Vayechi: Survival

וַיְחִ֤י יַעֲקֹב֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם שְׁבַ֥ע עֶשְׂרֵ֖ה שָׁנָ֑ה

Jacob lived seventeen years in the land of Egypt,

Yaakov lived in Egypt for the same amount of time as Joseph  lived with his family before he was sold into slavery by his brothers. This was the length of time that Yaakov had a direct, living influence on his family while they were in Egypt.  This is how long he had to instill and reinforce a separate Israelite identity that differentiated his clan from the dominant Egyptian civilization.

Taanith 5b

בָּתַר דִּסְעוּד אֲמַר לֵיהּ, הָכִי אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ לֹא מֵת. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: וְכִי בִּכְדִי סְפַדוּ סַפְדָּנַיָּא וַחֲנַטוּ חָנְטַיָּיא וּקְבַרוּ קַבָּרַיָּיא? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מִקְרָא אֲנִי דּוֹרֵשׁ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְאַתָּה אַל תִּירָא עַבְדִּי יַעֲקֹב נְאֻם ה׳ וְאַל תֵּחַת יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי הִנְנִי מוֹשִׁיעֲךָ מֵרָחוֹק וְאֶת זַרְעֲךָ מֵאֶרֶץ שִׁבְיָם״, מַקִּישׁ הוּא לְזַרְעוֹ: מָה זַרְעוֹ בַּחַיִּים — אַף הוּא בַּחַיִּים.

After they had eaten, Rabbi Yitzḥak said to Rav Naḥman that Rabbi Yoḥanan said as follows: Our patriarch Jacob did not die. Rav Naḥman asked him in surprise: And was it for naught that the eulogizers eulogized him and the embalmers embalmed him and the buriers buried him? Rabbi Yitzḥak replied to Rav Naḥman: I am interpreting a verse, as it is stated: “Therefore do not fear, Jacob My servant, says the Lord, neither be dismayed, Israel, for I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity” (Jeremiah 30:10). This verse juxtaposes Jacob to his seed: Just as his seed is alive when redeemed, so too, Jacob himself is alive.

This seems to be the theme of this parsha that ends Bereshith, the first book of the Torah. The end of the story of the past is the beginning of the present which will eventually become a story  in the future. The physical breathing and heart beating life of Yaakov is a vehicle to generate the eternity of his influence.

Yaakov tries to express his wishes for the future. He says as much:

וַיִּקְרָ֥א יַעֲקֹ֖ב אֶל־בָּנָ֑יו וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הֵאָֽסְפוּ֙ וְאַגִּ֣ידָה לָכֶ֔ם אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרָ֥א אֶתְכֶ֖ם בְּאַחֲרִ֥ית הַיָּמִֽים׃

And Ya῾aqov called to his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

These are the words that introduce Yaakov’s “blessings,” his declarations to his sons. Yaakov expresses his ideas in words that evoke the beginning of the book of  Bereshith . His statement to Reuven

רְאוּבֵן֙ בְּכֹ֣רִי אַ֔תָּה כֹּחִ֖י וְרֵאשִׁ֣ית אוֹנִ֑י יֶ֥תֶר שְׂאֵ֖ת וְיֶ֥תֶר עָֽז׃

Reuben, you are my first-born,

My might and first fruit of my vigor,

Exceeding in rank

And exceeding in honor.

 Uses the words רֵאשִׁ֣ית, evoking the first word in the Torah;  and שְׂאֵ֖ת (rank), which recalls the reward Gd offers to Cain if he improves:

הֲל֤וֹא אִם־תֵּיטִיב֙ שְׂאֵ֔ת

Surely, if you do right,

There is uplift

These are the words of  Gd when  firstborn Cain is disappointed  at the favor shown to his brother, not him. Like Cain, the tribe that comes from Rueben lives separate from the other tribes, across the Jordan, when the Israelites enter the Promised Land.

You could say that these words are inevitable, they are the best words to express the ideas Yaakov wants to convey. That could be true, but it nevertheless communicates the idea that the present and future are linked with the past.

This relates to the blessings that Yaakov gives to Joseph’s sons. Joseph presents the elder son Menashe, to Yaakov’s right hand. Yaakov crosses his hands to show the greater favor to the younger son, Ephraim. The name Menashe was a rejection of Joseph’s past.

וַיִּקְרָ֥א יוֹסֵ֛ף אֶת־שֵׁ֥ם הַבְּכ֖וֹר מְנַשֶּׁ֑ה כִּֽי־נַשַּׁ֤נִי אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־כׇּל־עֲמָלִ֔י וְאֵ֖ת כׇּל־בֵּ֥ית אָבִֽי׃

And Yosef called the name of the firstborn Menashshe: For God, said he, has made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.

Joseph had a new life and was actively forgetting the pain of the old. Yaakov was bringing Joseph and his offspring back into the good aspects of the old ways. Yaakov   was also declaring the offspring of Joseph, born and raised in Egypt, to be the future:

 

וַיְבָ֨רְכֵ֜ם בַּיּ֣וֹם הַהוּא֮ לֵאמוֹר֒ בְּךָ֗ יְבָרֵ֤ךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙

So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you shall Israel invoke blessings,

 

And so we do to this day, and hopefully for a long time to come.

 

Yaakov embraced the diversity of his sons, sometimes with a level of distaste, to make them a federation. They were blessed with accepting one another and recognizing their separateness from the surrounding culture. This idea, this story that is Yaakov did not die.