Vayechi
January 10, 1998

This parsha could be called, "the parsha of blessing." As Yaakov, our patriarch, approaches his final days on earth, he bestows his blessing first on the sons of Yosef (Ephraim and Menasheh), and then on all of his own sons. The blessings are not identical: rather, each is uniquely suited to the individual, based on his unique nature, abilities and mission within the totality of the Jewish people. Each blessing has the character of a prophecy, foretelling the role which that tribe will play in Jewish national life. The blessings are striking in their poetic beauty, and--as we see from Rashi's commentary--heavy with allusions to later Jewish history, especially the messianic era.

GO FISH

When Yosef brings his sons, Ephraim and Menasheh, before their grandfather for a blessing, the Torah reports:

"He [Yaakov] blessed Yosef and he said, 'O G-d before whom my  forefathers Avraham and Yitzhak walked--G-d Who shepherds me from my inception until this day...may my name be declared upon them...and may they proliferate abundantly like fish in the midst of the land.'" (48, 15-16; Artscroll Chumash, p. 273)

Obviously, Yaakov is giving a blessing of fertility to Yosef's progeny. But why does he choose fish rather than some other animal (or phenomenon) to represent this? And why does he need to add the apparently superfluous phrase, "in the midst of the land?"

Rashi quotes the Midrash: Yaakov chooses "fish" because, in addition to reproducing in abundance, "an evil eye (ayin hara) does not have any influence over them." Why are fish immune from the influence of ayin hara? Because they inhabit a different world, and are hidden from view! The eye--good or evil--does not normally rest on them, and therefore, they are removed from the consciousness of those on the land; it is exceedingly hard to be jealous of something you're not aware of. Their "modesty," or hiddenness, is their protection from the jealousy and envy of others.

Yaakov's blessing, then, is that the offspring of Yosef should be protected from the evil eye.  In other words, they should imitate the fish and inhabit a "different world," create a spiritual ocean for themselves in society, with values and practices different from those of their neighbors.  Just as fish live hidden from sight, Yaakov is saying, so, too, we Jews should live hidden from sight...or, at least, without ostentation--material or spiritual. That modesty will be a protection from the ayin hara, the harmful jealousy of those with non-spiritual goals.

Of all the brothers, Yosef was especially worthy to receive protection from the evil eye in reward for closing HIS eye to the attempted seductions of his master's wife. (Rabbi Elie Munk, The Call of The Torah: I, p. 636) But, really, Yaakov's words apply to the whole Jewish people. And we have generally followed his advice/blessing throughout the ages, maintaining a separate (and spiritually oriented) collective existence

Living apart does not mean that we turn our backs on society, however. It is to prevent us from making this very mistake that Yaakov adds the words, "in the midst of the land." Live hidden like fish, but among your neighbors, in society, enjoying and contributing to the world at large like any other group. Good neighbors and citizens, but spiritually distinct. As Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, zt'l, writes:

"In a different element, quietly, at a depth unreachable by the eyes of men, do fish live their lives. Thoughtlessly do people stand on shore  have no idea what a happy, fresh, joyful, undisturbed life goes on down below in rich abundance from generation to generation In a  similar way, in the midst of the land, in the midst of the world are the generations of Yaakov to live and achieve their own quiet happy lives in their own separated element whither the world around them do  not follow them, have no conception of what such a life means..." (Volume 1, p. 652)

It is true that they have no conception of what such a life means. I remember thinking this very thought many years ago, when I lived in New York City. It was the morning of Purim, that most uniquely exhilarating (and holy) day, and I had been up a good part of the night before getting my shaloch manos ready. I realized that I needed some more snack food for my gifts, so I dashed into a supermarket that was around the corner from my apartment. When the woman at the cash register wished me a good day, I suddenly realized: "It's not Purim for these people. They have no idea of what this day is." I was struck.

We Jews are like fish; what a happy, fresh, joyful, undisturbed (and unsuspected) life we enjoy below the surface...

WORKING AND LEARNING

Some people think that the Torah expects us all to be full-time Talmudic scholars, and nothing else. Now, it's true that every Jew needs to study Torah regularly (for personal spiritual nourishment, as much as for knowledge of the details of practice), and the more, the better, by all means. But the reality is that we are all DIFFERENT in our capacities and inclinations. G-d Himself--the Author of the Torah, remember--made us that way! So it's unlikely that He wants us all to turn out exactly the same, or to fulfill the same role in society.

There is no better parsha for learning this lesson than Vayechi. Yaakov gives 12 different brochos to his 12 greatly dissimilar sons. The 12 tribes had different natures, lived in different geographical areas in Israel, and followed different professions. But they were all united around the Torah, and around their commitment to serving G-d and being a holy nation.

"Zevulun shall settle by seashores. He shall be at the ship's harbor, and his last border will reach Zidon. Yissachar is a strong-boned donkey; he rests between the boundaries." (49, 13-14; Artscroll Chumash, p. 279)

Zevulun and Yissachar, Leah's last two sons, formed a famous partnership. Zevulun settled by the seashore; the tribe became merchants, and with the wealth they accumulated from trade, they supported Yissachar, who like a donkey bearing the yoke, assumed the burden of full-time Torah study. In modern parlance, Zevulun went out and worked; Yissachar sat and learned.

It is taught that Zevulun shared EQUALLY in the eternal rewards of Yissachar's Torah study, since he made it possible. As the Chofetz Chayim writes, the person who learns Torah and the one who SUPPORTS the learning of Torah are joint partners in holding up the world-- for the world exists only for the sake of Torah. Therefore, a person who goes out to work in order to be able to send children to yeshiva, and to be able to donate to Torah institutions, is not just "making a living;" he/she is helping actualize the universal mission of the Jewish people, holding up the very world.

The Torah role of a working person is not limited to bringing home the dollars, however, even when those dollars go towards the supreme goal of supporting Torah study. Far from it.  At the end of Moshe's life, in the Book of Devarim, he gives blessings to the tribes that are a continuation of Yaakov's blessings in this week's parsha. About Zevulun and Yissachar, Moshe says: "...rejoice, Zevulun, in your going out, and Yissachar in your tents. The peoples will gather at the mount, there they will slaughter offerings of righteousness..." (Devarim: 33, 18-19) What does the Torah mean by mentioning people gathering at the mount and slaughtering offerings? What's the connection to Zevulun or Yissachar? Rashi quotes a lovely and remarkable Midrash:

"Through the business of Zevulun, merchants of the nations of the world will come to his land, since he was at the border. And they will say: 'Since we have troubled ourselves thus far, let's go to Jerusalem and we'll see what is the G-d of this nation, and what they do.' Then they will see all Israel worshipping one G-d, and eating one kind of food-- for among the nations, the god of this one is not like the god of another, and the food of this one is not like the food of another. Then they will say: 'There is no nation as proper as this,' and they will convert there, as it says: 'there they will slaughter offerings of righteousness.'"

Zevulun, working out in the world, unwittingly helped bring people to Judaism! And a Jew today, in business or the professions, can make the same enormous spiritual impact on his/her fellow employees--Jew and non-Jew. How? By being a mensch, by exemplifying the nobility of a Torah lifestyle. Like it or not, we are all walking ambassadors of our faith and our people.

This, we may say, is the goal of the whole Torah, and of every individual in the Torah nation, scholar, doctor, housewife, rabbi, laborer: to make a kiddush Hashem, to sanctify G-d's name, to make the G-d of Israel and the Torah more beloved in the eyes of mankind. May we all be worthy, whatever our post or station in life, to increase kiddush Hashem in the world!

Good Shabbos!