טבת תשע''ט

'365'

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"Jacob lived seventeen years in the land of Egypt, so that the span of Jacob’s life came to one hundred and forty-seven years."(1)

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Here is a defining moment, the culmination of the life of Israel, the end of his days. When his time comes, the father of the nation calls upon all his children and asks to bless them and to foretell their future, as it is written in this week’s Parasha: "And Jacob called his sons and said, Come together that I may tell you what is to befall you in days to come. Assemble and hearken, O sons of Jacob; Hearken to Israel your father."(2) The Gemara quotes Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish (Reish Lakish) who states the following:  “Jacob wanted to reveal to his sons when the complete redemption would arrive at the end of days (see Daniel 12:13), but the Divine Presence abandoned him, rendering him unable to prophesy. He said: Perhaps the Divine Presence has abandoned me because, Heaven forbid, one of my descendants is unfit, as was the case with my grandfather Abraham, from whom Ishmael emerged, and like my father Isaac, from whom Esau emerged. His sons said to him: Hear O Israel,  the Lord is our God, the Lord is One-- שמע ישראל, ה׳ אלהינו ה׳ אחד״. They said: Just as there is only one God in your heart, so too, there is only one in our hearts. At that moment Jacob our father said in praise: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever- ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד, and Jacob was comforted in knowing that he had passed down to his tradition and his monotheism to his children.(3)

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A recurring question is why in this defining moment was Jacob was called by his old, original name and not called Israel? I realized that when the father of the nation is mentioned in the Torah as Jacob, it is usually in order to point out a certain problem in the action described or attributed to him--either Jacob's failures or the consequences of past actions. If so, what is the problem here? Perhaps Jacob is feeling doubtful about the continuation of his legacy and his faith. And I'll add two more problematic issues which occur here:  first, we cannot foretell the future, we only retrospectively know what happened to the person, but here Jacob seeks to preempt what is known to him. It also seems that Jacob desires that the world will continue to exist according to his views and ways even after his death, yet this is not possible or true. For this reason the Gemara says "The Divine Presence abandoned him."(4) Perhaps it is implying that Jacob was too proud at that time.

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Let me share a personal matter with you. This week I listened to songs that gave me a sense of nostalgia for the culture in which I was raised, and when I heard them I thought about the passage of time and our changing world, and the impact encounters with other people have in our life. I found myself wondering what would I do if I was told I had 365 days left to live? What if the end of time does not refer to the end of days of my life but to the end of a period? What legacy am I leaving, what will others remember of me? Perhaps the right thing to do in this case is to count our blessings and the good fortune we have gained from our relationship with the people around us. If so, it is my duty to declare that I have been blessed to be surrounded by good men and women, loved ones, righteous people, people of strong faith and ideology, people who are not perfect and whose imperfection makes them whole. I have been blessed with people who know to tell me when I am wrong in my actions or ways and friends who uplift my soul when necessary and who support me in my initiatives and activities. I am blessed with an open, supportive and loving community, a community like no other in this world, a community at the heart of us all. For all these good deeds I thank you God, I thank all who are present now and those who are not with us today.

 

Please allow me to conclude with a psalm of gratitude, you have heard it many times, so please join as we recite it together. For all the good and deliverance that have been done to us, and to me because of you.

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מִזְמ֥וֹר לְתוֹדָ֑ה הָרִ֥יעוּ לַ֝יהוָ֗ה כָּל-הָאָֽרֶץ: עִבְד֣וּ אֶת-יְהוָ֣ה בְּשִׂמְחָ֑ה בֹּ֥אוּ לְ֝פָנָ֗יו בִּרְנָנָֽה:  דְּע֗וּ כִּֽי-יְהוָה֮ ה֤וּא אֱלֹ֫הִ֥ים הֽוּא-עָ֭שָׂנוּ (ולא) וְל֣וֹ אֲנַ֑חְנוּ עַ֝מּ֗וֹ וְצֹ֣אן מַרְעִיתֽוֹ: בֹּ֤אוּ שְׁעָרָ֨יו | בְּתוֹדָ֗ה חֲצֵרֹתָ֥יו בִּתְהִלָּ֑ה הֽוֹדוּ-ל֝֗וֹ בָּרְכ֥וּ שְׁמֽוֹ:  כִּי-ט֣וֹב יְ֭הוָֹה לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּ֑וֹ וְעַד-דֹּ֥ר וָ֝דֹ֗ר אֱמוּנָתֽוֹ:

 

"A psalm for praise; Raise a shout for the LORD, all the earth; worship the LORD in gladness; come into His presence with shouts of joy. Acknowledge that the LORD is God; He made us and we are His, His people, the flock He tends.Enter His gates with praise, His courts with acclamation. Praise Him! Bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfast love is eternal; His faithfulness is for all generations."(5)

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1. Genesis 47:28

2. Genesis 49:1-2

3. Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 56 A

4. Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 56 A

5. Psalms 100

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