Parsha for Kids: Vayechi 2022
Below is the transcript for this week’s episode of Parsha for Kids, Vayechi 2022.
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Episode 12:
Hello! My name is Chana, and this is Parsha for Kids. The Parsha of the week is Vayechi. Vayechi means “And he lived.”
But who lived?
The answer is Yaakov. He lived for seventeen more years in Egypt.
This is comforting. As we discussed last week, Yaakov had lived a very difficult life. He had to run away from his brother Esav, who tried to kill him, live in the trickster Lavan’s house, got tricked into marrying Leah, had his beloved wife Rachel die, had his daughter Dina kidnapped, believed that Yosef had been killed, had Shimon imprisoned and was forced to send Binyomin down to Egypt. Then he and his whole family had to relocate to Egypt!
But he got to live for seventeen more years there. Seventeen years in which he could reconnect with Yosef and with Yosef’s children, Menashe and Ephraim. Seventeen years in which the family had the chance to heal and reconnect. Seventeen years that would allow him to go down in peace to his grave.
So when Yaakov saw that it was nearing his time to die, he called Yosef to him. He asked Yosef to make sure that he, Yaakov, would not be buried in Egypt. Instead, Yaakov wanted to be buried with his forefathers, in Maarat HaMachpela in Eretz Canaan.
Why did Yaakov give this directive to Yosef instead of summoning all his sons and asking all of them to promise they would do this?
Since Yosef was viceroy of Egypt, he was the one who would have the ability to fulfill this request. The other sons would not have been high-ranking enough to decree that Yaakov could be taken out of Egypt and buried in Eretz Canaan.
Yosef swore that he would fulfill this request, and Yaakov bowed to him from his bed.
TRANSITION
Some time after this, Yosef was informed that Yaakov was sick. The Hebrew word used to indicate this was that Yaakov was choleh. This is the first time this word appears in the Torah. We don’t see it written that Avraham or Yitzchak became sick, for example.
The Baalei HaMidrash notice this and explains what happened. According to the Midrash, people would be well, and then, when it was time for them to die, they would sneeze and suddenly die. This is why, to this day, when someone sneezes, we say “Gesundheit,” which means good health or “Bless you!” This reminds us that long ago, sneezing meant someone was about to die, and nowadays, it doesn’t. Yaakov requested that God give him a warning before he died so that he would be able to set his affairs in order. God accepted this request, and so Yaakov was the first person to become ill. Once he became sick, he knew that he would die shortly thereafter, so it was time for him to pass on important information to everyone in his household.
Yosef took his two sons, Menashe and Ephraim, to his father. When Yaakov heard they were coming, he sat up on his bed. Yaakov told Yosef, “God appeared to me in Canaan and told me that I would inherit that land. He told me that I would become fruitful and multiply. Your two sons will be mine just like Reuven and Shimon.”
What Yaakov meant by this was that Menashe and Ephraim would be counted amongst the twelve tribes of Israel. When the time came for Bnei Yisrael to enter the land of Israel, Menashe and Ephraim would each receive a portion of the land along with the other tribes.
However, Yaakov also clarified that if Yosef were to have additional sons, those children would not be counted amongst the twelve tribes.
Yaaakov also mentioned Rachel’s death and how he had buried her on the way to Beit Lechem.
Rashi wonders why Yaaakov brought this up. After all, Yosef already knows where Rachel is buried, and this is not a new important instruction that Yosef needs to fulfill. Rashi therefore suggests that Yaakov was saying, “You may wonder why it is important to me to be buried in Maarat HaMachpelah when I didn’t bury your mother Rachel there. But remember that she died on the way, and that is why I had to bury her in Beit Lechem.”
You see, a human body ordinarily does not stay fresh after it has died. God explained that the original man, Adam, was made out of earth and a soul. Therefore, when a person dies, their soul goes back to God, and their body goes back to the earth. After death, the body begins a process called decomposition, which means the body can turn back into earth faster. In Egypt, there were special ways to preserve the body so that it would stay fresh longer, through a process known as embalming, but Yaakov did not have that process available to him while he was traveling.
TRANSITION
Then Yaakov saw Yosef’s sons. He could no longer see well because of his old age, so he asked Yosef, “Who are these?”
Yosef said, “These are my sons, who God gave me here.”
Yaakov said, “Bring them close to me so that I can bless them.”
Yaakov kissed and hugged his grandsons. Then he turned to Yosef in wonder and said, “I had not expected to see even your face, and now God has shown me your children too!” This is a powerful moment in the parsha. Yaakov had thought Yosef was dead, torn apart by a wild animal. Amazingly, it turned out that not only was Yosef alive, but he even had children who Yaakov was privileged to meet.
Yosef took his sons off of Yaakov’s knees and sat them down next to Yaakov so it would be easier for their grandfather to bless them. Yosef also bowed to his father. Yosef seated Menashe on Yaakov’s right because he was the older son and people would usually use their right hand to bless the older child. Yosef seated Ephraim on Yaaakov’s left side.
But Yaakov did something unexpected. He crossed his hands, so that his right hand was resting on Ephraim’s head and his left hand was resting on Menashe’s head.
Before Yosef could protest, Yaakov began the blessing. First, he acknowledged God’s role in his life and how God had always protected him. Then he asked God to do something. Here is what Yaakov said. Do you recognize it?
הַמַּלְאָךְ֩ הַגֹּאֵ֨ל אֹתִ֜י מִכָּל־רָ֗ע יְבָרֵךְ֘ אֶת־הַנְּעָרִים֒ וְיִקָּרֵ֤א בָהֶם֙ שְׁמִ֔י וְשֵׁ֥ם אֲבֹתַ֖י אַבְרָהָ֣ם וְיִצְחָ֑ק וְיִדְגּ֥וּ לָרֹ֖ב בְּקֶ֥רֶב הָאָֽרֶץ:
Yes, this is Hamalach HaGoel! A famous song that your parents may even sing to you before you go to sleep.
This blessing translates to: “May the angel who redeemed me from all harm bless the young boys, and may they be called by my name and the name of my fathers, Avraham and Yitzchok. And just as fish multiply in the waters, may Yosef’s children become strong and multiply in the Land of Eretz Yisrael.”
Why did Yaakov bless Yosef’s children to be like fish specifically?
Rashi notes that fish are covered up by water, and therefore they are unaffected by Ayin HaRah, the evil eye. The evil eye refers to people looking at other people and wishing bad things to happen to them, usually because they are angry at them or jealous of them. According to Rashi, Yaakov was blessing Yosef’s children to not be affected by Ayin Harah.
Yosef was disturbed that Yaakov was putting his right hand on Ephraim, who was the younger son, and his left hand on Menashe, who was the older son. So he picked up his father’s hand in order to switch it, telling his father that he, Yaakov, had mixed up the children.
But Yaakov explained that he had done this deliberately. “Menashe too will become a great nation but his younger brother Ephraim will become more famous and have greater descendants.”
You may have noticed by now that there is a pattern in Tanakh of younger siblings being chosen over older siblings. For example, Yitzchak, not his older brother Yishmael, would continue Avraham’s blessings. And Yaakov, not his older brother Esav, would be given the major blessings by Yitzchok. Yosef, not his older brothers, would receive a double portion, since both of his sons, Menashe AND Ephraim, were going to be included among the tribes.
But something remarkable happens with Menashe and Ephraim. Even though Yaakov declares that Ephraim will become more successful than Menashe, the two brothers do not fight. They don’t seem to feel hatred or animosity towards one another. And this is a turning point for the Jewish people, because we finally have a situation where the younger brother might be favored, but this isn’t causing pain and strife in the family.
Yaakov also said that in the future, Jewish parents would bless their sons, “May you become like Ephraim and Menashe,” and they would put Ephraim first. This actually happens nowadays! Do you know when?
This happens on Friday nights. If you have a traditional Friday night Shabbat dinner, and you are a boy, your parent uses this very blessing from the Tanakh and says that they bless you to grow up to be like Ephraim and Menashe. Parents bless girls to grow up and be like Sarah, Rivka, Rachel and Leah.
TRANSITION
Yaaakov then called all of his sons to him. He said, “Gather and I will tell you what will happen in Acharis HaYamim, the end of days.”
There is much speculation as to what Yaakov meant by this term. What is Acharis HaYamim? Rashi thinks that Yaakov wanted to reveal the time period in which Mashiach, the Messiah, or Redeemer, would arrive. However, God did not want Yaakov to reveal it so he did not permit him to do so.
However, a commentator called Chizkuni takes a different approach. Chizkuni is also known as Rabbi Chizkiyahu ben Manoach and he lived in France from 1220-1260 CE. Chizkuni said that Yaakov gathered his sons in order to tell them what would happen to them in the future. Yaakov knew the prophecy that had been given to Avraham at the Brit Bein HaBetarim, the covenant between the pieces, which stated that Bnei Yisrael would become strangers in a strange land and remain there for a very long time- but would eventually be taken out of there by God. This experience, termed galus, or exile, is what Yaakov wanted to make sure his children knew. He wanted them to know this prophecy because he didn’t want them to lose hope during the many years they would remain in Egypt.
Since Yaakov knew he was about to die, he wanted to give important advice and information to each of his sons.
He began with Reuven.
“Reuven, you are my first born. Usually a first born receives the bechorah, the birthright, having more power than the rest of his brothers. However, you are like water. Water is restless- it doesn’t stay in one place. Similarly, you acted too quickly, like a gushing stream. Therefore, you will not receive this special position.”
When did Reuven act too quickly? One example was when Reuven switched where his father would sleep, trying to put his father in Leah’s tent rather than Bilha’s tent. Another was when Reuven told his brothers to put Yosef in a pit, intending to save Yosef later, but then left- and by the time he got back Yosef was sold.
Then Yaakov spoke to Shimon and Levi. “Shimon and Levi, you are similar, and you like to do things together. Both of you destroyed Shechem after Dinah was kidnapped, and both of you wanted to kill Yosef. But you get angry and excited too quickly and that leads you to make mistakes.” Yaakov therefore explained he didn’t want his name or his honor to be connected to Shimon and Levi. In the future, Yaakov also saw that the tribes of Shimon and Levi would be separated when they inherited the land of Israel. The Leviyim would be scattered in forty-eight different cities, and in that way Shimon and Levi wouldn’t be able to get into trouble together.
Yaakov spoke to Yehuda and told him that all the brothers agreed that he was a king and leader over them. At first, Yehuda would be like a young lion, but later on, he would be like a big, mighty lion. This referred to descendants of Yehuda being strong leaders, ranging from the first Shofet, Asniel ben Kenaz, to King David. In the land of Israel, Yehuda’s tribal portion will be full of vineyards with red grapes and his fields will look white because they are covered with so many sheep.
Yaakov told Zevulun that he would receive a portion of land that was beside the seashore. His descendants would travel in ships to do business with other nations. According to Rashi, Zevulun and Yissachar made a deal where members of Zevulun would travel to do business while members of Yissachar would study Torah. The members of Zevulun would give money to the Torah students of Yissachar, and in return God would make sure that part of the reward for Yissachar’s Torah learning would go to Zevulun.
Yaakov told Yissaachar that his tribe would be similar to a donkey that carries burdens. In his case, the burden would be the yoke of Torah. Yissachar’s tribe would be made up of Torah scholars and his portion of the land would be a good land for producing fruits without a lot of hard labor required.
Yaakov told Dan that he would be compared to a snake. Later on, when the Jews would travel in the desert, Dan would stay at the back of all the tribes. The men of Dan would fight against enemies who would attack from the back. Yaakov also foresaw that an important Shofet, or judge, named Shimshon would come from the tribe of Dan. A snake’s method of fighting is sly and tricky, and the tribe of Dan, especially Shimshon, would use these sly, unexpected methods in order to win against Bnei Yisrael’s enemies.
Yaakov told Gad that the men of his tribe would be strong war heroes. They would go out to war when it was time to conquer the land of Israel and they would return in peace to their own land. They will be successful in battle.
Yaakov told Asher that his portion of the land would be filled with olive trees and rich food. All of the different tribes would come to Asher to buy olive oil from him and his tribe would earn a lot of money because of this.
Yaakov compared Naftali to a gazelle. A gazelle is like a deer. Just like a deer runs fast, so too the fruits in Naftali’s portion of land would ripen quickly. Additionally, Naftali and many members of his tribe would be exceptionally fast and excellent runners. So when Bnei Yisrael needed to send a message somewhere they would often send a man from Naftali.
Yaakov blessed Yosef by mentioning that he was charming and good looking but despite that he had the strength of will not to commit a sin when Potiphar’s wife wanted him to marry her. Yaakov said Yosef would be rewarded for his strength of will in that instance. He also said Yosef would be blessed with greater blessings than Avraham and Yitzchak had given Yaakov.
Yaakov compared Binyomin to a wolf. Just like a wolf tears its prey, grabs the meat and runs away, Binyomin would have the first king, Shaul, descend from him. Since Shaul ruled for only a short time he was similar to a wolf. This was as opposed to Yehuda, who was compared to a lion, the animal that is the king of the jungle. This is because David would come from Yehuda.
And so Yaakov blessed all his sons. He also told them he wanted to be buried in Maarat HaMachepelah, where Avraham, Sarah, Yitzchak, Rivkah and Leah had already been buried.
And after uttering these last words, Yaakov died.
TRANSITION
Yosef cried and kissed his father. He commanded the experts in Egypt to embalm Yaakov so that his body would stay fresh. This took forty days. The Egyptians wept over Yaakov’s death for thirty more days, such that they mourned for him for seventy days in total.
Why did the Egyptians mourn for Yaakov?
Our sages have different opinions on this. Rashi thinks that when Yaakov arrived in Egypt, the famine ended early, and therefore the Egyptians were grateful. Other sages say the Egyptians mourned out of respect for Yosef.
After the mourning period, Yosef spoke to Pharoah. He explained his father had made him swear that he would bury him in the land of Canaan. Yosef requested permission to bury Yaakov in the land of Canaan. Pharoah permitted this.
So Yosef went up to Canaan to bury his father along with the elders of his house, the elders of the land of Egypt, Yosef’s household, his brothers and his father’s household. The only people who stayed in Goshen were the young children and their flocks and cattle.
When they crossed the Jordan River, they gave a very impressive eulogy. A eulogy or hesped is when people remember the good deeds and accomplishments of the person who died. After this, Yosef determined that there needed to be seven days of mourning. Nowadays, we call this Shiva, and we still practice it to this day. In the Jewish religion, when a person dies, the people who are the immediate relatives of that person, like their parents, brothers and sisters and siblings, mourn for them for seven days. They sit on low chairs and tear their garments and the community comes to visit them and talk to them about the person who died.
The people of Canaan saw the Bnei Yisrael and the Egyptians mourning and they named that place Avel Mitzrayim, meaning Egypt Mourns.
Yosef and his brothers buried their father in the Mearat Hamachpelah and then they all returned to Egypt.
TRANSITION
At this point, Yosef’s brothers saw that their father had died and they became afraid that maybe now Yosef would show that he hated them and punish them for what they had done to him, back when they had sold him.
You might be wondering why they might have thought Yaakov’s death would have changed anything. We can figure out the answer to this based on a previous parsha.
You may remember that Esav hated Yaakov in his heart. However, he said to himself that first he would wait for his father Yitzchok to die and only then would he kill Yaakov, because he didn’t want to cause pain to his father. Similarly, Yosef’s brothers might have believed that Yosef was biding his time, and now that Yaakov was dead, he might want to hurt his brothers.
So the brothers commanded messengers to go to Yosef and say that Yaakov had commanded Yosef to forgive his brothers’ sin against Yosef. Yosef wept when he heard what the messengers said.
The brothers also came in person to Yosef and said they were prepared to be his slaves. But Yosef said this was not necessary. He reassured his brothers that even though they had intended evil against him, God had intended it for good, and God had wanted him to end up in Egypt all along. He told them not to be afraid of him and that he intended to take care of them and their young children.
Yosef and his family remained in Egypt. Yosef lived until he was 110 years old, and he got to see his grandchildren, the children of Menashe and Ephraim, be born. Yosef told his brothers that he was going to die and requested that when God would remember Bnei Yisrael and take them out of Egypt, Bnei Yisrael should take his bones out of Egypt and bury them in the land of Canaan.
When Yosef died, the Egyptians embalmed him and put his body in a coffin in Egypt.
TRANSITION
Parshat Vayechi is the last parsha in Sefer Bereshit, the Book of Bereshit. That means you and I have now learned an entire Sefer!
When this parsha is read in an Ashkenaz synagogue (Ashkenaz refers to Jews who are descended from people who come from Central and Eastern Europe), we conclude it with the words Chazak Chazak v’Nischazek- Be Strong, Be Strong and May we be strengthened. This means that we should continue to have the strength to go onward in our Torah study, and to start learning the next Sefer of the Torah next week!
TRANSITION
So here’s what we learned this week:
It was important to Yaakov to be buried in the land of Canaan, or modern-day Eretz Yisrael. Even today, there are people who live in countries throughout the world who prefer that their bodies be buried in Eretz Yisrael when they die!
The fact that Yaakov got sick was a blessing in disguise. It gave him time to realize that he was dying, which meant he was able to convey important information and blessings to his family members. We may not always think of sickness as a blessing, but when sickness comes before we are about to die, it can be valuable and help us figure out how to make sure that everything is in order and give us time to say goodbye to our loved ones.
Some famous Jewish phrases that we say even nowadays appear in this parsha. For example, Hamalach HaGoel is in this parsha! And so is the fact that parents will bless their sons to be like Ephraim and Menashe.
Ephraim and Menashe broke the cycle of younger children fighting with older children because even though Ephraim got the more important blessing, we don’t see Menashe being upset. This is a very positive development.
Yaakov was able to tell each one of his sons important information about themselves and the future of their tribe.
Yosef was able to reassure his brothers that he really did not want to hurt them, and that he recognized the role of God in his life. The brothers might have intended evil, but in the end God made sure it turned to good- a reference to the Yad Hashem.
If you have any questions or comments on this week’s episode, please email me at parsha4kids (at) gmail.com. That’s parsha the number 4 kids at gmail.com. Good Shabbos!