Yaakov blessed Efraim and Menashe,
Yosef’s sons, with the bracha of HaMalach HaGoel (Breisheet 48:16):

The Angel who redeemed me from all
evil, should bless the lads, and let my name be called on them, together with
the name of my fathers, Avraham and Yitzchak. May they be like fish multiplying
within the land (bikerev Ha’aretz).

The Vilna Gaon points out that the tribes
of Efraim and Menashe were not significantly larger than the other tribes while
B’nai Yisrael were in the wilderness as well as when they were in Arvot Moav
before entering the Land of Israel.

Once B’nai Yisrael entered Israel,
the prophecy came through- the tribes of Efraim and Menashe multiplied like
fish.

After the land was conquered, even
before it was distributed it says (Yehoshua 17:4): “The children of Yosef spoke
to Yehoshua, saying, ‘Why have you given me an inheritance of only one lot and
one portion, when I am a numerous people, for God has blessed me so much.’” In
the short time that we have been in the Land of Israel, we have already become
a big nation.

Yehoshua answered (17:15): “If you
are such a numerous people, go up to the forest…”

We learn in Bava Batra 118a:
Yehoshua said to them. “Go and hide in the forests, so that the Ayin HaRa, Evil
Eye will not have control over you.” Yehoshua was afraid that such a quick and
wondrous proliferation would provoke the Evil Eye to take action against them.

Why did their tribes increase at
such a quick rate once they got to Israel? One reason is because of the
blessing of “HaMalach HaGoel” from Yaakov, that they will be like fish
multiplying within the Land.

In Israel we always have to worry
about demographics. Although there are a lot of Olim, immigrants, there are
also a lot of Yordim, people that leave. One way to make sure that the Jewish
population continues to rise is by having children.  High birth rates are often found in the
Haredi and Dati Leumi communities. In Israel in general, there is a focus on
the centrality of the family.

May we continue to raise lots of
children in the Modern State of Israel and may those who are trying to conceive
be blessed with healthy babies.

As we read through Yaakov’s blessings to his
children, Gad’s bracha stands out as a tongue twister (Breisheet 49:19):

Gad gdud yegudenu vehu yagud akev.

Gad will recruit a regiment and it will retreat on its heel.

According to Rashi the words “yegudenu” and “yagud” are all related to
the word “gdud” meaning troops will troop out from him signifying that the
tribe of Gad will cross the Jordan with their brothers to wage war, all being
armed and they will remain with them until the land will be captured. All their
troops will return in their own track to their territory which they took on the
other side of the Jordan and not a single person will be missing.

Rashbam, Rashi’s grandson explains that the
troops of the entire nation of Israel will follow Gad who is the vanguard in
the wars of conquest as we know from Dvarim 3:18 where Moses charged them with
this task: “Cross over in the forefront, ahead of your brothers, B’nai Yisrael,
all that are fit for the war.” On the return from battle, this tribe, instead
of being in the vanguard, will be the rearguard, again the most exposed to
enemy action. They will thus form a buffer for the Jewish armies at all times.

At the end of Sefer Dvarim in Vezot HaBracha, Dvarim 33:20-21, Moshe
blessed the tribe of Gad:

Blessed is the One who broadens Gad…He marched at the head of the
people, he acted righteously before God and his laws with Yisrael.

Rashi teaches that the breadth of Gad’s border (which was bordered on
the west by the Jordan River) ranged eastward. The tribe of Gad was at the head
of the people since they marched at the front ranks of the armed forces when
the land was conquered, since they were great warriors as it is said (Yehoshua
1:14) “You shall cross as the armed forces before your brothers.”

Rashi concludes that the tribe of Gad acted righteously before God as
they were faithful to their word, and kept their promise to cross the Jordan
until they conquered and distributed the land.

Throughout the Tanach, the word gdud refers to our battalions as well to
the enemy battalions.

In the Israeli army today, the word gdud,
battalion, meaning a group of fighters in a section made up of a few platoons
is still used. Each gdud has its own name or number.

Our soldiers today are doing no less than what the tribe of Gad did
while B’nai Yisrael were conquering the land. They are on the front lines on
all of Israel’s borders as well as in Judea, Samaia and Gaza. May our soldiers
be blessed with Gad’s bracha that they all return home safely and unharmed.

Parshat Vayechi, Breisheet 50:7-9
lists everyone who went up to C’naan for Yaakov’s funeral:

Yosef went up to bury his father;
and with him went up all of Pharaoh’s servants, the elders of this house, and
all the elders of the land of Egypt. And all Yosef’s household, his brothers
and his father’s household. Only their little ones, their sheep and their cattle
did they leave behind in the land of Goshen. With him also went up chariots and
horsemen. It was a very imposing camp.

Later, in Breisheet 50:14 we read:

Yosef returned to Egypt, he and his
brothers, and all those who went with him, to bury his father, after he had
buried his father.

In verses 7-9 and in verse 15,
Yaakov’s burial is ascribed mainly to Yosef.

In the Talmud, Sotah 9b we read in
the Mishna:

Yosef merited to bury his father and
none of his brothers was greater than he. As it is stated (Breisheet 50:7-9):
“Yosef went up to bury his father…and up with him went both chariots and
horsemen.” Yosef was rewarded measure for measure for his good deed, for who
was treated with as much honor as Yosef, that none other than Moshe attended to
him?

The Talmud, Sotah 13a asks:

Why was Yosef the central figure in
Yaakov’s burial? If Yosef would not have been involved would the brothers not
have been involved with it? But we see that they were in fact involved as it
says in Breisheet 50:13: “His sons carried him to the land of C’naan and buried
him…”

The Talmud answers:

The other brothers said among
themselves, “Let Yosef take the leading role in the burial. Our father Yaakov’s
honor is better served by royalty than by commoners.”

Rashi points out that Yosef was
royalty as he was second in command to Pharaoh.

Yosef later had the honor of having
his bones brought over by Moshe, the “gadol,” the most important person at the
time of the exodus.

The difference in the two stories is
that Yaakov wanted to be buried immediately and therefore he said to Yosef
(Breisheet 47:29) “…deal kindly and truthfully with me. Please don’t bury me in Egypt.” He did not want to be buried in Egypt, even for a small amount of
time.

Yosef’s bones on the other hand were
temporarily buried in Egypt until the exodus.

As Yosef was the second in command
to Pharaoh, it made sense for him to be in charge of Yaakov’s funeral. Yosef
was able to make sure that the burial would be taken care of immediately and
therefore Yaakov left it in Yosef’s hands, rather than in the hands of his
brothers.

In Parshat Vayechi (Breisheet 47:29) we read the words: “The days of Yisrael’s death drew near, and he called for his son
Yosef…”

This verse sound very similar to the
opening verse of the Haftara (Melachim 2:1) “David’s days drew near to die and
he instructed his son Solomon saying…”

Maharam points out that what Yaakov
(Yisrael) and David had in common was that they both had a son who ruled during
their lifetime, Yosef (who ruled over Egypt) and Shlomo (who ruled over
Israel).

The difference in the two stories is
that finally, at the end of Yaakov’s life, all of his sons united and each
received a blessing from their father. Each was destined to become a tribe.
They will all be leaders. In David’s case, only one son, Shlomo was chosen to
be the continuation of David’s dynasty.

While Yaakov was able to give his
sons poetic blessings, David gave Shlomo the practical information of how to
succeed as king. According to Seder Olam, Shlomo was twelve years old when he
became king, Abarbanel believes that he was closer to twenty. In any case,
Shlomo began to rule at a very young age. He had a lot of responsibility to
take on and he needed as much guidance as possible. David had to lay down the
facts of who Shlomo’s friends would be and who would turn out to be his
enemies.

David’s most important advice that
Shlomo unfortunately did not follow throughout his life was (Melachim 2:3-4)
“Safeguard the charge of Hashem, your God, to walk in His ways, to observe his
decrees, commandments, ordinances and testimonies as written in the Torah of
Moshe, so that you will succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn; so
that Hashem will uphold his word that He spoke to me saying, ‘If your children
will safeguard their way, to walk before me sincerely, with all their heart and
with all their soul,’ saying, ‘no man of yours will ever be cut off from upon
the throne of Israel.’”

If only Shlomo had followed David’s
advice, we would not have been stuck with the terrible kings that were to
follow.

Marc Chagall spent two years
preparing the stained glass windows which depict each of Yaakov’s twelve sons.
He gave the windows as a gift to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem in 1962. At the
installation he declared: “This is my gift to the Jewish people, who have
always dreamt of Biblical love, friendship and peace among all people.”

Each window is dedicated to a
different one of Yaakov’s sons. The windows are based on the blessings that
Yaakov bestowed upon his sons right before his death in Parshat Vayechi (Breisheet
49). Every window is a masterpiece depicting each individual’s role in history.

The colors that are used in each
window are all intentional and reflect different aspects of Yaakov’s blessings.
Reuven is told that he is unstable as water, so the color of his window is
blue. Shimon’s window has blue along with red, yellow and green to show
Yaakov’s anger at his act of violence. Levi’s window is bright and shows the
luchot habrit, tablets of the Ten Commandments. Yehuda’s window represents his
kingdom which endured and is therefore a deep red.

Without exception, each window
combines so many themes and ideas that you could look at them for hours and
still not fully understand everything that Chagall had in mind. Just to give
you a taste, one of the images that jumps out from Zevulun’s window is fish and
a boat to fit with the blessing (Breisheet 49:13) “Zevulun will settle on
seashores, he will harbor for ships; his border will reach to Sidon.” An image
that is prominent in Dan’s window is the snake as it says (Breisheet 49:17)
“Dan will be a serpent on the road, a viper on the path, that bites the horses
heel so that the rider falls backward.”

While he worked on the windows
Chagall said, “I felt my mother and father looking over my shoulder; and behind
them were millions of Jews, millions of other vanished Jews, of yesterday and a
thousand years ago.”

The windows were damaged by the Six
Day War in 1967 and repaired by Chagall in 1968.

In 1973-1974, Israeli postage stamps
were made illustrating each of the windows.

What a privilege it is to be living
at a time when we can visit the stained glass windows in Jerusalem and reflect
on the unique character and mission of each of Yaakov’s sons. The windows give us
insights into the lives and legacies of Yaakov’s sons and make Parshat Vayechi
come alive.

In Parshat Vayigash we learn that
seventy souls moved down to Egypt (Goshen) as immigrants. They acquired property,
were fruitful and increased greatly.

It seems like B’nai Yisrael (Yaakov’s
children) did very well in Egypt. They adjusted to their new surroundings and
even became wealthy.

Despite what may have sounded like
good news, in Parshat Vayechi Yaakov was worried about too much of a good
thing. He was afraid that his descendents would become so prosperous in galut
(the Diaspora) that they would lose their connection to the Land of Israel.

When Yaakov gave Yosef the blessing
that God had blessed him with in Luz, he added two extra words: that the Land
of Israel would be given for an “everlasting possession.”

Nehama Leibowitz points out that “Yaakov
deliberately added those words as a significant antidote to his children’s acclimatization
and acquiring holdings in the land of Egypt. This was as if to say that the
foothold they had acquired in Egypt was illusory; their permanent holding was
the land promised to them by God.”

In order to ensure that they would
remain connected to the Land of Israel, immediately before his death, Yaakov imposed
upon his children the importance of being buried in the Land of Israel.

According to Nechama Leibowitz, “Yaakov
did not want to be buried in Egypt in order to preclude his children from (permanently)
settling there.”

B’nai Yisrael honored their father’s
wishes and buried Yaakov in the Land of Israel.

When Moshe and B’nei Yisrael left
Egypt, they took Yosef’s bones and he was eventually buried in the Land of Israel
as well.

What about Yaakov’s other children?
Where were they buried?

Ramban (Breisheet 34:12) quotes the
Mechilta (Shmot 13:19) which states that B’nai Yisrael brought up Dinah’s bones
together with the bones of her brothers- 
all of the tribes to be buried in the Land of Israel.

Throughout Jewish history there have
been Jews from around the world who requested to be buried in Israel. Yet the
ideal should be to connect with Israel while we are still alive and ensure that
Israel remains the everlasting possession of the Jewish people.

Sponsored by Mel Halickman in memory of his late mother,
Chaya Sara,

on the occasion of her yahrzeit

After
Yaakov passed away, Yosef went to the Land of Cnaan
in order to give him a proper burial. He was joined by Pharaoh’s servants, the
elders of his house, the elders of Egypt, Yosef’s household, his
brothers and his father’s household. Chariots and horsemen were also with him.

In
Parsha Vayechi, Breisheet 50:10-13 we read about Yaakov’s funeral: “They came
to the threshing place of Atad, which is on the other side of the Jordan, and
there they eulogized him and held a great and imposing funeral. Yosef made
seven days of mourning for his father. The Cnaanites who lived in the land saw
the mourning in the threshing place of Atad and they said ‘This is a heavy
mourning for Egypt.’
It was therefore named Evel Mitzrayim (Egypt’s
mourning) which is on the other side of the Jordan. His sons did for him as he
commanded them. His sons carried him to the Land of Cnaan
and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpela, which Avraham purchased
along with the field for possession as a burial place from Ephron the Chhitie,
facing Mamre.”

When
studying Sefer HaAgada, the Talmud, Sotah 13a and Sefer HaYashar we learn what may
have happened behind the scenes during the funeral.

Sefer
HaAgadah 3:111 based on the Talmud, Sotah 13a explains: The sons of Esav,
Yishmael and Keturah came to wage war against the sons of Yaakov. However, when
they saw Yosef’s crown hung upon Yaakov’s coffin, they all took off their
crowns and hung them upon the coffin as well out of respect. When they came to
the cave of Machpela, Esav appeared and tried to
prevent Yaakov’s burial in it saying, “This cave has room for only four couples
(that is why the city is called Kiryat Arba). Since Yaakov buried Leah in his
place, the plot that remains is mine.” Yaakov’s sons replied, “But you sold
your portion to our father.” Esav retorted, “Even if I did sell my claim as
firstborn, did I sell also the original single portion due me as an heir?” They
said, “You sold that also.” Esav said, “Show me the bill of sale.” They said,
“The bill of sale is in Egypt.
Who will go and bring it from there? Let Naphtali go- he is swift as a hind.”

Hushim,
the son of Dan, who was hard of hearing was standing there. When he asked why
it was taking so long to bury Yaakov, he was told that they were waiting for
Naphtali to return. Hushim asked, “And until Naphtali returns is my grandfather
to lie shamefully unburied?” He seized a club and struck Esav on the head so
hard that his eyes fell out. At that moment, Rivka’s prophecy (Breisheet 27:45)
“Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?” was fulfilled.

How do
we know that Yaakov actually bought his burial place in the cave?

In
Breishhet 50:5 Yosef tells Pharaoh: “My father made me swear an oath saying,
‘Behold I am dying. In my grave that I prepared (kariti) for myself in the Land of Cnaan, there you shall bury me…’”

According
to Rashi, Yaakov had taken silver and gold that he brought from Lavan’s house
and made a piled heap of it and said to Esav: “Take this for your share in the
cave.”

Sefer
HaYashar (written in the 13^th century, printed in the 16^th
century) adds that there was a full war that took place between the children of
Esav and the children of Yaakov in Chevron while Esav was lying dead on the
ground. Eighty of Esav’s descendents were killed. Zepho, Esav’s grandson and
fifty of his men were taken captive. All who remained fled with Eliphaz, Esav’s
son. They carried Esav’s body to Mt. Seir to be buried there
but his head remained buried in Maarat HaMachpela where the battle took place.
Not one of Yaakov’s descendents was killed.

Rabbi
Aharon Kotler (1892-1962) said that although Esav was an evil person, his head
was full of  the Torah that he was taught
by his father, Yitzchak and his grandfather, Avraham, therefore his head
merited to be buried in the cave. 

If Esav
would have used his head and put his Torah knowledge into practice, imagine how
much he could have accomplished.

The
next time that you visit Maarat HaMachpela in Chevron, be sure to look for the
chamber of the head of Esav, a reminder that a signed contract denotes a final
sale. 

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In Parshat Vayechi, right before Yaakov passes away he
blesses each of his children.

The blessing for Naftali is found in Breisheet 49:21
“Naftali is a gazelle-like messenger (ayala shlucha), he delivers pleasant
sayings.”

According to Ramban, it was a custom among the rulers of
countries to send gazelles to one another. Gazelles which were born in the
territory of the king of the north country would be raised in the palaces of
the king of the south country. They would attach a written message to its horns
and it would run speedily and return to its original habitat and in this way
the king of the north country would be apprised of the news. This is the
meaning of the phrase “he delivers pleasant sayings”, meaning that he is a
dispatched gazelle sent to bear good tidings.

This practice is known and is mentioned in the Jerusalem
Talmud, Tractate Shviit 9:2 “They said, ‘If they go they will return and if you
wish to prove it, bring deer and send them to a land far away and in the end
they will return.’ He brought deer and covered their horns with silver and sent
them to Africa and at the end of thirteen
years they returned to their place.”

Rashi explains that a gazelle-like messenger is a gazelle
that is dispatched to run quickly. This refers to the Valley of Ginosar
(a district around the Kinneret belonging to the tribe of Naftali) where fruits
ripen quickly just like a gazelle runs quickly.

Chizkuni points out that gazelles were sent after the war to
swiftly bring good news about the victory.

Breisheet Raba 98:17 states that when Yaakov gave Naftali
this blessing he was referring to Barak’s victory that would take place in the
war against Sisra in the Book of Shoftim (Judges 4:6) “She (Devora) sent and
summoned Barak son of Avinoam of Kedesh Naftali and said to him: ‘Behold,
HaShem the God of Israel commanded: Go and convince the people to go toward Mount Tavor
and take with you 10,000 men from the children of Naftali…’”

Radak adds that Devora was like a gazelle (light on her feet)
as she was instrumental in bringing about the victory and therefore it is
written in the feminine (ayala) and not in the masculine (ayil).

What does all of this have to do with Israel’s Postal
Company?

The symbol of Israel’s Postal Company is the
gazelle based on the blessing that Yaakov gave to Naftali.

The logo was created by the Shamir Brothers who also
designed Israel’s
symbol of the menorah with the olive branches. The logo appeared on the stamp
that was released in 1950 when Israel
was accepted into the International Postal Union and is still used today.

The idea was that Israel’s Postal Company would
deliver the mail as swiftly as the gazelle delivered pleasant sayings.

Let’s hope that all of our mail will arrive in a timely
fashion and that good news will be inside each letter.

Some of the Brachot that Yaakov bestows upon his sons don’t
exactly sound like blessings.

Let’s take Shimon and Levi for example. Yaakov states in
Breisheet 49:5-7: “Shimon and Levi are brothers. Instruments of violence are
their wares. My soul will not enter their secret council. Let my honor not be
identified with their assembly. For in their anger they killed a man, and
through their willfulness they maimed an ox. Cursed be their anger for it is
powerful, and their fury for it is cruel. I will disperse them throughout
Yaakov and scatter them throughout the land of Israel.”

Rashi comments that Shimon and Levi were the two brothers
(Breisheet 37:19-20) who said to each other “come now and let us kill Joseph.”

Rashi adds that when Yaakov says “My soul will not enter
their secret council” he is referring to the fact that Zimri (a descendent of
Shimon) would sin in the future with a Midianite woman but when it would be
recorded in the Torah it would say (Bamidbar 25:14) “Zimri, son of Solu, a
prince of a Shimonite household”. The Torah does not say, “Shimon the son of
Yaakov”-Yaakov’s name would be left off.

Rashi continues: “Let my honor not be identified with their
assembly” refers to Korach’s rebellion as it says (Bamidbar 16:1): “Korach, the
son of Yitzhar, son of Kehat, son of Levi”. The Torah does not mention “the son
of Yaakov”.

The words: “For in their anger they killed a man” refers to
Chamor and the people of Shechem after Dena was raped.

Yaakov cursed their anger when he said “Cursed be their
anger for it is powerful.” Rashi points out that Yaakov did not curse Shimon
and Levi, he only cursed their anger.

The tribes of Shimon and Levi were dispersed so that they
would no longer be able to gang up together.

What we see from here is that Yaakov had no tolerance for
violence. He never forgot the desecration of God’s name that came about when
Shimon and Levi killed the people of Shechem after Dena was raped. Yaakov
understood that we don’t respond to violence with more violence.

Today, unfortunately we have Jews in Israel who are threatening other Jews (as Shimon
and Levi did when they wanted to kill Joseph) as well as those who are
threatening our non-Jewish neighbors as Shimon and Levi did in the city of Shechem. Neither type of
behavior is acceptable and that is exactly why Yaakov did not want to be
associated with them in his lifetime as well as in the future when their
descendents desecrated God’s name and rebelled with Korach against Moshe.

We must follow Yaakov’s message and be very clear that we
will not stand for violence and we must disassociate from people who are
violent and who try to give us a bad name.

In Parshat Vayechi, (Breisheet 48:10) we read: “Now the eyes
of Yisrael were dim from old age, so that he could not see.”

Yaakov was 147 years old so it is not surprising that he
could hardly see.

When are some of the other times in the Tanach that people
had trouble with their eyes?

According to the Maharam, there are three psukim (sentences)
in the Torah that start with the word “v’eynei”, “now the eyes of…” including
the pasuk mentioned in our parsha.

The second pasuk that starts with “v’eynei” is earlier in
Breisheet 29:17: “And Lea’s eyes were weak; but Rachel was beautiful and well
favored.”

According to Breisheet Raba, Leah’s eyes were weak from
crying all of the time since everyone would tell her that since Rivka had two
sons and Lavan had two daughters, the older daughter would marry the older son,
meaning that she would have to marry the wicked Esav and the younger daughter
would marry the younger son, meaning that Rachel would marry Yaakov.

The third pasuk to start with “v’eynei” is in Eyov (Job)
11:20: “But the eyes of the wicked shall fail and they shall not escape and
their hope shall turn to despair.”

The Rabbis taught in Breisheet Raba: Whoever raises an evil
son or an evil student will have eyes that will become dim. The reason that God
will make his eyes dim is actually a blessing, so that he will not be able to leave
the house very often and that way he will not see the evil behavior that is
taking place.

We see the concept of a parent losing their eyesight so that
they will not have to see the bad behavior of their evil son in the case of
Yitzchak and his wicked son, Esav. Yitzchak lost his eyesight, (Breisheet
27:1): “Yitzchak had grown old. His eyesight had faded and he could not see.”

We see the concept of a teacher losing their eyesight so
that they will not have to see how wicked their student turned out from the
story of Achiya HaShiloni, the Prophet and Yeravam the King, one of Achiya’s
students. Achiya appointed Yeravam over Yisrael. Unfortunately, Yeravam ended
up becoming a bad person who sinned and caused B’nai Yisrael to sin. When
Achiya became older, we see that he lost his eyesight (Kings- Melachim I 14:4)
“…But Achiya could not see, for his eyes were set by reason for his age.”

We can learn from here that God wants us to use our eyes to
see the positive things in this world.