Voices for WRJ: Parashat Va-y’chi

by Connie Kreshtool This week’s Torah portion Va-y’chi (“and he lived”) concludes the Book of Genesis and relates the final years and death of Jacob, the last of the patriarchs.  After living in Egypt for 17 years, Jacob realizes that he will soon die and tells Joseph that he wishes to be buried with his ancestors in the Cave of Machpelah. He also tells Joseph that he will consider Jacob’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to be like his own first-born, Reuben and Simeon. Jacob proceeds to bless Ephraim and Manasseh by placing his right hand upon the younger Ephraim and his left hand upon Manasseh, which repeats the biblical theme of the younger son taking precedence over the older son. Jacob gathers together his 12 sons and in poetical form, offers an evaluation of each and a prediction.  Jacob dies and is buried in the cave alongside Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebecca. Before he dies, Jacob recalls burying Rachel in the land of Canaan. These are the only references to women in this parashah. After the burial, Joseph and his brothers return to Egypt. Joseph reassures his brothers that he is not angry with them and that he will take care of them. He lives to be 110 years old and before he dies, he tell his family that God will return them to the land that was promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, thus setting up the Exodus to come. In blessing his sons, Jacob outlines the weaknesses and strengths of each concluding with the one son he deems most qualified, Judah, who will be the leader of the tribe that will produce King David and future rulers of Israel. He tells us that Judah is trustworthy, courageous, steady, thoughtful, dependable, and clear about his goals and determined to fulfill them. These strengths are familiar to us because they are often enumerated as qualities of a good leader in the leadership manuals, training sessions, and conferences that WRJ has offered to local sisterhood leaders throughout the years. It is significant that the event planned to launch our Centennial Year is a leadership program, the Fried Leadership Conference, to be held in Cincinnati, OH from January 25-27, 2013. Connie Kreshtool is a WRJ Past President.