“Life is a Journey, Not a Destination.”
This parashah, Vayechi, ends the book of Bereshit, in which we read about the creation of the world by our Bore Olam and our place within it. Through their stories, we journeyed from Adam to Noah and the world’s destruction due to the perversity of mankind; then to Abraham, who left everything he knew behind to follow the One True God to the land that would one day be called Israel. We can take these stories literally or not, but their importance lies in what they have to impart to us. This portion brings us to the end of the lives of our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as Joseph, but leaves us with lessons from their lives that can improve our own. I have emphasized that the Torah shows us our heroes are very human, with both good and bad qualities, in the hope that we would imitate the good and avoid the bad. It teaches us that it is always less painful to learn from the mistakes of others and that self-examination is important because it allows us to take responsibility for our actions. No one is perfect, except for the Bore Olam.
Vayechi means, “and he lived,” similar to the story of Sarah. Both refer to their deaths, not their lives. I heard an expression that spoke volumes to me… “Life is a Journey, Not a Destination.” After arriving in Egypt, Jacob had an encounter with Pharaoh, during which Pharaoh asked him how old he was. He said he was 130 years old and had passed through many trials. He believed that he was at the end of his life, and I am sure that he thought that he would have died in Eretz Israel, but now he found himself in Egypt. How many of us who live in Montreal can say that, from childhood, we wanted to live here for the rest of our lives? Most of us did not even imagine we would be here. Like Jacob, we are all on a journey.
Why did Jacob have Joseph swear twice that he would bury him in Israel? Jacob knew that Joseph was Viceroy and second only to Pharaoh in Egypt, but he was still under Pharaoh’s authority. He knew that the Pharaoh would have been insulted by the thought that anyone would prefer to be buried in such an insignificant country, compared to the best tombs in Egypt for burying its celebrities. That was one of the complaints of the Jews when they thought they were going to die in the desert…” weren’t there better tombs in Egypt?” (Ex 14:11). Jacob, being wise, had Joseph swear twice, knowing that the Pharaoh would want Joseph to honour the wishes of his father. This took this onus off Joseph and allowed due respect to be given to Pharaoh.
After returning from the grandiose funeral in Israel, the brothers were worried that Joseph would now exert revenge upon them for what they did to him. They concocted a story that their father had told them to tell Joseph to forgive them and to promise that he would not do anything to them. This demonstrates to me that it is important to understand what true forgiveness means. There are times when we have asked someone for forgiveness, yet we do not “feel” forgiven.
What needs to happen in order to “feel” forgiven? Someone may say, “I forgive you, but I never want to see you again”. That is not forgiveness. Forgiveness means we are willing to leave the past behind and are ready to start a new relationship. They were not sure that Joseph was willing to do that, although Joseph never did anything to demonstrate this…but that was how they felt. Finally, Joseph reassured them that God used everything they did for good to save them and their families. That allowed them to prosper in Egypt, but their journey would not end in Egypt. It was simply a stage along the way.
How many of us have stopped our journeys and given up, thinking we are at our end? Life doesn’t end! It continues even after death. Our final destination is to be in the Presence of the Creator; that’s how we can know that He is with us right from the very beginning. Our journey is more important than the final destination. The importance lies in how we live our lives while we are here on this physical plane. That is the beautiful teaching from Vayechi. We will be reunited with our loved ones after death; it is not the end; it is only a new beginning.
A baby goes from receiving oxygen within the mother’s womb through the umbilical cord to breathing on its own at birth. The baby literally goes through a death experience in order to be born anew. The first slap brings the baby back to life. The Torah teaches us that we are born to live, not born to die, as many believe. The Creator said, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life so that you and your descendants might live!” Deut.30:19
He wants us to know that our lives are important, even if we do not think we are affecting anyone. We need to start understanding that our mere presence is important. We may believe that no one will notice if we do not attend the Shabbat service and that we won’t be missed, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. Imagine if we don’t show up for work and say nothing to our boss; how long will we keep our jobs? Yet we think that the Creator doesn’t notice when we stay away from His community. Our mere presence makes a difference.
חָזַק חָזַק וְנִתְחַזֵק!
Chazaq, Chazaq v’nitchazeq
Be Strong, Be Strong, Be Strengthened!
Rabbi Netanel ben Yochanan ( Ranebi)