Parshas YaYachi focuses on the passing away of the
righteous. A major part of its content is about how Ya’akov our patriarch
passed away. It also describes the death of Joseph and its haftarah is about
the death of King David.
The subject of death is important to the book of
Bereshis. Adam the first man was created to be immortal. He is warned by the
Holy One Blessed be He that if he eats from the tree of knowledge of good and
evil he will die a death. He transgresses on the mitzvah and after 930 years
passes away. After Sarah our matriarch passes away, the Chumash describes
Abraham as old, advanced in years. It is at this point that he decides to marry
off his son Yitzchak. Avraham then remarries, has a number of children, sends
them away with gifts, and then expires. When Yitzchak, our father, is old and
with failing eyesight, he becomes concerned about passing away and decides to
bless a son to be his designated successor. He lives at least another 22 years
than passes away.
The first inkling of the death of Jacob is when he
appoints Yosef to supervise his other sons in their shepherding of the flock.
This is after the birth of Benyamin, who is called a son of his old age. This
is a change from before when Ya’akov would shepherd the sheep himself. Once in
Egypt the Chumash states, “the time approached for Israel to die”, (Genesis
47:29). The Ramban comments that this occurred in the last year of Jacob’s life
and that he called for Yosef because he himself felt that his abilities were
diminishing and that the weakness was intensifying; he in fact was not sick but
he knew that there were not a larger number of days remaining. It is at this
point that he calls Yosef and makes him promise to bury him in the family crypt
in Machpela Cave in the land of Canaan.
Sometime after this it is reported to Yosef that his
father is ill. Yosef immediately goes to Ya’akov and takes his two sons with
him to receive a blessing. Ya’akov knows that his descendants will form into a
nation so he gives them a special blessing and institutes it as the blessing
that parents of the nation of Israel are to give their children. He also knows
that each of his sons is going to be the father of a tribe in that nation.
However he declares the two sons of Yosef to be tribes thereby giving Yosef an
additional portion above his brothers.
With the end imminent Jacob summons his twelve sons to
his bedside to hear his final words. For some of them it is rebuke. For others
it is a pleasing observation of what they are or what they will be. The Torah
reckons them all as the blessing that is appropriate for each of them. He then
repeats his wish to be buried in the family tomb in Hevron and with that he perishes.
The Chumash continues briefly recounting the good
experiences of Yosef’s old age. On his deathbed Yosef summons his brothers to
assure them that G-d will surely bring their nation to the land promised to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and tells them that they are to rebury him there.
In the haftarah the time approached for King David to
die. He is on his deathbed but, when his clothes no longer kept him warm, it
was known that end was coming. David calls his son Solomon to his side and
exhorts him to keep the Torah of Moshe with a full heart. He assures him that
this will bring him success and insure that his descendants will rule after
him. He also tells him punish certain people who had greatly offended him and
to be kind to specific people who had been kind to him when he was in need.
The Talmud Shabbos 152a) brings a quote from
Ecclesiastics (chapter 12), “On the day that the keeper of the house will
tremble and the strong men will bow themselves. It explains that the keepers of
the house are the flanks and the ribs. The mighty men bowing are the thighs.
The grinders that cease are the teeth. And those that look out the windows are
darkened are the eyes. It then relates an anecdote that the Kaiser asked Rabbi
Yohohua ben Hanina why he did not go out to debate with the Sadducees. He
replied that the mountain is snowy and is surrounded by ice, meaning he has
gray hair and a gray beard; the dog does not bark, meaning his voice is not
heard; the grinders, meaning the teeth, do not grind. The school of Rav was wont
to say, “What I did not lose, I seek”.
The Talmud Baba Metzia 87a) discusses old age and
explains that until Abraham there was no old age. He ran into a problem because
people were always confusing him with his son Yitzchak; therefore Avraham
dovened that he should look old. Until Jacob came there was not illness,
therefore he prayed that he should be stricken with illness. The Soncino Gemara
explains that until this time one live his allotted years in good health then
died suddenly. Rashi explains that Ya’akov wanted that a man should be sick
before his death in order that he should be able to express his final will to
his household.
The code of Jewish Law (194:3) writes that it is
commendable to be with a person at the last moment so the soul should not be
bewildered when leaving the body. People there should not engage in idle
chatter rather they should talk about things of a substantive nature. It is
also appropriate to say Psalms and prayers. It is also customary to light
candles.
The point seems to be that recognition of our limited
time in this world comes gradually, and it is an act of kindness. At first it’s
almost an abstract that will happen someday perhaps after a thousand years.
Next one sees that what is generally considered the long term is longer than
they expect to live. At that point one starts appoint a successor and do the
things perhaps only he can do. After that, perhaps because of failing health,
one sees the end of the road of life’s journey and it becomes appropriate to
talk about burial and final arrangements. The next milepost is when death is
imminent. At that point it is appropriate to gather family, friends, and
students, and say the things that could not be said until the very final
moments. When one is going to immediately depart to sing their song to the
Master of All, it is good to say “שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְיָ אֱלֹקֵינוּ יְיָ אֶחָד (Shma
Yisrael Adonai Elohaynu Adonai echad - Here O Israel, the Lord our G-d the Lord
is One)”
לע"נ
הסבא אהרן בן יוסף ז"ל נלב"ע כז בטבת תשכ"ו
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