Vayechi: Inspiring our Children
And He Lived
This week’s Parsha describes Jacob’s passing and the events that transpired immediately before and after. Ironically, the Parsha’s name is Vayechi, which means and he lived. Is preparation for death aptly described as living? As we shall soon see, it depends on the kind of life one has lived.
Living after Death
In describing Jacob’s passing the Torah never uses the words and he died. From this the Talmud derives that Jacob never died, for as long as his children are alive, he lives on through them. To be sure, this only holds true when his children continue to walk in his footsteps.
True life is eternal. Truth is unchanging, unyielding and uncompromising. It withstands the test of time. Whereas falsehood withers and dies, truth lives on. As the Prophet says “G-d your Lord who is true, is G-d your Lord who is life.” Indeed, G-d is the source of life and he portions it out to all living creatures, each according to their measure.
Temporal or Eternal
It is our mission to sublimate our transient and finite life through revealing the divine, eternal nature of it. This is accomplished through inspiring our children. Through raising children and students who follow our lead long after we have passed on. In this way we can achieve a full measure of eternity while living the short duration of our life.
This becomes apparent only after one has passed on. Until Jacob passed on we never truly knew if Jacob’s life span was indeed Vayechi” – the true eternal life.
Reflection
What can we do to carry on the eternity of our forefather’s life? What can we do to ensure the same for ourselves?
Tags: education
