Vayechi and the Tenth of Teves
Parshas Vayechi is “setumah”, closed. This means there is no gap in a Sefer Torah between the end of the previous Parsha and the beginning of this one as there usually is. Rashi tells us: ויחי יעקב. לָמָּה פָּרָשָׁה זוֹ סְתוּמָה? לְפִי שֶׁכֵּיוָן שֶׁנִּפְטַר יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ נִסְתְּמוּ עֵינֵיהֶם וְלִבָּם שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל מִצָּרַת הַשִּׁעְבּוּד, שֶׁהִתְחִילוּ לְשַׁעְבְּדָם; This section is closed because the eyes and hearts of Bnai Yisrael became closed when Yaakov died as a result of the suffering that began at that point. Hang on! There is a problem. We know from a Rashi in next week’s Parsha that the shibud, enslavement, didn’t begin until after all of the shevatim died. How can it be that Rashi says it began when Yaakov died? Rav Shimon Schwab notes a very subtle shift in the pesukim after Yaakov died. The Torah tells us that upon Yaakov’s death there followed 40 days of embalming and 30 days of mourning, after which: וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר יוֹסֵ֔ף אֶל־בֵּ֥ית פַּרְעֹ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר אִם־נָ֨א מָצָ֤אתִי חֵן֙ בְּעֵ֣ינֵיכֶ֔ם דַּבְּרוּ־נָ֕א בְּאׇזְנֵ֥י פַרְעֹ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃ Yosef spoke to the household of Paraoh saying, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please speak on my behalf to Paraoh…” What happened? At the beginning of the Parsha Yosef was at the peak of his power. He spoke to Paraoh directly and without the meekness of “If I have found favor”. Yet after Yaakov died Yosef could only speak to Paraoh’s officials asking them to please plead to Paraoh on his behalf! The shibud had begun, but it was very subtle and barely perceptible. Just as the end of Parshas Vayigash and the beginning of Parshas Vayechi are not clearly discernible, they merge into each other, so too the transition into galus happened imperceptibly. No one noticed. As Rashi says, nistemu eineihe v’libam shel yisrael, their eyes and hearts were closed. No one noticed that although they were still living comfortably, the shibud had begun. Yosef’s power had begun to wane. Today is Asarah B’Teves and I think there is a similar lesson. One of the tragedies we mourn on Asarah B’Teves is that the Torah was translated into the Greek language. You have to wonder, why is it that when King Talmai ordered it, it was such a tragedy? Moshe Rabeinu already translated the Torah into 70 languages - that wasn’t a problem. What’s the tragedy this time? The difference is subtle. When the 72 Chachamim were forced to translate the Torah into Greek, it was with the understanding that now the Torah is just one more book of wisdom to put in Greek libraries. Moshe’s translation was done al pi Hashem, and it reflected the spirituality, the truth of Torah. But on the 8th of Teves, Torah was translated without spirituality. From now on it would be misunderstood, misapplied, distorted, and be seen as nothing more than another book of great literature. Torah authenticity and emes was lost in the translation. Just like the shift into shibud Mitzrayim was barely visible, the difference between Moshe’s Greek Torah translation and the Chachamim’s Greek Torahs was barely perceptible. Yet we mourn that loss and we still suffer from it today. Yet just because it’s invisible, doesn’t mean it’s not there. It takes time for a tragedy to fully play out so that it is clear and visible to everyone. We also live in a time when our eyes and hearts are closed to truth. We live in a post-translation world, a post- Galus world, where truth is hidden and distorted and that is part of what we mourn today. We mourn the imperceptible shift into Galus that began originally with Yaakov’s death, but since then, has moved farther and farther along. It was pushed farther along on the 8th of Teves, then the 9th and the 10th, and it continues to move imperceptibly, yet significantly. I don’t have a solution, that is why we yearn for geulah. Yet I can leave us all with a reminder of our mission. Our children are counting on us to keep our moral compasses steady. So much around them is deceptive, insidious, and misleading. So much around them subtly and not so subtly pulls them away from truth. They look to us for clarity. We choose to stand firm holding on to Torah, holding on to Emes. Eitz Chaim hi l’machazikim bah. It is a tree of life to those who cling to it. When we, the women of Klal Yisrael, work on staying connected to truth, to an authentic relationship with Hashem, we hold our families tight with us too. Each small decision that we make to live our lives, build our families, raise our children with integrity and for the sake of Heaven adds up. They add up to help us hold tight and stay strong despite the galus.
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