From the Rabbi’s Desk
Rabbi Manes Kogan
Vayechi
Jacob is going to die. He feels that the end of his days is near.
"Then Jacob called for his sons and said, ‘Assemble yourselves and I will tell you what will befall you in the End of Days’" (Genesis 49:1)
Jacob decided that his last act in this world would be to tell his sons what the future has prepared for them. We understand that these ‘prophecies’ are not destined only for the sons themselves but for their descendents too. Our ancestors understood that their lives transcended their own physical existence, maybe because they believed in the existence of a world to come, or maybe because each person wished to transcend in his children or in his children’s children.
‘Gather yourselves and listen, O sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father" (Genesis 49:2)
Jacob’s sons knew that their father had the gift of prophecy and when he called them, they listened carefully to his words.
"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength and my initial vigor, foremost in rank and foremost in power" (Genesis 49:3)
Reuben feels a great joy! His father is telling him something he already knows and his brothers should also know. However, his joy did not last very long. The following words of Jacob transformed Reuben’s smile into a grimace of pain and sadness:
"water-like impetuosity – you cannot be foremost, because you mounted your father’s bed; then you desecrated Him Who ascend my couch’ (Genesis 49:4)
Now is time for Simeon and Levi. Jacob’s words to these two sons touched us because of their harshness:
‘Simeon and Levi are comrades, their weaponry is a stolen craft. Into their conspiracy, may my soul not enter! With their congregation, do not join, O my honor! For in their rage they murdered people and at their whim they hamstrung an ox. Accursed is their rage for it is intense, and their wrath for it is harsh; I will separate them within Jacob, and I will disperse them in Israel""(Genesis 49:5-7)
The rest of the sons were a little more lucky than the first three. However, some of Jacob’s words to the rest of his sons suffered from ambiguity, as in the case of Issachar and Benjamin.
What happened with this father? What was the aim of is his words? Perhaps he chose at the end of his days to say all the words he had kept silent during his life? Didn’t he see the inherent risk of his words to his children’s harmony?
Parents have the right to express what they think. Children –on the other hand- are commanded to respect their parents and to pay attention to their words. Also, in this case, we are talking about a spiritual will, and if they like it or not, that is what their father wants to transmit to them.
Nevertheless, at the end of the first part of Jacob’s address (Genesis 49, verses 2 through 27), we find a verse which calls strongly to our attention:
"All these are the tribes of Israel – twelve – and this is what their father spoke to them and he blessed them; he blessed each according to his appropriate blessing" ((Genesis 49:28)
This verse, which summarizes the previous ones, shocks us very much. Blessing? By chance can the crude words of Jacob to Simeon and Levi receive this qualification? Is a blessing what Reuben’s ears heard? The term "curse" seems to be a better one if we refer to Jacob’s words to his three first sons.
The Torah – however – doesn’t use words at random. Each term is carefully chosen. So, if the Scripture refers by the word "blessing" to Jacob’s words, we must ask ourselves how can we find here such a blessing?
We read in the Talmud: "Rabbi Shimon ben Eleazar says: If old men advise you to demolish, and young men advise you to build, then demolish and do not build, because the demolishing of old men is really building, and the building of youths is really demolishing" (Bavli Meguila 31b).
The words of Rabbi Elazar may help us.
It seems that there is –according to the Talmud- a way of demolishing that can really build. The Hebrew word that the Talmud uses to refer to demolishing – Stira – is the same word that modern Hebrew uses to refer to a slap in the face – Stirat Lechi.
Jacob slapped his sons with his words: "water-like impetuosity – you cannot be foremost", "Accursed is their rage for it is intense, and their wrath for it is harsh". However, the demolishing –the slapped- coming from an old man (and it is important to remember that the terms "old" and "youth" don’t refer necessary to age, but to wisdom) can be constructive. Reuben, Simeon and Levi face their father’s hard words. Jacob could have chosen something more simple: to bless all his children with one collective blessing. However the text is clear: "he blessed each according to his appropriate blessing" (Genesis 49:28). A blessing is not a prize a person receives at the end of a long trip. On the contrary: it is an act that consolidates, that shapes, that builds. The tribes of Israel are in a period of consolidation, and the words of the one who conceived the project have yet the power to repair what has been done, to straighten the way. Jacob could have told all of his sons: ‘you are good, wise, noble and wonderful’. The sons may have felt more comforted, but this would not be a sincere act and could not help them very much.
"It is better to listen to a wise man’s reproof than to listen to the praise of fools" (Ecclesiastes 7:5)
Who doesn’t like to listen to words of praise? On the other hand, not many look for the reproof of the wise. However, a word well said, full of authority, in the right moment, despite its harshness, has the power of touching us, of awakening us from our somnolence and of inviting us to straighten our way. For that reason the Torah teaches us: "You shall reprove your fellow" (Leviticus 19:17). Reproving not only can be positive but also can be an expression of friendship and love. Only people who want us to improve ourselves, to be better, wiser, more noble, can give up the wonderful quietude that comes from praises in order to enter in to the hard field of constructive criticism. God Himself, like a father worried about his son’s behavior, reproves the people of Israel. Nevertheless, this reproof is full of love, as we read:
"For whom Hashem loves, he rebukes, as a father the son whom he favors" (Proverbs 3:12).The person who praises us continuously we must suspect. Even the evil king Ahab, sensing a false praise answered Prophet Michaiahu ben Imla when he predicted him a great victory against Aram: "How many times must I adjure you to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of Hashem?" (I Kings 22: 16).
Reuben, Simeon and Levi probably went out from their father’s presence crestfallen and sad. The wise reproof makes us sad because it helps us face our own faults: ‘I should have done right and I didn’t’.
However, reproof can be the entrance door to a new life, because even though Jacob had the gift of prophecy and everything is decided from heaven, each of his sons (each of us) has free choice and the possibility to shape his own destiny.
And may God’s will in the words of the Torah be fulfilled for ourselves: "All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you" (Deuteronomy 28:2)