Gen. 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. 49:1-27 “And Jacob called his sons and said, ‘Come together, I may tell you what is to befall you in the days to come. Assemble and hearken, O sons of Jacob. Harken to Israel your father. Reuben, you are my first-born…’”
Rabbi Yaakov Pollak has written about the idea of “blessing” in the Book of Genesis which we conclude this week (MyJewishLearning.com, 1/10/17).
How seriously should we take blessings we receive from others? The Sages state, unsurprisingly, “it depends.” It depends on who gives the blessing, and it depends on who receives the blessing.
Early in the family saga we encounter in this Book, God Himself says to Abraham that “You will be a blessing” and thereby provides Abraham the imprimatur of Divine authority, and with it, the ability to bless others and to be a role model as well. At his death Abraham bequeathed Isaac “all he possessed” as well as gifts to his other descendants. Midrash states, according to Rabbi Pollak, that Abraham gave much more than material wealth to Isaac; he gave him his essence and his connection to God. Jacob received this same gift (through subterfuge) from Isaac. As Jacob lay dying, he made his prophetic testimony regarding each of his sons. In addition to the individualized statements, he passed on to each of them the spiritual inheritance which God had originally granted to Abraham. In effect, all of the Children of Israel are inheritors of the Divine blessing.
Because each of us is indirectly an inheritor of this same blessing, we should recognize that it is more than a grant of goodness, but rather a challenge to live up to Abraham’s ability to bless others and to act as a role model. How are we to accomplish this? What spiritual legacy will we each leave behind?
I submit it is through actions, both great and small, that we leave behind a legacy which others can follow. It is found in the foundations of our tradition: study of Torah, acts of personal kindheartedness, and charitable acts. It may be visiting the sick, donating to a charity, comforting the bereaved, celebrating with a bride and groom, or by showing our children that with age wisdom can come, and that we all have the ability to overcome to some small degree the human weaknesses which all of us share.
