jewish Agency for Israel, has written (JCSANA 12/13) about the closing verses of the Book of Genesis, noting that upon the death of Jacob, he was embalmed by the physicians and carried to Canaan to be buried at Machpela. Joseph also asks to be buried in Canaan, but that does not occur until Joshua brings his bones back for internment at the conclusion of the Exodus. 

            The Book of Bereshit ends with the words of the verse cited above. One can ask why  we have the apparently unnecessary word “b’mitzrayim”(in Egypt). We surely know where he was, and it was, of course in Egypt. Sandman suggests that the Torah is telling us that Joseph’s “place” (Egypt) is defective. He notes that the grammar of the final phrase can be read, “he was embalmed and placed in a coffin, in Egypt,” making “coffin” and “Egypt” metaphors for each other. Joseph, unlike his father, is not returned to his kin; his bones are interred and trapped in a box in a place that will soon be a trap for his descendants.

            Our Jewish tradition focuses on life and not on death. Both Jacob and Joseph spent many years of their lives in exile. In the end, Joseph’s forced exile from Canaan constituted a greater estrangement from the land that was Jacob’s.

            Diaspora Jewry wrestles constantly with its relationship with the land of Israel. (“Wrestle” is a word I use intentionally, as it is the definition of what it means to be a Jew). Should we return to the land like Jacob? Will the Diaspora become a trap for us as it was for Joseph? Is  there the potential for enhancing the future of the Jewish People not only through the State of Israel, but also through the experience of living in the rest of the world?

            I am suggesting that the answer is “yes.” Throughout our history, the strength of the Jewish People has been found not solely on our reliance to Torah and performance of mitzvot. We have been strengthened throughout our history by our exposure to the thoughts and customs of others: Greeks, Romans, Muslims, Poles, Americans, and yes, even Germans. The cultures in which we have found ourselves have been the source of strength as well as death and disaster. We have, as a People, taken from others and expanded our Jewish horizons and lifestyles.

            As we conclude the reading of the Book of Genesis, we recite “hazak, hazak, v’nitchazek” (Be strong, be strong, and will be strengthened). By being strong in both Israel and in the Diaspora, we will be strengthened as one People.