12: Vayechi
Welcome to TLDR Torah: a synopsis of the weekly parsha based on Robert Alter’s translation, plus a question to spur your Shabbat dinner (or any!) conversation.
Parsha Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26)
TLDR:
Vayechi rounds out Bereshit with Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob’s blessing of his 12 sons, and Joseph’s (2nd) forgiveness of his brothers.
Jacob grows old and ill. He makes Joseph promise to bury him in Canaan.
Joseph takes his two sons Manasseh, the eldest, and Ephraim to Jacob. Seemingly confused about who they are, Jacob blesses Manasseh and Ephraim with his hands crossed and grants them an inheritance. He treats Ephraim as the first born but in contrast to the Esau and Jacob episode, Manasseh doesn’t argue it.
Jacob gathers his sons to share what will happen to them (it’s not quite a “blessing”). He proceeds son by son. Reuben is scolded, Simeon and Levi cursed, Judah praised greatly, and the rest more or less blessed. Joseph receives an extra portion of the inheritance.
Jacob again demands to be buried in Canaan. He dies, and Joseph and the Egyptians mourn him. Pharaoh lets Joseph go to Canaan to bury Jacob.
Joseph’s brothers, seventeen years after living in Egypt together, fear Joseph will punish them now that Jacob has died (recall Esau’s commitment to get his revenge on Isaac after Isaac has passed).
They implicitly lie, claiming that Jacob told them to tell Joseph that they should forgive them. But you’d think that Jacob would have mentioned that earlier when he gave the blessings! Joseph forgives them.
Joseph grows old. He makes his brothers swear to return his body to Canaan, when God remembers them. In the meantime, Joseph is buried in Egypt.
Question:
Seventeen years is a long time for someone to bear a grudge. What does the brothers’ fear imply about their relationship with Joseph during that time? Would they have been cordial? Friends? Distant and deferential? What is the longest time you’ve held a grudge for and how (if ever) did you let it go?