Vayechi: Legacy

The last parsha of Genesis has similarities to the last parsha of the Torah, Zoth Habracha.  Both contain the "blessings" to the tribes, followed by  the death of the leader of Israel.  Vayechi deals with the descent to Egypt, the long nation building enslavement.  Zoth Habracha deals with entering the Promised Land, the liberation.    The leaders in Vayechi  are taken to the Promised land for burial (eventually), Moshe is buried on the outskirts, in an unidentified place. 

Where one is buried is a key issue in Vayechi.   The parsha starts with Jacob's insistence on burial in the ancestral crypt. A large  section of the parsha is dedicated to the details: the Royal permission, the embalming, the  mourning period,  the procession.  It was a big deal.  It would have been much easier if the clan had returned to Canaan.  But they stayed in Egypt, presumably to make a living, Vayechi. 

Burial in the Promised Land was so  important that the parsha ends with Joseph requesting re-burial  there when the nation finally ascends.  Moshe personally minded that obligation. 

After the holocaust, my parents came to America.  They could have gone to Palestine, the promised land, but they felt that they had to make a living.  They felt that they were in the world of Vayechi.  

During the organized murder, my father was a slave in the death camp.  He was well fed. My mother was "free," hiding in the woods.  She was on the edge of starvation.  The children of Israel traded their "freedom" for the slavery of the nourished.  They were enslaved to their sustenance. 

The dead need no bread. They are a memory marked by the location of their remains.  Their burial place reflects on the meaning of their lives. 

Burying my parents in Israel was  one of the greatest adventures of my life.  I cherish it as part of their legacy