VAYECHI 1988

In the Torah portion Vayechi we learned how Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years before he died. It is interesting to note that this Torah portion starts with the words, "Vayechi Yaacov - and Jacob lived", but in the next sentence when it said he was about to die it says, "Vayeekruvu Yomai Yisroel Lamoos - and they came nearer the days of Israel to die". The question can be asked, why is it that in the first instance Jacob is referred to as Jacob and in the second instance Jacob is referred to as Israel. We know that Jacob had two names. He was known as Yaacov and Yisroel, but why does the Torah in this portion change immediately from Yaacov to Yisroel? What's more, in the Haphtorah we learn about the last days of King David, how he called Solomon, his son, to his side and how he gave him advice as to what to do when he assumes the kingship of Israel. He tells him, "You should be strong and you should become a man, and you should observe the charge of the Lord your G-d to walk in His ways, to observe His laws, His commandments, and His judgments." He gives him very good advice, but afterwards he tells him some things which seem to be cruel and vicious which do not seem to be in keeping with the character of David, and we wonder why they were even preserved in the Torah. He tells Solomon that he should make sure that Joab, his general, does not go down in peace to the grave. He tells him this because Joab had killed two leaders of rival camps of Jewish people, the army generals of these leaders, and David did not think this was right. He also gave him some other advice about some other people, too. It seems a strange thing for us to read, and it also seems a difficult thing to understand.
To my mind, the answer to both these questions is contained in last week's Torah portion where we learned that when Jacob was about to go down to Egypt

to see his son, Joseph, he had misgivings. He wondered whether his children would ever return to the land of Israel. G-d appeared to him in a dream at night, a vision at night. It says, "And G-d said to Israel in the dreams of the night and He said, "Jacob, Jacob1," and Jacob said, "Here I am." In other words, G-d changed His address from Israel to Jacob. He appeared to Israel but He said Jacob. The reason for this, the rabbis say, is because Jacob was not leaving the land of Israel. In the land of Israel he was known as Israel because he was able to contend with man and G-d and triumph. That is, of course, what the name Israel means, but he was now going to go into Galut, into the exile. He no longer was to have that independence that he had up to now. He was to be known only as Jacob. He was not going to be known anymore as Israel.
That is what we find in our Torah portion. It says Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for 17 years, but when he was about to die he was going to be buried in the land of Israel, and, therefore, his name of Israel came back. Jacob knew that when he was going down to Egypt he was going to be totally dependent upon Pharaoh, upon the whim of the ruler there, not only for his livelihood but also for his life. This, of course, is the condition of Jews in Galut from that time on. Any time we Jews have been in exile we have lived at the whims of the rulers of the country. Sometimes they are favorable to us and sometimes they are not. We Jews in Galut have developed almost a sixth sense to determine how we have to behave in order to propitiate the rulers so they will not kill us or expel us or persecute us. Jacob knew that in the Galut he had to act in a different way than in the land of Israel. In the land of Israel he could contend with man and G-d and be victorious because in the land of Israel he could wield power. It is very difficult to wield power because when you wield power many times you
have to do things which are questionable, which are ambiguous. You have to do them in order to maintain your power, otherwise when you enter the real world you will not be able to hold your position, but we must always use power in a moral and a correct manner. It is sometimes very difficult to determine these things.
Jacob knew that when he went down to Egypt he would be completely at the mercy of others. He would not have all the tools necessary in order to determine his own fate. This has been the Jewish condition for 2,000 years until the birth of the State of Israel. We Jews were always the victim. We were not the persecutor. We did not have the power to be the persecutor. It is very difficult sometimes when we enter the world of real power to exercise that power in a moral and just way. Some people go to an extreme and say we should not exercise any power at all. If you cannot convince people by words then you should not use force at all. We know that this will not work. I remember and you remember how in 1954 General Eisenhauer sent troops to Little Rock to ensure that the laws of the land would be enforced, and how troops were sent to Alabama and how there were confrontations between citizens and the army of the United States, and even here in Houston we had segregation. I remember during the Viet Nam War when there were riots and students were killed at Kent State. Sometimes you have to employ force. Abraham Lincoln is one of our most revered presidents, but he had to use force to make sure the union was preserved and a million lives were lost in the north and south because of that. Force is sometimes necessary to use.
That is what we learn in the Haphtorah. King David implored his son, Solomon, to always follow the Torah and morality, but sometimes force has to
be used. He told him to watch out for Joab because Joab had sided with Adonijah against Solomon in David's last days. Watch out for a coup. Watch out for problems. Joab does not always abide by the letter of the law. David was giving Solomon some very practical advice. We are confronted today in Israel with a different type of problem than we have had for the last 2,000 years and that is how to use power. Dr. Bar-Sela tells the story of his father, who was an ardent Zionist in Russia, before the Bolshevik Revolution, how his father, after the Bolshevik Revolution was thrown into prison because Zionism was anathema to the Communists. In the same prison was an archbishop of the Russian orthodox church. The Russian orthodox church had, of course, sided with the white Russians against the red Russians. This archbishop was, of course, involved in much bloodshed because there was a lot of bloodshed in Russia. He turned to Dr. Bar-Sela’s father, Moshe, and said, "You know, you Jews are lucky." Dr. Bar-Sela1s father looked at him and said, "What you do you mean we are lucky? We are victims. We are persecuted. We are going to go have a state." The archbishop said, "Don't be so quick to have a state, because once you get a state you will be confronted with many types of moral dilemmas you do not have now. You are only victims, and sometimes it is easier, at least morally, to be a victim than to be a ruler." This, of course, Dr. Bar-Sela’s father thought was nonsense, and he was expelled from Russia a few weeks later and made his way to Israel where he held a very high position in Israeli government, the highest civil servant in charge of welfare. The point remained with him and he often discussed it with his son.
It is difficult to use power wisely. In fact, there are certain Jewish groups, from the right and left, who feel we Jews should never use power at all. In fact, the Turakarta which numbers about 600 families in Jerusalem would prefer that we do not have a State of Israel and would want to live under King Hussein's flag, because they say it is wrong for Jews to exercise power until the Messiah comes because once you exercise power you will be just like the goyim. You are going to be oppressors, too. You will not be able to maintain your moral purity. They even have in New York a group of Chassidim who agree with them. I understand they even burned an Israeli flag on national television, a terrible shame. Of course, I do not agree with that type of view. This type of view is nonsense. We Jews are supposed to enter the world and uphold the Torah and its values amidst the turbulence of the world. On the left we have the Jewish Agenda which speaks about how we Jews should never use force, too. If you don't use force, how are you going to maintain a government and law and order? It is very difficult being a ruler. It is more difficult in the moral sphere than being a victim.
In life sometimes you have to use force. Every parent knows this. Every parent knows that sometimes you must use pain in order to put your child on the right path. I am not talking about beating here because you know there is physical and mental pain. There are many parents who would never think of spanking their children, but they give them pain. They give them mental pain. They use sarcasm on them. They take away their privileges. They put them in their room, etc. All this causes pain. It may not be physical pain, but sometimes mental pain is worse than physical pain. A parent who uses constant sarcasm on their children destroys their children, destroys their confidence, their dignity, and many times that is worse than if they just spanked them. We all know that we sometimes we have to inflict pain to have people go in the correct path. It is a very difficult problem. It is a problem that we have to learn how to use with wisdom and understanding.
We Jews especially in the United States many times cannot understand Israel's problems because what is good for the Jews in the United States is not necessarily good for the Jews in Israel. We Jews in the United States must adopt a certain pose. We are Jacob. We are not Yisroel in order to win the favor of the ruling authorities. And remember if Pat Robertson would be elected president of the United States, America would be a different America even if the Constitution was not changed. In the 1930's and 1940fs Jews could not get jobs as engineers, could not work in banks, Jewish doctors could only work in Jewish hospitals. The Constitution has not been changed since then. What changed was the climate, the attitude of the people. That could change here, too, and we Jews know that. Therefore, we have a Bnai Brith, an Anti Defamation League, American Jewish Congress, a Community Relations Council. We know that we support candidates, both republican and democrat, in order to maintain a position of favor among the people of the United States so that our position should be secure. Sometimes Israel must do certain things in order to preserve their government, in order to preserve the state, itself, and these may come into conflict with the best interests of the Jews in America.
We have to understand that sometimes force is necessary. We Jews have always oscillated between feelings of complete powerfulness and complete powerlessness. If you are completely powerful, too, no one will challenge you and then you do not have to use force either, but this is unrealistic. We are not powerless and we are not completely powerful in Israel. We have the position of a regular government there.
I am reminded of the story they tell of two Jews who were put before a firing squad. The officer in charge of the firing squad came to them and
offered them a cigarette. One of the Jews looked at the officer and spit in his face and said, "I don't want your cigarettes. You're no good. You're committing injustice." He continued to scream and shout at him. The other Jew looked at him and said, "Quiet, quiet. Don't make trouble." Here they are in the worst trouble of all. What difference did it make? This is the attitude of the powerless Jew. Don't make trouble. Don't stir up the goyim. Always be a goody, goody.
On the other hand, you have the story of the Syrians about ready to attack Israel and they sent a patrol out that encountered one Israeli soldier and he decimated the group and only one survivor returned. He reported he found one Israeli. The officer in charge said, "Well, we'll have to send another patrol to see if there are more soldiers there." Another patrol went out and again they were decimated and only one soldier straggled back. Just as the attack was about to start he said, "Stop, stop. Don't attack. There are two Israelis there." This, of course, is a fantasy. We are not supermen who, by our great powerfulness, can get people to do anything we want without force, and we are also not powerless in Israel. We have to understand that we have to use power in a moral and decent way, but sometimes you have to use power. You could not let 600,000 Arabs in Gaza riot. You could not let 800,000 on the West Bank riot. You cannot give them back to the P.L.O. otherwise Israel would be shelled, and there would be hundreds of terrorist incidents every day. It would destroy the state. It is a difficult situation. We do not believe, as the Neturkart, that Jews should stay powerless until the Messiah comes because otherwise we will become just like goyim, and, on the other hand, we do not believe we can use power wantonly. When we use power we must use it morally. Let us hope and pray that we will always do so.

In the Torah portion Vayechi we have two themes played out.  We have the
theme of the land of Israel and the theme of blessing.  Jacob
does not want to be buried in Egypt.  He wants to be buried in the land
of Israel.  He wants to buried in the land of Israel for two reasons, one
of which is that he wants to make sure that his children understand that
they have a different heritage than the Egyptians.  He wants them to understand
that they should not assimilate into the Egyptian culture.  He knew that
the Egyptian culture was very inviting.  After all, Joseph was now one
of its leaders exponents.  He was the viceroy of Egypt.  He knew that the
Jewish people needed a sign, a symbol that they should not assimilate into
Egyptian culture.  The truth of the matter is that the Jewish people probably
would have assimilated into the Egyptian culture if it were not for the
fact that when Joseph died a new Pharaoh arose who did not know Joseph
and enslaved the Jewish people.  Because the Jewish people were comfortable
in Egypt the rabbis say that except for the tribe of Levi all the other
tribes had even given up circumcision.  If it would not have been for the
Egyptian slavery, for the persecution, most Jews probably would have assimilated
and in a very short time there would not have been a Jewish nation left.
In fact, when the Jewish people left Egypt there were many of them that
were still worshipping idols.  This is similar to what has happened in
the Soviet Union.  If the anti-Semites would not have come to the fore
in the Soviet Union, if Stalin would not have started his anti-Jewish campaign,
it was probably sure that the Jewish people in Russia would have assimilated.
In the 20fs and 30fs the Jewish people in Russia were assimilating at a
horrendous rate.  It was the anti-Semitic measures of the Russians which
forced the Jewish people to re-examine their own identity.  Even today
there is an anti-Semitic movement arising in Russia called Pamyat which
espouses the same evil anti-Semitism of the 30fs, the same prodigals of Zions, the same black shirts, etc.

Jacob knew that he had to give the Jewish people a sign that they were different, that they had a special unique message still to bear to the world.  Secondly, Jacob wanted to make sure that he did not become an idol. He knew that because he was the father of the viceroy of Egypt he would be buried in the Valley of Kings, not in a huge pyramid but certainly he would be given an honorable burial, and he would be worshipped along with the other kings and important personages of Egypt, and he did not want that.  He wanted the Jewish people not to have their ideals mixed up with the ideals of the Egyptians.
Unfortunately, in our day we find many Jews do not understand this.  There
are many Jews in the entertainment world, the political world, the literary
world who have affected all sorts of idolatrous cults around them that
are not Jewish and do not reflect Jewish values.  He did not want his name
associated with a cultic practice which does not reflect Jewish values.
Jacob, at his death, called together his children and he also called his
two grandchildren and he blessed them.  The question could be asked, what
type of a blessing did he bless them with? We know that in Hebrew the
word "blessing" has many meanings.  It means not only to bless but to congratulate,
to thank, to appreciate, to give praise.  It also can mean to curse.  If
we look at the blessing that Jacob gave to his first three sons we can
see that they look more like curses than blessings.  He told Reuven that
he was unstable as water, and that although he was firstborn and should
have been entitled to the priesthood and the leadership and a double portion
of the property, he received none of these things.  And Shimon and Levi,
the next two sons, were called brethren of violence.  The weapons of violence
were their kinship.  "Let my soul not come into their counsel.  Unto their
assembly let not my glory be united.  Cursed be their anger for it was
fierce.  I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel."  This

does not sound like a blessing at all.  What’s more, when he came to bless his grandchildren he crossed his hands.  He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, the younger, and his left hand on the head of Menasha, the elder.  Why should this be so?  What difference did it make how he blessed his two grandchildren?  After all, they were not afflicted with the disease of jealousy as his own children were.  What difference did it make if he put the right hand on Menasha and the left hand on Ephraim?  It is interesting to note, then, that when we are dealing with blessing that blessing in Hebrew does not have the connotation in Hebrew that it has in English, that a blessing in order to be a true blessing in Hebrew is more than just good wishes for a person.  A blessing has to do with allowing a person to reach his potential, with allowing a person to understand who he is and what he is so that he can fulfill himself in the proper way.  Jacob's blessing of Shimon, Reuven, and Levi were in effect really blessings because they allowed Reuven, Shimon, and Levi to understand who they were so they could take those qualities that they had, and even though these qualities could be used for evil they could also be used for good if they understood what these qualities were.  We know that many times people go to rebbes for blessings, and we all know that in Judaism the Chassidic movement sprang up around special charismatic figures called rebbes or tzadeekeem, who had a certain type of capacity.  The capacity they had was insight into individuals which allowed individuals to find themselves and to elevate those qualities they had for good.  It was not just the illiterate and untutored who became followers of the rebbe.  They were many very learned people who became followers of the rebbe because they realized how the rebbe helped them find themselves and know themselves so that they could become better people.

I am reminded of the story they tell about a doctor who moved into a town of Chassidim.  He went up to the rebbe and he asked the rebbe to give him a blessing.  The rebbe said, "How can I give you a blessing?  If I give you a blessing that you should be successful that means that Chassidim are going to get sick."  The doctor said, "But, rebbe, I need a blessing." The rebbe said he would and said, "I bless that none of your patients should die."  Blessings, of course, are sometimes two-edged swords because what is a blessing for one person could be a curse for another.  We all know we are in the midst of a football season and in one town when they bless the team that means that team is going to win but the team in the next town is going to lose if they are playing each other.  So many times a blessing for one person is a curse for another.  If you bless a merchant who deals in rain goods it may be a blessing for him when it rains, but that merchant who deals in bathing suits and sun material is not going to consider it a blessing for him.  It will be a curse for him.  A blessing means more than just good wishes or hopes for success.  Blessing means insight into a person's character.  We are all born with different types of character.  Just as some are born tall and short and skinny and fat, some with musical talent and some with athletic talent, so each of us are born with different personality traits.  We are born with different types of souls.  Some people are born with very sensitive souls and some are not.  I remember I was once in yeshiva and I was there with a bunch of boys, and they were not juvenile delinquents and never got in trouble with the law and were not on dope or things like that, but in my class there were some boys who really were not very nice.  I once went up to my rabbi and asked, "How come we have boys in our class that are not so nice?  After all, I thought that Torah was supposed to develop a person and make a person a good person."  The rebbe looked at me and said, "Listen, if these boys would not have learned Torah, they would have been juvenile delinquents.

You would have seen how bad they were."  Torah can only take an individual
and develop him so he is a reasonably honorable person, that he supports
his family, that he does not steal, he does not get in trouble with the
law, but it cannot make every person into a Tzadik, into a righteous individual.
People who are born with small souls can develop them, but they cannot
be the sensitive, compassionate person that Tzadikim can become.  That
is why in the Chassidic movement they sought a rebbe who had these traits,
who would help them develop their own souls so they could reach their potential,
so that they would be honorable people who would support their families
and who would be good members of the community and who would be law abiding
citizens.  To be extra sensitive human beings who are especially attuned
to the needs of others is a very difficult procedure which is really reserved
for the few, for those who were born with that type of soul.
When Jacob blessed his children he blessed them because he told them who
they were.  Shimon and Levi were violent people.  Look what they had done
to the city of Schem.  Levi persisted to be a violent people.  Levites
in Moshe's time were violent, too.  Moshe, himself, was violent.  When
Moshe came across an Egyptian beating a Jew he smote the Egyptian and killed
him.  Later on when he went to Midian and he found that the daughters of
Jethro were being mistreated by the shepherds he chased them away and brought
water for the sheep of Jethro’s daughters.  Moshe was violent, too, but
he was violent in a positive way, not a negative way, in a self-defense
way, in helping the poor and the helpless and the downtrodden.  He had
not really changed the traits that he was born with but he redirected them
to good ends, just as people who say, "When you argue with me you are stubborn
but I am firm." Of course, we all know that when it comes to traits they
can be used for good or bad.  Shimon and Levi were scattered among Israel
because Jacob did not want to have a fanatic group together, but Levi took
his trait and turned it into a wonderful trait.  They became the teachers
and leaders of Israel.  When the Jewish people left Egypt it was the Levits
who were their leaders.  Moshe was a Levite, Aaron was a Levite, Miriam
was a Levite.  Shimon did not have as good luck.  Shimon did not turn his
traits to good.  We learn when the Jewish people were about ready to enter
the land of Israel the prince of the tribe of Shimon consorted with a Midianite
woman in an idolatrous, licentious rite in which many people were consumed
by a plague.  Shimon used his fanatical ways in a bad way instead of in
a good way.  When it comes to being a blessing we must not just concerned
with good wishes, but when we bless a person we must be able to let that
person understand something more about themselves so that they will be
able to praise others and congratulate others and appreciate others so
that they will be able to develop their soul to be that type of person
they can be.  This blessing may not turn him into a Tzadik but can turn
him into an honorable person who, with these wonderful traits, can produce
wonderful deeds which will perpetuate the Jewish heritage.  In Judaism
we are not concerned so much with how we are buried as with how we live.
It is true that it is preferable to be buried in the land of Israel, but
the important thing is not burial in Israel if we did not lead Jewish lives
in this life.  What we are supposed to do is develop those characteristics
which we do have and make them a blessing.  Even though some of us may
be born with character traits which can be very negative, we can always
turn these character traits, these so-called deficiencies, into pluses and
we can turn them into blessings for all mankind.
I am reminded of the story they tell of a little old lady who got on an
El Al plane to go to Israel.  She had one of those animal cages with her
in which she had a dog.  It was sitting on the seat next to her.  The stewardess
came over and said, "Madam, you cannot keep the dog here.  You have to put the dog in the luggage compartment."  The woman said, "But I want to keep the dog by me."  The stewardess said it was impossible so the old lady relented and gave up the dog, and the stewardess put the dog in the luggage compartment.  When they came to Israel as they unloaded the luggage compartment the handlers noticed that the dog had died.  They did not know what to do.  They did not want to disappoint this little old lady.  They quickly scoured all over Israel and found a dog the same color and same size and same breed.  They presented it to the woman.  She said it was not her dog.  The baggage handlers wanted to know how she knew.  She said her dog was dead and she was just bringing him to be buried in Israel. When it comes to Judaism there are many people who say they admire Judaism but all they really want to do is bury it.  They want to write a check, but they do not want to deliver it themselves.  They say they admire Torah but then they do not give their children and Jewish education.  They say they admire Jewish values but then they act dishonestly in business, or they intermarry and do not raise their children as Jews at all.  We know that in Judaism we must be a blessing, and how do we be a blessing?  By knowing who we are and by turning our so-called negative traits into positive accomplishments like the tribe of Levi did.  In that way we can truly be a blessing to all mankind.