26 Dec PARASHA VAYEHI: LIFE AFTER DEATH

Parashat Vayehi begins
with Yaakob Abinu
summoning Yosef and
asking, “Please do not
bury me in Egypt.”
Yaakob had Yosef
promise on oath that he would bring his remains
back to the Land of Israel, rather than bury him
in Egypt.
Yaakob introduces his request by asking Yosef,
“Do for me kindness and truth” (47:29). Rashi
explains that when we perform an act of kindness
for a deceased person, by fulfilling his wishes
expressed before his passing or by showing
him honor, it is considered “true kindness,”
wholehearted and sincere, because it is done
without any anticipation of reward. When we
do a favor for a living person, even if we act
sincerely, in the back of our minds we think that
the favor will one day be reciprocated. Even the
noblest act of kindness is accompanied by a tinge
of self-interest, as we expect the beneficiary
to someday repay his debt of gratitude. But
when we act kindly to a deceased person, who
cannot repay the kindness, we perform “Hesed
Ve’emet” – true and genuine kindness, which is
purely altruistic without ulterior motives.
Several questions have been asked regarding
Rashi’s comment. First, the phrase “Hesed
Ve’emet” appears earlier in the Torah (24:49),
in reference to kindness performed for a living
person. Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, tells Ribka’s

family that they would be performing “Hesed
Ve’emet” to Abraham by allowing their daughter
to marry his son. How can Rashi claim that
the term “Hesed Ve’emet” refers exclusively
to kindness performed for a deceased person,
if Eliezer used it in reference to kindness
performed for Abraham while he was alive?
Secondly, is it really true that all kindness
performed for a living person is partially
insincere? When a wealthy person gives money
to a destitute pauper, does he really expect any
sort of payback?
To answer this question, we might explain
Rashi’s comment differently. When Rashi writes
that kindness for the dead is “true kindness”
because “he does not anticipate reward,” he
means not that the one doing the favor does not
anticipate reward, but rather that the deceased
does not anticipate reward.
Before a person leaves his world, he recognizes
that his time for performing Misvot and earning
eternal reward is coming to an end. It is told
that the Vilna Gaon wept bitterly as he lay on
his deathbed, and he explained that he wept
because soon he would be no longer capable
of earning reward in the next world. Misvot
can be performed and merits can be earned
only in this world, during a person’s lifetime.
However, there is one way a person’s soul can
experience elevation and have his share of the
next world increased even after death – through
the Misvot performed by his progeny. When a

deceased person’s children or grandchildren
perform Misvot as a result of the education and
inspiration they received from the deceased, his
soul is elevated. Although he can no longer earn
merits by performing Misvot, he can earn merits
through the Misvot performed by his offspring.
This concept is expressed by the Sages of the
Talmud when they taught, “Bera Kar’a De’abu”
– “A son is the father’s leg.” After a person
passes on, he has no “legs,” he is no longer
capable of advancing, of achieving, of moving
forward and elevating himself spiritually. A son,
however, has the ability to advance his deceased
father by performing Misvot. And thus the child
is the deceased father’s “leg.” He is the one who
moves the father forward and elevates him in the
next world, when the father is no longer capable
of advancing himself.
This is Rashi’s intent in explaining the phrase
“Hesed Ve’emet.” When a person prepares to
leave this world, he expects that his time for
earning reward is now ending. And therefore the
greatest kindness we can do for a person is to
enable him to earn reward even after his death by
performing Misvot as he taught us to do. Yaakov
requested of his son, “Do not bury me in Egypt”
– as if to say, “Do not allow my progress and
advancement to end when I die in Egypt.” He
wanted Yosef to continue living the way Yaakob
taught him, and this would ensure Yaakob’s
continued elevation long after his death. Yaakob
did not want to be “buried” in Egypt. He wanted

to continue living even after his physical death
through the power of the Misvot performed by
his offspring. This is “Hesed Ve’emet” – the
greatest kindness one can perform, facilitating
a deceased person’s elevation in the next world.
Indeed, the Talmud teaches that “Yaakob Abinu
Lo Met” – Yaakob never died. Since he left
behind twelve children committed to Misvot,
he continues to “live” even after death, through
the good deeds performed by his descendants,
all Am Yisrael.
This insight conveys a very important lesson
to parents regarding the decisions they make
for their children’s education and upbringing.
Investing in our children’s Torah education is an
investment that will continue paying dividends
for eternity, even long after we have departed
from this world. By inspiring, teaching and
directing our children to live a life of Torah and
Misvot, we ensure our everlasting growth and
elevation, in both this world and the next. The
key to immortality is properly educating and
training our children to live in a way that will
continue bringing us reward for all eternity.