26 Dec THE CROWN

Pashas Vayechi. The closing of Sefer
Bereishis. The end of an era.
“Vayikrivu yemei Yisroel lamus, When the
end of Yisroel’s (Yaakov) life approached,
Vayikra l’vno, l’Yosef, he called upon his son,
Yosef. (Bereishis 47:29). Ramban comments
that although Yaakov was not ill at this point,
he felt weak and experienced a loss of
strength. He realized that it was time to make
end-of-life decisions.
Yaakov doesn’t call a lawyer or a financial
planner, but calls upon Yosef. Yosef, who held
a position of power of Egypt and had the
ability to fulfill Yaakov’s wishes.
Yaakov asked for a “chesed ve’emes, kindness
and truth.” He doesn’t want to be buried in
Egypt, but in Eretz Yisroel, the Holy Land,
alongside his fathers, Avrohom and Yitzchok.
Chesed shel emes, kindness of truth. The
ultimate kindness, for it is a kindness that one
does not anticipate receiving any reward from
the beneficiary.
Even though Yosef accepts the responsibility,
Yaakov asks him to “swear to me”.

Does Yaakov not trust Yosef? The Talmud
teaches, “Eizehu chacham, haroeh es hanolad,
Who is a wise man, one who contemplates the
future.” As a father, Yaakov trusted Yosef
unequivocally, but was afraid of Pharaoh
giving Yosef a hard time leaving the country
to bury his father. If so, Yosef would be able to
tell Pharaoh, I promised my father, I took a
vow. Even Pharaoh would not deny Yosef
fulfilling his father’s last request.
“Please don’t bury me in Egypt.” Not just a
wish to be buried in Eretz Yisroel, in Meoras
Hamachpela, but a strong wish not to be
buried in Egypt.
Rashi gives us reasons for Yaakov’s request.
One is, that knowing that Egyptians worship
the dead, Yaakov feared the Egyptians would
worship him – being that blessing came upon
Egypt when he arrived.
When asking Yosef to bury him in Chevron,
the name Yisroel is used in place of Yaakov.
Yisroel, from the word sar, a prince, a leader,
a position of authority. A name that symbolizes
our nation, Bnei Yisroel. Yaakov’s request to
Yosef was a message not only to his family in
Egypt, but a message to all future generations.
Yaakov is telling his descendants, don’t be
mistaken, Egypt is not your land, not your

country. While you may now be living
comfortably in Goshen, or anywhere in
exile, with all your needs being taken
care of, never forget who you are and
where you come from. Never forget
that your true homeland is Eretz
Yisroel.
The war in Eretz Yisroel that began on
October 7 is hard and painful for every
person living there. Israel is a small
country, where everyone is affected. A
country where everyone is a brother.
The unending tension and constant
barrage of rockets cannot be minimized.
However, the repercussions of October 7 have
spread world-wide. It’s spawned an explosion
of blatant anti-Semitism. We are witness to
acts of hate, even violence, directed towards
our people. Hate meant to intimidate.
From out-of-control demonstrations, to bomb
threats against yeshivas and shuls, to swastikas
painted on Jewish-owned businesses, the
Israeli flag being burned, and sadly to people
who are visibly Jewish being attacked. We
have seen it all.
Commentary magazine featured an article
entitled They forgot to be Afraid, in which
James B. Miegs writes of Israel becoming too

comfortable with their surroundings pre-
October 7. They forgot to be afraid. Living

in a land surrounded by enemies, one must

always be on high alert, with eyes laser-
focused 24/7 on the borders.

They forgot to be afraid. Maybe we too,
forgot to be afraid. It’s not just “they”, but
“we”. We have become very much part of
the culture and society around us. We are
comfortable with our homes, our jobs, our
lives. We are living in our own “Goshen”, a
life of both material and spiritual comfort.
But it is not our home.
My mother’s words echo in my mind.
“Chaya Sarale… I am so afraid it will
happen again.” I didn’t think I would see
anti-Semitism in a country that welcomes
its immigrants with the Statue of Liberty, a
country that hosts the Liberty Bell. A
country whose founding fathers guaranteed
liberty and justice for all.
But then I see the calls of hate, the
downplaying, ignoring, even denying (like
the Holocaust deniers before them) the
atrocities of October 7. We too forgot to be
afraid. Our father Yaakov’s request is a
message to all of us. We are in galus. As
good as things may seem, be mindful, be
cognizant, and remember that this is not our
true home.
Yaakov asked Yosef to “carry me out of
Egypt”. Me – my entire body, not to wait
until the body decomposes and becomes
bones.
There is a deeper understanding. A message
for generations. “Carry me”. Carry my

teachings, my life lessons with you. As a
nation you will experience many exiles, but
remember my teachings. Remember Eretz
Yisroel.
The parsha closes with yet another loss. The
death of Yosef HaTzadik. Like his father
before him, he too requests to be buried in
Eretz Yisroel – but with one big difference.
“You shall carry my bones from here.”
Yosef was very much aware that hard days
were on the horizon. Days fraught with pain,
suffering, and loss of freedom. Days that will
not allow Bnei Yisroel to leave Egypt. Unlike
Yaakov who said “carry me out”, Yosef said
“carry my bones” (Bereishis 51:25).
Yosef’s body was placed in a lead casket and
sunk into the Nile. Yosef, who brought
blessing to Egypt during the years of famine
was lowered into the Nile, with the Egyptians
hoping that he would bring blessing to the
Nile, the source of water and vegetation for all
of Egypt.
Years later, it was Moshe who searched the
Nile for Yosef’s casket before the Exodus.
And it was Moshe who carried the bones for
forty years in the desert, transporting them
from resting stop to resting stop. Yosef’s
bones found their final resting spot in the city
of Shechem (Nablus). How tragically sad that
the final resting place of this great Tzadik was
vandalized, burnt, violated time and time
again by Palestinians. It became a hotspot of
Arab terror. Even more chilling is that on
October 7, 2000, — yes, the same day, October
7 – a mob of Palestinian rioters, armed with
sledgehammers, smashed the kever, setting it
ablaze, destroying seforim and other holy
articles.
Today, the terror continues. We are faced with
an enemy that vows to come back again and
again.
Yosef took off his crown, and placed it on the
coffin of Yaakov. An honor to his father, as if
saying – you, my dear father, are a true king.
You represent the kesser Torah, the crown of
Torah.
Parshas Vayechi tells us of the death of
Yaakov. Yet, the word Vayechi denotes life. As
the Talmud states, Yaakov lo meis, Yaakov
didn’t die. His name lives on. His teachings
live on. He is part of us.