Dedicated to a refuah shelaima for Chana Zelda bat Gittel
Yita, Batya Dina bas Chava Tzivia, Chaya Sarah bas Esther Leah, Moshe Aaron ben
Necha Itta, and Binyamin ben Simcha.
The perception of the passage of time is one of the most
puzzling elements of being alive. There are days that feel unending, and weeks
that go by in the blink of an eye. One can look back at a year that just passed
and wonder how it is over so quickly while, at the same time, feeling like
events from the beginning of the year happened in a different era. This odd
temporal distortion that we all do seems to be a significant facet of this week’s
parsha, Parshas Vayechi.
For those who are fans of science fiction, the term temporal
is not so mysterious, although in such reference it often is used in time
travel scenarios. It is, in truth, a rather complicated word in that its
essential meaning in relation to time is of something finite and specific to a
set of time, but that it is used for situations inferring moving in/out of time
periods shows that it rings with something far more philosophical.
Parshas Vayechi is very much a parsha about time, but time
in a very biblical framework. Everything that occurs in sefer Bereishis echoes
through Jewish history yet to come but is powerful in its own time as well.
The first section of
the parsha is Yaakov on his sickbed calling Yosef and Yosef’s sons to him so
that he may bless them specifically. The action is occurring in one time
period, but it is an action that will affect to Jewish people for the rest of
history as he adds these grandsons into the framework of the shevatim.
The second, and primary, section of the parsha is Yaakov’s
blessings to his sons, and, when read carefully, one notices here a true temporal
split. Yaakov in the prophetic state of blessing his children, speaks in future,
past, and present tense. Some sons are critiqued for actions in their past,
while others are given hints to the future. For Yaakov Avinu on his death bed,
timing had little significance, but time had tremendous significance.
The third section of the parsha is about death and burial,
which is the ultimate reminder that our time is certainly not eternal. Through
his instructions for burial in Maaras Hamachpela, Yaakov is actively tying his
earthly existence to the spiritual chain of his forefathers and making certain
that their great accomplishments in bringing the spiritual down to earth will
not be tainted. According to numerous
mepharshim, Yaakov was so specific about the burial place in order to protect
it, for it was well known that Esav still felt entitled to it. It was for this
reason that he specified that he had already interred Leah there – he had
already prepared it in advance, with some mepharshim even suggesting that he
had dug his own space in advance.
It is the final section of the parsha, however, that has,
perhaps, the most to offer on the business of time. Yosef does not even bother
to try to be buried immediately in Eretz Canaan. He lets the royal staff prepare him in their
usual fashion (embalmment), and his funeral was the done with the fanfare like
one of the great nobles of the country – which he was. But Yosef is aware that
Hashem has lifted the Jewish people out of any normal pattern of time or mazal,
and he makes his brothers promise to take him with them when they leave Mitzrayim.
When you really think about it, it’s a weird request. He’s
going to be dead. His brothers are all older than him (except Binyamin), so
they too will not live much longer… It is quite obvious, therefore, that he is
not talking to his generation. In making this promise for the future, Yosef is
making time fold in so that he is alerting the generations of Bnei Yisrael to
come that time as we see it has little meaning. He has perfect faith that his
body will not remain in Mitzrayim. He has perfect faith that redemption will
come, that Bnei Yisrael will return to the land promised to them through
Avraham Avinu.
The idea of time travel is alluring and appealing. It is
natural to wish to turn back time and fix the errors of our ways (whether our
own or those of the distant past), and it is quite normal to harbor a deep
curiosity with what the future will look like. Alas, as far as scientists have
yet proven*, only Hashem has the power to truly be in all three tenses at once.
Yet while we may not be able to fix the past or see the future, Hashem makes it
clear that the impact of the Jewish people is rarely limited to the here and now.
Wishing you all a beautiful Shabbas.
*just kidding, not comparing scientists!
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