A thought on פרשת ויחי
"...al na tik'baraeni b'Mitzrayim...""...do not bury me, please, in Egypt..." (47:29)
As his days were ending, Yakov begged his sons not to let him be buried in Egypt.What was the urgency of his plea? What can we derive from it?The Ralbag infers three principles from Yakov's final request.First, a person is remembered, after death, by the surroundings and setting which people associate with his burial place. Yakov forsaw that his family and descendants were destined to return to Israel, their land. He wanted to be associated with them, to be remembered as the patriarch who had set that goal and value for his nation of being together in their own homeland. There could be no better way of demonstrating that then by seeing to it, in advance, that he be buried there.
Second, the Egyptians were a wretched nation. A person must do all that he can to distance himself from bad people and negative influences. Yakov modeled this by declaring that even in death, he wanted to be removed from those people and their values. There could be no better way of assuring this than by seeing to it, in advance, that he be buried there.
Third, the land of Israel is wonderful. It is a land to live in. It is a land to die for. It is the homeland of the Jewish people. Yakov knew about this even as he knew that his descendants would not merit to return there for centuries. Still, he yearned to show his love for the land. There could be no better way of displaying this than by seeing to it, in advance, that he be buried there.
Our nation continues its struggle to claim its heritage and its land. There are Jewish men and women who are living here, and dying to be here, and dying here. My son Akiva took me, on Shabbos, to a chassidic shteible. We recited tehillim for our people. I davened in the sunrise minyan at Zaharei Chama, the shul frequented by the late R'Aryeh Levine, and now by his grandson, R'Avraham Dovid. As we took out the Torah, we said special prayers for our people in plight, and for our soldiers in the South. I went for mincha to the Kosel yesterday on the Tenth of Teves. We cried out to HaShem to redeem us, and protect us, and take care of us here.Someone once said that "Israel is a beautiful land in a bad neighborhood." Yakov Avinu begged to get out of the bad neighborhood and make his way back to Israel. May it be the will of Shomayim that each of us makes our way back here very soon, continuing to follow the path set by Yakov, and continuing to remain on the path of Yisroel.Good Shabbos. D Fox
As his days were ending, Yakov begged his sons not to let him be buried in Egypt.What was the urgency of his plea? What can we derive from it?The Ralbag infers three principles from Yakov's final request.First, a person is remembered, after death, by the surroundings and setting which people associate with his burial place. Yakov forsaw that his family and descendants were destined to return to Israel, their land. He wanted to be associated with them, to be remembered as the patriarch who had set that goal and value for his nation of being together in their own homeland. There could be no better way of demonstrating that then by seeing to it, in advance, that he be buried there.
Second, the Egyptians were a wretched nation. A person must do all that he can to distance himself from bad people and negative influences. Yakov modeled this by declaring that even in death, he wanted to be removed from those people and their values. There could be no better way of assuring this than by seeing to it, in advance, that he be buried there.
Third, the land of Israel is wonderful. It is a land to live in. It is a land to die for. It is the homeland of the Jewish people. Yakov knew about this even as he knew that his descendants would not merit to return there for centuries. Still, he yearned to show his love for the land. There could be no better way of displaying this than by seeing to it, in advance, that he be buried there.
Our nation continues its struggle to claim its heritage and its land. There are Jewish men and women who are living here, and dying to be here, and dying here. My son Akiva took me, on Shabbos, to a chassidic shteible. We recited tehillim for our people. I davened in the sunrise minyan at Zaharei Chama, the shul frequented by the late R'Aryeh Levine, and now by his grandson, R'Avraham Dovid. As we took out the Torah, we said special prayers for our people in plight, and for our soldiers in the South. I went for mincha to the Kosel yesterday on the Tenth of Teves. We cried out to HaShem to redeem us, and protect us, and take care of us here.Someone once said that "Israel is a beautiful land in a bad neighborhood." Yakov Avinu begged to get out of the bad neighborhood and make his way back to Israel. May it be the will of Shomayim that each of us makes our way back here very soon, continuing to follow the path set by Yakov, and continuing to remain on the path of Yisroel.Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 2:07 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home