Parashas Vayechi

The Shabbos Parsha is Parashas Vayechi . This Sedra speaks of the passing of our very Holy Fore - Father Yaakov Israel . Yaakov in this Sedra , Blesses his sons and also in this Parasha , his son Yosef is called upon to take care of Yaakov's arrangements . It is Yosef , after his beloved Father's passing that is to become the leader of that generation after Yaakov , which certainly fits this Sedra's Haftorah , which is to be found in 1 Kings 2 : 1 - 12 , which refers to the passing of Dovid Ha Melech and his son Shlomo becoming king after him . The Neshoma of Yaakov , seeing as Souls Migrate According To HaShem's Wish And According To What HaShem Deems that soul and the generation needs , was in Dovid Ha Melech , as was a the case with the Neshoma of Yosef's humble soul , also in Shlomo Ha Melech . The Spiritual bond between Yaakov and Yosef's Neshoma , goes right back to Gan Eiden and Adam Ha Rishon and his son Shais . Within Adam's Hebrew name is an Alef , Dalet and Mem , which shows the line down to Moshiach , where the Alef is Adam , the Dalet is Dovid and this line comes down to the Mem for Moshiach . In fact HaShem told Adam that his descendant Dovid , would pass away just after birth and so Adam who was to live a 1000 years gave up 70 years of his life , to give to Dovid , who passed away at 70 while Adam passed away at 930 years . So are the souls of Adam and Shais ( his son in his likeness ) , Yaakov and his son Yosef and Dovid Ha Melech and his so Shlomo , tied By deep love through time . No wonder Yaakov's love for Yosef went deeper than just a Father and son relationship , at the time . So Deep Is HaShem And So Beautiful Is HaShem's Torah .

Yaakov Israel knew that his time was coming and he was the first to get ill before passing on and so he called for his son Yosef , knowing that Yosef would be in a position to get Pharaoh to allow Yaakov to be taken back to Canaan out of Egypt so that he could be buried with our Fore - Fathers and Fore - Mothers and so he had Yosef assure him that Yosef would have him buried in Canaan in the Cave of Machpelah near Mamre in Chevron , where Adam Ve Chava , Avraham and Sarah and Yitzchak and Rivka were put to rest . Yosef assured his Father , that he would do as his Father requested .

Yosef did not spend that much time with his Father , for he was trying to avoid telling on his brothers for what they had done in selling him but Yosef's sons did spend time with their Grand-Father and it was them who informed Yosef that their Father was ill , so he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim at the advice of his wife Osnas and came to his Father . Yaakov assured Yosef that Yosef's sons would share in the inheritance in Eretz Yisroel just like the other sons of Yaakov . Yosef asked his Father why his beloved Mother Rachel was not buried in the Cave of Machpelah like the other Fore-Mothers but on the side of the road to Ephrath Beis Lechem . Yaakov explained to Yosef That HaShem Would one day in the future Take our people into exile in Bavel due to Avodah Zorah idol worship of some of the people and they would travel past that place where Rachel was buried and Rachel would thus be able to pray for us , her children , begging HaShem not to be angry that some of us had strayed just like she had not gotten angry that she gave her place to her sister in marriage to Yaakov , So HaShem Too Should Be Understanding And Forgive us And Bring us Out Of exile and because Rachel had been in such a position of giving her beloved Yaakov to her sister Leah , so could Rachel be the only one to ask Of HaShem the same kind of request to be understanding when sadly our attention was diverted From HaShem And So HaShem Accepted Rachel's prayers for her children - us Jews .

Yaakov then wanted to bless Yosef's children so Yosef put his older son to Yaakov's right and his younger son to Yosef's left but Yosef saw that his Father Yaakov placed his right hand ( the hand that would usually go on the first-born son's head ) on the younger son's head and Yosef wanted to correct him but his Father Yaakov assured Yosef that he had a good reason out of fore - knowledge for what he was doing for Yaakov said that the younger one would become greater than the older one and this was in reference to Joshua Yehoshuah who would in the future come from the younger son Ephraim's line generations later . And so Yaakov blessed Yosef's sons with the same words we say to our children every Erev Shabbos , " May G-D Make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh , " thus putting Ephraim before Manasseh . This Blessing signifies that our people should be like Ephraim and Manasseh who lived among other nations in exile and yet still kept true to Holy Religious Judaism and never strayed . So may our children always be so and Keep Faithful To HaShem And HaShem's Holy Torah and never stray or follow the wrong paths of those around us , who wrongly follow incorrect ways and beliefs . G-D Is One ( Devarim 6 : 4 ) .

Israel Yaakov informs Yosef that he is about to pass on And That HaShem Will after the time in Mitzrayim Bring us back to Canaan . Israel Yaakov gave Yosef an extra portion more than the other brothers , the place Shechem ( showing that deep down Yaakov knew what the brothers had done to Yosef , for it was that place that was connected to where Yosef was sold by his brothers ) that Yaakov had taken with his sword and with his bow when at the time of the incident after Simeon and Levi who had killed all the Shechemite men where their sister had been forcefully taken , the other nations came up in defence of the people of Shechem and Yaakov was forced to fight a war with them And With HaShem's Help , had won and so , Yaakov gave this area to Yosef .

Then Yaakov called for his sons to give them his final Blessings From HaShem and he was just about to reveal to them the time of The End Of Days For The Shechinah Was Resting Above him But HaShem Did Not Want this time to be revealed or known and so , as Yaakov was about to reveal this , The Shechinah Lifted and so Yaakov was unable to complete his words of when that time will be . We also note that Yaakov wanted to tell us of The End Of Days starting with the words " Ha'asfu " - " Assemble yourselves , " which shows that one of the ways to bring Moshiach and usher in The End Of Days , is for our Jewish people to " Assemble , " in other words come together as one people under HaShem in obedience To All Of HaShem's Laws . This ' Coming together ' and getting rid of old strife , strictly Keeping To HaShem's Commandments , is one of the ways to bring Moshiach .

Yaakov Israel then Blessed the Tribes . Reuvein was reminded of his Aveirah And How The Shechinah Was Disturbed , That Rested On that particular couch That Only The Shechinah Of HaShem Rested on and how Reuvein had moved that couch out of Bilhah's tent and into his own Mother Leah's Tent . Yaakov gives Reuvein a Blessing in disguise , which is that Reuvein will and can go far as long as he learns patience and not to be impetuous .

Yaakov then refers to Simeon and Levi's actions in how they handled the Shechemite issue and that Yaakov's soul will not enter into their actions of violence . Yaakov refers to them murdering a people in reference to the Shechemites and maiming an ox in reference to Shechem and himself . This is also a hint to what these two brothers did to Yosef , who is referred to as a "strong boned ox " who keeps to HaShem's Commandments without wavering , even in exile , again showing that Yaakov knew without Yosef telling him what these two specifically had done to Yosef where Levi had been the one who said of young Yosef , " behold the dreamer comes " and Simeon had been the one who threw him into the pit . So Yaakov ensured that these two sons would be kept apart from each other not only in their travels as Tribes when we all came back from Egyptian slavery to Canaan , but also in Israel when the time came for the Land to be divided , for when these two Tribes get together they are ever so strong , as they were when these two , as small boys , wiped out the Shechemites single-handed .

Yehudah is Blessed and noted as the leader of the Tribes as the Tribe of kingship like a lion and from this tribe will Mashiach come - noted as " Shiloh . " Wine and Milk referred to here refers to Mashiach and the Torah of Milk and Honey . When our children first read and learn HaShem's Holy Torah , we dab a little honey on their tongue to remind them That HaShem's Holy Torah should always be sweet on our tongues .

Zevulun will be given those places on seashores to bring trade and wealth to his brothers and he and his brother Yissaschar , mentioned next , work together hand in hand where Zevulun toils while Yissaschar studies Torah and so , will each get the Kavod of both as if they are one , yet both will and are to study HaShem's Holy Torah . The people of Yissaschar bend themselves humbly To HaShem's Holy Torah And Will .

Yaakov Israel Blesses Dan next and here , Yaakov sees in prophecy a man who , from this Tribe , will avenge his people against the Philistines and this man that Yaakov sees , is Samson Shimshon the Judge of Israel , who will be like a single serpent on the way , in other words one single man who will attack at the very enemy's foundation all by himself , a viper by the path as Shimshon was when he hid and waited for the enemy to walk past and the reference to the horse's heels and rider refers to how Shimshon killed so many by himself just with the jawbone of a ass / donkey . Yaakov ends his Blessing to this Tribe with words that show how salvation is still awaited From HaShem , for Yaakov fore-saw how this Shimshon , regaining his power From HaShem once his Nazarite hair grew again , how in his death would bring down 3000 Pelishtim in their colosseum of their fake false idol worship dagan deity , when he would push over the supporting pillars This sadly would be Shimshon's end too and so would Israel still need to await the Final Redemption .

Gad , Yaakov Blessed from HaShem , with powerful fighting men who would overcome the enemy , for Gad's portion of territory would bring them into constant contact with Ammonite raiders .

Asher , was Blessed with " kindly delicacies , " in connection with the abundance of olive oil in his region in Eretz Yisroel as well as spiritually beautiful women who would marry Kohanim .

Naphtali is referred to as a " hind let loose who delivers beautiful sayings " and this refers to the incident that was to take place when Yaakov had already passed away and was being buried in the Cave and Eisav came along and claimed the site for himself and Naphtali , fleet of foot , ran quickly back to Egypt to get the title deed that it belonged to Yaakov and his side of the family .

Yosef is then Blessed and Israel Yaakov , makes reference to Yosef's inauguration as he was led through the city in Egypt . Yaakov also makes mention of arrow-tongued men hating him , a reference to Yosef's brothers and also to the men of Egypt at the time Zulaicha and her friends and husbands made false accusations against him , their husbands joining in . Yaakov refers to Yosef's " bow being firmly emplaced and his arms gilded from the hands of the Mighty power of Yaakov " and this refers to the constant taunts of Potiphera's wife and how at the last moment of that last attempt of Zulaicha to entice Yosef , just before Yosef got accused , how Yosef held himself in check and did not fall and sin and how Yosef saw an image of the mighty Yaakov his Father that kept him at that moment from doing anything wrong . So would Yosef receive abundant Blessings .

Yaakov then Blessed Binyamin as a " predatory wolf , " of how " in the morning devouring prey and in the evening , distributing spoils . " Here , Yaakov prophesies a reference to King Shaul a Benjaminite who defeated Moav , Edom and Philistia and it is also a reference to the happening of the Concubine of Gibeah in the book of Judges 19 and 20 ( Radak ) and of course to the coming of Mordechai and Esther , who were from the Tribe of Binyamin , who were HaShem's Servants against haman the amelekite and both rose there in Persia to high state .

Yaakov Blessed the Twelve Tribes and the very fact that they were mentioned as Twelve Tribes again refers to their Holiness . Yaakov then again instructs them to make sure that he is buried back in Canaan in the Cave of Machpelah and so , sadly our beloved Fore - Father Yaakov Israel passes away . Yosef who wept deeply and heavily had his Father embalmed which our Rabbis believe was incorrect for trust should have been there That HaShem Would Keep Yaakov as he was . But Yosef had another reason for the embalming of his Father , which was that Yosef knew That HaShem Would Keep Yaakov's body intact and Yosef knew that the Egyptians would want to worship Yaakov as a deity , Chas Ve Shalom and Yosef knew that the Egyptians would not think That It Was HaShem keeping the body intact and thus Yosef did not want the Egyptians to see that Yaakov's body remained as it was , for then they might wrongly worship Yaakov and so Yosef covered his Father with the embalming , knowing That HaShem Would Preserve Yaakov's body . Even Egypt bewailed Yaakov's passing , where the passing of such a Holy Tzaddik leaves in its place an emptiness and lack of Blessing in its place , in that specific place , so was Yaakov fearing that Pharaoh might not let Yaakov's body leave Egypt and be buried in Canaan ( for Pharaoh knew that Blessing From HaShem had come with Yaakov's presence in Egypt ) , but Yosef assured Pharaoh that he had given his word to his Father to do this very thing and so , after Pharaoh first objected and Yosef reminding him of how Yosef had kept his word to Pharaoh before , never to reveal that Yosef knew one more language Hebrew , more than Pharaoh , so did Pharaoh consent to allow Yaakov to return to Canaan . Yaakov certainly did not want his body to be buried in Egypt , in the very dust there , that in the time of Moshe at the time of the Plagues in Egypt , that very dust would become lice . Yaakov also knew , as I just mentioned , that since his coming to Egypt had brought with it HaShem's Blessings , Yaakov knew that the Egyptians , being idol worshipers , may worship his body or his burial place , Even Though It Was HaShem Who Had Sent the Blessings , in Yaakov's Holy Honor and so Yaakov did not want such a thing to happen , not wanting to be buried there in such an unholy land . Yaakov wanted to be buried in the Holy Land where his Fore-Fathers were buried , standing up , ready to walk out of the Cave , at the time of Techiyas Ha Meisim - The Resurrection of the Dead .

So Yosef and the brothers carried Yaakov all the way back to Canaan , also with a following of Egyptians . Yosef put his crown on the coffin . The place where they stopped for a solemn lamentation was Goren ha Atad . This name has a deeper meaning for it directly translates as ' Threshing floor of Brambles or Thorns ' and our Rabbis of Blessed memory teach us that it got this name because of all the 36 crowns that were put around the top of Yaakov's Coffin ( Talmud Sotah 13a ) that looked like thorns . Yosef had already put his crown on the Coffin . When the sons of Eisav , Ishmael and Keturah came to attack us at this very sad time and saw Yosef's crown on the Coffin , they all took their crowns and also put it on the Coffin , so was there 36 crowns on the Coffin and as Rabbi Abahu said , ' The verse teaches us that they surrounded Yaakov's Coffin with crowns , like a threshing floor which is surrounded with a hedge of brambles because the sons of Eisav , of Ishmael and of Keturah also came ... ' So was Yaakov Israel buried in the Cave of Machpelah and as I mentioned earlier , Eisav came at that moment and contested it .

Chushim , Dan's deaf son saw the commotion that Eisav was making at such a holy time and struck Eisav to the point of death and Yehudah , struck the final blow . Eisav's head rolled into the cave but his body remained outside and was given to his family to bury on Mount Seir . So was their Mother Rivka's words fulfilled that she would be bereft of both of her sons on the same day ( Bereishis 27 : 45 ) . So was our last beloved Fore-Father buried in the Cave of Machpelah , A Great Light Was Gone From The World .

After the passing of their holy Father Yaakov , Yosef's other brothers became afraid that now Yosef would really come down on them , for Yosef , dealing with the sadness of his Father's Passing and also not wanting to take the head place at a table with them over his other brothers , did not invite them as before , thus making them mistakenly worry and mistakenly misunderstand his actions and so they approached him making out that their Father had wanted him to forgive them . Yosef reassured them that he would still take care of them and would not hurt them and that he held no anger to them at all .

Pharaoh passed away and Yosef stood in as ruler of Egypt for many years and Yosef saw three generations through his sons . Before he was about to pass away , Yosef asked his brothers that they must bring his bones out of Egypt and bring him back to Canaan when the Jews leave there after the time of slavery is completed . Yosef also told them that after the period of slavery in Egypt , HaShem Will Send a Redeemer who will be known when he speaks the words , " Pakod Yifkod , " ( Bereishis 50 : 24 ) - " G-D Will surely remember you " and so , Yosef passed away before his brothers at the age of One Hundred and Ten , ten years before he would have otherwise passed away , due to the fact that he did not stop his brothers when they kept referring to his Father being called ' servant ' ten times , when the brothers were before him as viceroy .

The last brother to pass away in Egypt was Levi . Yosef was placed in a coffin and sunk to the bottom of the Nile , so that the Egyptians could keep his bones in Egypt , for the Egyptians believed his being there brought them blessing and blessings to the nile , Even Though All Blessings Come From HaShem Alone . So ends the Parsha and The First Book Of HaShem's Holy Torah Bereishis .

This Parsha is called " Vayechi " - " Lived " although the Parsha is actually about the passing of Yaakov Israel and at the end of the Parsha , the passing of Yosef . So why then is such a Parasha that is about their passing , called " Vayechi " - " Lived / Living . " This is because a true and holy Tzaddik who is So Close To HaShem and who has become so Holy and Spiritual , continues on to greater Life and Holiness after their physical passing . Physical passing is yet another part of ' True Living ' and so is one reason why the the word " Vayechi " is used . The same was the case with the passing of Sarah . The passing of Yaakov was only a physical passing . The Neshoma continues Closer To HaShem , Growing Ever Closer To HaShem , Climbing Ever Higher Toward HaShem . Life is not what it seems . Physical Life itself , if we choose our choices Given By HaShem , wisely and Follow and Listen To HaShem And HaShem's commandments , is only a Pathway Toward Getting Closer To HaShem .

When a person passes , only their physicality remains and returns To What HaShem Made it from and the term ' passes on ' becomes more apt for that is exactly what is happening . The person passes on from one way of being to the next , whether that be as a person again or as whatever HaShem Deems them to need to become so that they can continue to Spiritually grow . We see only a tiny minute picture of all things and so does ' True Life ' actually continue in all its Brilliance , Toward HaShem .

The very fact of living is a step toward the time of Mashiach . We see this in the very first word of this Parsha " Vayechi , " which comes to 34 in Gematriah and 3 + 4 = 7 , the Gematrical value of Moshiach . Thus , when we live According To HaShem And HaShem's Commandments And HaShem's Ways , we continue to live beyond the physical existence of what we see , working toward becoming holier beings Coming Ever Closer To HaShem and so , By Following HaShem And HaShem's Commandments And HaShem's Holy Torah , we thus work to bring in Moshiach and usher in The End Of Days . Life is not about having value-less parties and a frivolous good time for the moment . These things have no long lasting or worthy value at all . True Life is truly using this Physical World as a preparation to earn our place in The Eternal Home Of Gan Eiden . So says Pirkei Avos , that the World we are in , is the antechamber to prepare ourselves to enter the banquet hall , of The Eternal World To Come Olam Habah . That is True Living , not just for the here and now , but Truly for Eternity . For True Life , Is Life With HaShem . That Is what we are all actually here for . To do otherwise , would not be ' living ' at all . Every moment of every day of every moment of every moment , Is A Gift From HaShem , To Gain True " Vayechi " - " Living . " Yaakov and our Fore-Fathers knew this . Now it is time for us to know it too . This Physical World Existence is your opportunity and mine From HaShem To Work Toward Olam Habah The World To Come and so this very working toward an Eternal Blessed Destination With HaShem , Is Really And Truly What Is ' True Living . '

Let us all stop wasting our lives That HaShem Gives us and from now on " Vayechi " - " Truly Live " For HaShem and so will we get " True Vayechi " - " True Life Eternal " In HaShem's Olam Habah Gan Eiden In Shamayim Heaven , Within The Beauty Of HaShem HaKadosh Baruch Hu HaShem The Holy One Blessed Be He .

I wish Ever Most Eternally Beloved HaShem With Eternal And Deepest Forever Love , A Very Beautiful And Sweet Shabbos Kodesh With Forever Eternal And Deepest Love and to all my fellow Jews and to all of Creation , a Very Beautiful and Sweet Shabbos Kodesh with love .