Vayechi
Genesis 47:28-50:26
I Kings 2:1-12
As Jacob prepares to depart his earthly life, he gathers his sons together to
prepare them for the final blessings that they would receive from him. “Gather yourselves together that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days. Assemble yourselves and listen, you sons of Jacob, and listen unto Israel, your father.” (Gen. 49:1-2)
We know that the name Jacob was given to our father at birth, alluding to the patriarch holding onto his twin brother Esau’s heel in utero, and the name Israel was added later, first by the angel who fought with him and then confirmed by the Almighty. Whenever these two names appear in the same verse, clarification is required. Also, we need to understand the reason for the repetition of the word “listen.”
Jacob was the father of 12 sons, who became tribes. They related to each other on two levels. They were brothers with familial ties that became the ethnic factor that united them, giving them their national identity. In this sense they were not unlike many peoples who began as family units and evolved into tribal groups and then into an identifiable nation. These bonds and this national identity are connected to the name of Jacob. These connections create a sense of mutual responsibility as we find in the talmudic expression “All Jews are responsible for each other.” (Shavuot 39a)
This, however, is not the predominant glue that unites us. With the passage of time and our dispersion among the nations of the world, if it were not for another momentous factor, we would have undoubtedly disappeared as a people long ago. This factor is that we all belong to the same faith community, sharing beliefs and practices that not only hold us together, but somehow transform us into one nefesh (soul), that is, one people with a collective soul.
Last week in parashah Vayigash we came across the word “nefesh” when the Torah described the migration to Egypt of the 70 members of the House of Jacob. “Kol hanefesh leveit Yaakov” (all the members of Jacob’s household) is the expression used here. (Gen. 46:27)
Rashi points out that Jacob’s brother Esau had six offspring whom the Torah calls “nefashot beito,” members of his household. Here the Torah uses the plural “nefashot” (souls). However, when Jacob came to Egypt with 70 family members, they were referred to in the singular “nefesh.” The reason for this distinction is that the children of Esau served different gods, while the children of Jacob served only G-d. So while Esau’s descendants were separate and indeed evolved into many nations, we are united by our faith.
If the ethnic identity of the 12 tribes united them with a sense of mutual responsibility, their religious beliefs created one soul. In the spiritual dimension, we are the children of Israel, not Jacob.
It is for this reason that the word “listen” is repeated in the same verse: The first was meant to appeal to the sense of brotherhood and nationalistic feelings; the second one, however, refers to spiritual values and beliefs, urging the brothers to listen to their innermost longings and commitments. To this day, if we listen to that quiet, soft and most meaningful voice, we will understand that we are not only the children of Jacob but the children of Israel as well.
Jewish unity becomes a reality only when the spiritual component is added to the national ethnic one. Both are imperatives that we can never ignore. It is vitally important that we appreciate that common culture, memories and shared life experiences alone are not sufficient to guarantee our unity or our survival. Ultimately it will not be as the children of Jacob that we ensure our continuity as a people, but as the children of Israel that we secure our role as the “eternal people.”
Shabbat shalom.
Rabbi Pinchas Lipner is dean of the Hebrew Academy in San Francisco.