Shabbat Vayechi

Written by Rabbi Dr Michael Shire Thursday, 12 January 2006

Parashat Vayechi

Today’s Sidra is Vayechi, in which we read of Joseph’s final days after the death of Jacob. Joseph’s brothers were afraid that after loosing the protection of their father, Joseph would revenge himself for his brothers’ cruelty. This has been said to be an example of the “nagging voice of the guilty conscience”.

At first they just send a message to him reporting that Jacob, asked for Joseph’s forgiveness on behalf of the brothers, but the original request is unrecorded in the Bible. They plead for forgiveness on the grounds of brotherhood of faith: that of Jacob’s God, even though Jacob is now dead. This perhaps is an insight into a biblical view of the concept of God, that of ‘a God particular in experience and substance to individuals and yet generally existing beyond one generation, upto even as today.’ Rashi’s commentary states “Though your father is dead, the God of your father lives”. Perhaps we could add “even though the specific concept of Jacob’s God died with him”.

Joseph wept when he heard the brothers’ message, because of their lack of trust and confidence in him. The passage then says “the brothers also came” – why also? The NEB amends the verse to “they also wept” but the masoretic text can be explained by assuming that in verse 6, the brothers sent messengers and now they came also to see Joseph.

The brothers bow down to Joseph and say “We are your servants”, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Joseph’s dreams in Gen.37 of the sheaves of corn and the sun, moon and eleven stars. Joseph tells his brothers that God used their cruelty for good by saving many people during the famine, especially those peoples who came to Egypt to buy corn, not just only the children of Israel, and also by raising Joseph and his family to an exalted position in Egypt.

So Joseph settles in Egypt at the age of 110; apparently the Egyptian ideal of a perfect lifetime! and watches his family increase. The children of Macir are literally said “to have been born on Joseph’s knees”, this however was a symbol of adoption at the time and is translated in the NEB by: “Joseph recognized as HIS the children of Macir”. But even in this peaceful existence Joseph reminds his family of God’s promise to his forefathers and makes them swear to take his bones and return them to Canaan as part of the divine promise to redeem his people. Joseph dies and is placed in a coffin in Egypt, the word “coffin” is also used of the ark for the Sifrei Torah since both Torah and humanity has the power to become a living embodiment of the moral law taught in the Torah. When the question arose why did the children of Israel in their wanderings in the desert, carry with them Joseph’s bones and the Tablets of the Covenant in similar arks, the Rabbis replied “He whose remains are present in the one ark, loyally obeyed the divine commands of the other.”

The last words of Genesis – “In Egypt” heralds the new era for the children of Israel in Egypt which leads to their Exodus and final redemption back in the land of Israel.

Rabbi Dr Michael Shire