This Shabbat we study the Parsha Vayechi, meaning “And he lived” (Genesis 47:28). Jacob lives the final 17 years of his life in Egypt. Before his passing, he asks Joseph to take an oath that he will bury him in the Holy Land. He blesses Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, elevating them to the status of his own sons as progenitors of tribes within the nation of Israel. The patriarch desires to reveal the end of days to his children, but is prevented from doing so. Jacob blesses his sons, assigning to each his role as a tribe.  Joseph dies in Egypt at the age of 110. He instructs that his bones be taken out of Egypt and buried in the Holy Land, but this would come to pass only with the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt many years later. Before his passing, Joseph conveys to the Children of Israel the testament from which they will draw their hope and faith in the difficult years to come: “G-d will surely remember you, and bring you up out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

From an article in Chabad.org

This week's Parshah, Vayechi, concludes the entire Book of Genesis. What connection can we find between the beginning and end of the fist book of the Torah? The first part of the book tells the story of Creation while the end deals with the passing of Jacob and the Children of Israel down in Egypt.

What is Creation? Not just a Big Bang or even Intelligent Design, but an expression of a much higher and deeper purpose. The mystics teach that G-d was not content to have angels in heaven singing His praises. He wanted earthly beings, men and women of flesh and blood with earthly passions and temperaments living physical lives, who will nevertheless be capable to rise above the moment to experience the spiritual purpose of it all. He desired human beings who would be exposed to all the distractions associated with the physical condition—from beach holidays to December sales—and still remain focused on the spiritual.

When we endow our material lives with spiritual value, with a sense of higher purpose, meaning, destiny and eternity, then we fulfill the Creator's original plan to bring heaven down to earth and build a home for G-d in the physical, often crass, world below. And therein lies the connection of the beginning of the Book of Genesis with its ending. To be a good Jew in the Holy Land is one thing. To remain holy and heavenly in the fleshpots of Egypt is another. Egypt represented the epitome of decadence in that time. For the Children of Israel to go there and still remain faithful to the G-dly way of life is bringing heaven down to earth big time. To live an upright, moral life in a morally degenerate society is to validate and justify the whole idea of creation and the Creator's decision to bring into existence mortal beings endowed with the freedom to choose how they will live their lives.

Today’s young people need heroes they can relate to in order for them to be inspired by their example. Joseph's boys, Ephraim and Manasseh, negotiated the tricky turf of Egyptian palace intrigue while never forgetting who they really were. When kids who are made in exile will still be spiritually connected to the Creator's heavenly way, then we will have made that dwelling place for G-d in the lower realms for which the whole world was created for in the first place.

From an article by Rabbi Yossy Goldman

Darkness is a lie. There is only light.  Darkness lurks ubiquitously, mockingly, as though it is the sober truth—that all is empty, for there is no meaning. But the truth is that light, not darkness, precedes all things. Endless light is the true canvas upon which reality is conceived, and endless light is its final destination.

Let your soul hold tight to that vision. See beyond the eye’s horizon. Stand firm against the taunts and scorn of this darkness, allow it to bring out your inner courage. The darkness will be transformed. Your night will shine brightly.

And so Deborah the prophetess sang, “As the sun when it comes out in all its might, so will be His lovers.”

Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

Jacob wished to reveal the date of the Messianic redemption. One could also read this in the sense of “he wished to reveal, i.e., manifest and bring about, the end.” In this context there is an important moral for every Jew. We are to follow in the footsteps of our patriarch, and wish and pray for the revelation or manifestation of the ultimate end. The contemplation on, and the active anticipation of, the imminent manifestation of the redemption, will of itself assist and encourage the service of G-d. This is evident in the fact that when making a Jew aware that “Behold, Moshiach is about to come!” and “We want Moshiach now!”- this message inspires and encourages him in his service of G-d to bring about this ultimate goal.

From an article by Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet

I was standing in Bethlehem at the grave of the matriarch Rachel, our nation’s mother. I was praying for myself, my family and our nation. I poured my heart out on this still sunny morning to a mother I had never met. Swept up in the inspiration of the moment, I visualized my mother looking at me and listening to me. My son, who was barely two years old, was resting comfortably in his stroller beside me, when something stirred him out of sleep and he let out a long wail, “MOMMY!” I nearly jumped out of my skin as his cry penetrated my thoughts—and expressed them too. That was precisely what I had been thinking, Mommy, Mommy, your child has come to see you. Look out for me, listen to my prayers and intercede on my behalf before G-d.

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My son settled peacefully back to sleep, but my equilibrium was not so easily restored. All day, I couldn’t shake the haunting image of a child, shaken from sleep, startled out of complacency, crying instinctively for his mother. And I kept thinking about our mother’s presence in Bethlehem, and how it demonstrates her absolute love and devotion.

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When Jacob was elderly and ill, he asked his son Joseph to bury him in Hebron in their ancestral plot. Jacob told Joseph that he was aware he was asking Joseph to do what he did not do for Joseph’s mother, Rachel. When she passed away in Bethlehem, Jacob buried her along the side of the road rather than bringing her to Hebron, and here Jacob was asking Joseph to transport him from Egypt to Israel. Jacob did not explain why he buried Rachel in Bethlehem, but the question asks itself. Since the burial plot housing Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, had space for only two more, why did Jacob not choose to be buried beside Rachel, his first and true love? Why did he choose Bethlehem?

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Jacob never answered that question, but our sages taught us something that sheds light on it. When the Babylonian army conquered Israel and destroyed the Temple, they transported many of the Jewish survivors to Babylon in chains. As they trudged along the road near Bethlehem, they stopped at Rachel’s grave and prayed. At that time, Rachel’s soul appeared before the heavenly throne to pray for her children, but she found herself last in line. Ahead of her were Abraham, Isaac, Moses and her own husband, Jacob. Each begged G-d to forgive the Jewish people, and G-d turned them all down. If only you knew how grievous their sins were, G-d told them, you would not ask me to forgive them.

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Then it was Rachel’s turn. Dear G-d, she began. On my wedding night, I watched my father dress my sister in my wedding gown and hide her face behind my veil. I knew that my beloved Jacob would discover the ruse because he had anticipated it and arranged a secret code with me that only he and I knew. Jacob was my true and only love, as I was his. I knew that if he were deceived, he and I would suffer for the rest of our lives. Yet, I could not allow my sister to be humiliated in public when the ruse would be found out. To protect my sister’s dignity, I betrayed my beloved’s confidence and shared the code with her. I stood by in agony as my sister married my beloved. The next morning, when Jacob discovered the ruse, it was too late. The deed had been done. Although Jacob married me a week later, I spent the rest of my life playing second fiddle to my sister, who was always jealous of my special bond with Jacob. Yet I accepted my lot because it was the right thing to do. If I could give up my love for the sake of my sister, can’t you set aside your anger for the sake of your children?

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To which G-d replied, Rachel, I have heard your cry, you may dry your tears. I will forgive your children, and they shall return to their land. Indeed, 70 years later, Jews returned to Israel and rebuilt the Holy Temple.

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Rachel, lonely in life and in the afterlife, is utterly selfless and wholly devoted. In life, she set herself aside for her sister. In the afterlife, she set her interests aside for her children. That is a true mother. That is why G-d pays attention to her entreaties, and why I was so moved when my son awakened from sleep at the foot of Rachel’s grave, giving voice to my internal cry.

May our mother come through for us again and beseech G-d for protection and blessing for our brethren in Israel and for our people throughout the world.

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From an article by Rabbi Lazer Gurkow