Seeing the Forest Through the Trees
Jan 14, 2006 By JTS Alumni | Commentary | Vayehi
By Rabbi Ronald J. Shulman
It depends how you look at it. Some of us see the problem; others of us see the solution. Some people look at life and see only the facts. Others are able to look at life and see the meaning. Some of us will read this week’s Torah portion as the story of Jacob and Joseph’s deaths. Others of us will read the narrative in Parashat Va-y’hi as the story of their lives.
Read MoreRealizing Our Blessings
Jan 9, 2009 By David Hoffman | Commentary | Vayehi
I want to tell you about a person close to me, whom I think some of you may recognize, not in name but in disposition. Let’s call him Uncle Lenny.
Read MoreLiving a Poetic Existence
Jan 2, 2010 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Vayehi
For many—if not most—of us, death arouses great anxiety. Much of our emotionality regarding the end of life comes from the way that death changes how we perceive ourselves. This midrash about Jacob’s deathbed scene presents ancient rabbinic wisdom about mortality based on insights from key passages in the Hebrew Bible.
Read MoreA Deathbed Blessing
Jan 7, 2012 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Vayehi
This midrash about Jacob’s deathbed scene presents ancient rabbinic wisdom about mortality based on insights from key passages in the Hebrew Bible. By presenting biblical metaphors alongside our patriarchs’ experiences of dying, the text above teaches us to accept our limited lifetimes by acknowledging an uncomfortable reality.
Read MoreBlessings From a Deathbed
Nov 22, 2007 By Charles Savenor | Commentary | Vayehi
Laying on his deathbed, Jacob beckons for his grandchildren, Ephraim and Manasseh.
Read MoreQuestions of Life and Legacy
Dec 17, 2010 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Vayehi
This final parashah of Genesis bears a cryptic title: Va-yehi, “He (that is, Jacob) lived.” Well, of course he lived, and soon he will die, but how has he lived? What legacy does he bequeath? These are the questions that concern Va-yehi. What is the Torah’s final judgment of Jacob, a man who has wrestled, mourned and rejoiced, deceived and been deceived; a man who has been wounded and yet prevails, who has been humbled by his sons and yet manages to retain enough vigor and authority to command them until his dying breath? How has he lived?
Read MoreHonor, Prophecy, and “Mother Earth”
Dec 12, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayehi
One of the unsolved mysteries of Tanakh relates directly to Parashat Vayehi.
Read MoreFrom Pain to Peace
Dec 20, 2012 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Vayehi
The response of Joseph’s brothers in the aftermath of Jacob’s death is dramatic: “When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrong we did him!’” (Gen. 50:15).
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