This week's Torah portion is called Vayechi - "And He Lived", which actually chronicles the passing of our forefather Jacob and his son Joseph in Egypt.
Why then is this Torah portion entitled "And he lived!?" The Lubavitcher Rebbe once explained this as follows: We only attain true life when our ideals live on in those around us. When Jacob, in his final years, saw his family in Egypt living lives loyal to the values he lived with, this proved he had lived life the right way. The Talmud goes as far as to say: "Our forefather Jacob never died." (Ta'anit 5a) Since his ideals lived on in his family and the future Jewish people, he lived on through them. And this was only possible because he had lived his ideals so powerfully as to implant them in those who learned from him. Gabe's love, kindness, joy for life and empathy for others must be continued by us. In us he will live on.
On his deathbed, Jacob gathers his family and gives each one a blessing. Significantly, Jacob blesses his forth son Yehuda (Judah) with the blessing that the kingship will never leaves his descendants. Indeed, King David, Solomon, and ultimately Moshiach, the final redeemer, all descend from Yehuda. How come Reuven, Jacob's firstborn, wasn't given this blessing? Sure, he messed up earlier in the Torah, but so did Yehuda. Reuven was a very holy and good man! What was it about Yehuda that stood out to be blessed with such a momentous blessing? Not only that, but Yehuda keeps taking the lead in the stories that follow, hinting that there must be something special about Yehuda, something we can learn from for our lives today.
When Joseph was about to be killed by his brothers (it's a long story), it was actually Reuven who stepped up and stopped his brothers! He had Joseph thrown in a pit, and the Torah states that Reuven intended to save him from there later when the brothers had left. But soon after, Yehuda speaks up and tells the brothers it isn't right to kill Joseph. So they sell him to a caravan of Ishmaelites, down to Egypt and the rest is history. But where was Reuven? Didn't he want to save Joseph? And yet he was nowhere to be found! The Midrash teaches us that Reuven "was occupied with his sackcloth and fasting." Nine years after he had sinned against his father, the extremely spiritually sensitive Reuven was still repenting with remorse over his wrongdoing. That seems pretty good, right? Reuven intended to do good with Joseph, and was busy with spirtually good actions!
But here we are taught a profound lesson in life. Yehuda was chosen over Reuven, not because he was necessarily loftier spiritually or morally. But he was a man of action. He didn't merely have good intentions (if at all!), but he acted. In reality, he saved Joseph's life from his brothers. Yes, Reuven had even better intentions. But they were just that - intentions. Often we mean well; we want to do well to others. But how many of us do? This applies to many areas of life. I may love my father or mother, my son or daughter, but do I ever show it? I may feel bad for that person, but do I do anything about it? I may love G-d, but do I ever do things that he asks of me? Pure, good intentions are important and do mean something. But we have to make sure they don't stay intentions, for the power of a good action can't be matched; it's good, no matter what. Judaism emphasizes the importance of deed, above all else. Sometimes we need to sacrifice our good, even to give up on spiritual betterment, to help another person practically. In a physical world which we are trying to form into a dwelling place for G-d, it's the proper physical actions that actually have the most affect on the world around us, and are most pleasing to G-d.
And sometimes our one deed has ripple effects that we can't possibly have imagined possible. Just like if you want to create a nuclear explosion, all you need to do is split a single atom, which can set in motion a chain reaction in billions of other atoms and transform the face of the earth over an area of many square miles, how much more so in the realm of good! Yehuda made a difference, through his courage and action. Gabriel did the same through his love and friendship. Let's emulate them both in our lives ahead, and change the world around us for the better. Each of us is allotted a certain amount of minutes, hours, and days on this earth to complete our specific missions in this world. Let's take advantage of the time we have.
Shabbat Shalom!
-Daniel
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