1. This week's Torah portion, Parshat Vayechi, is the 12th and final parsha in the book of Genesis. The first book of the Torah began on a grand scale - with the creation of the world. Then the story narrowed to one family, that of Avraham and Sarah. And now the book ends with this family growing and beginning to become a nation, the people of Israel.
2. The parsha begins with the words "Vayechi Yaakov" (And Yaakov lived) but describes the passing of Yaakov and also the passing of Yosef. Sometimes specifically a person's passing reveals to us the secret of life, the legacy and message that the person left behind for generations to come.
3. The parsha describes Yaakov’s farewell from his sons and the special blessings they receive, each one with his unique blessing. They all together say "Shema Yisrael" around his bed, meaning they all continue his path together. After a book of sibling wars, Yaakov’s sons create Jewish unity.
4. Yaakov our forefather also blesses his grandsons, Ephraim and Menashe, and says to them famous verses of blessing that parents say to their children every Shabbat evening ("May God make you like Ephraim and Menashe”). Specifically Ephraim and Menashe, Yosef’s sons who grow up in Egypt, receive the blessing because they become a symbol for Jews throughout the generations - to preserve Jewish identity within a foreign culture.
5. At the conclusion of reading a complete book of the Torah, there are synagogues where they customarily announce: “Chazak chazak venitchazek” (Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!) We rejoice at the completion of the reading and draw strength from it as we continue studying Torah in the next book, the book of Exodus, where we will begin reading the story of the Exodus from Egypt.
Shabbat Shalom!
