Rabbi Neil Tow
This week’s Torah portion is Vayechi: Genesis 47:28 – 50:26
Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” — Vincent Van Gogh
Van Gogh’s observation reflects the way I tend to read Tanakh with an eye toward the small moments, the unique turns of phrase, and also what is unspoken. As we conclude our reading from Sefer Bereshit, the Book of Genesis, the stories of Joseph have unfolded through many such phenomena such as the giving of a cloak, an anonymous helper points the way, a freed official forgets Joseph, and more. All these together lead to the bittersweet conclusion in which Jacob’s family is reunited, Jacob dies, and we witness the last days of Egypt as a friendly haven to Jacob’s offspring. The Joseph stories though do not only point ahead toward the tragedies of enslavement. They also tell of an intrepid young man who makes a name for himself, and by rescuing Egypt during the famine, also succeeds in rescuing his own family and, in turn, ensures the future of the Jewish people.
One such small moment that occurs — that of Jacob ‘strengthening himself’ when Joseph visits him in his sick bed — is critical not only with the context of the story but also within the context of our troubled times. Joseph visits his father along with his sons Ephraim and Menasheh. When Jacob hears his son and grandsons are coming, “Jacob gathered his strength (vayitchazek) and sat up in the bed.”(Gen. 48:2) The word “vayitchazek” speaks to Jacob’s effort and determination to sit up in bed without any help. Our ancestors offer two major explanations for this significant effort. First, Jacob wants to acknowledge his son’s status as a leader in Egypt. Second, Jacob wishes his statement to come from a place of strength and clear mental competence.
It is meaningful to explore the significance of this moment as we conclude our reading from Genesis and say “Chazak, chazak, ve’nitchazek,” or “Strength, strength, and let us be strengthened.” It’s a tradition that borrows from the language of Jacob’s moment. This statement affirms our mission and asks for a renewal of fortitude for us to continue studying and teaching Torah and creating community to support this effort. Jacob’s example here reminds us to recruit all our physical and spiritual strength toward these goals.
However, unlike Jacob, who sits up in bed to see the next generation with his own eyes, we cannot know the future. We do know how precarious Jewish life has become around the world. We stand between the pain of the past and future for which we can prepare, strive, advocate and sacrifice but so many things occur beyond our knowledge and control.
What we say as we conclude each book of the Torah comes from another source in the Book of Samuel, in which our people are in as precarious a situation as we are. Joab, David’s general, sees the armies of Ammon and Aram on either side of him and tells his brother Abishai, “Chazak ve’nitchazak — Let us be strong and resolute for the sake of our people and the land.” (1 Samuel 10:12)
It is understandable to feel fear and uncertainty today. Just as Jacob deals with a painful past and Joab stands hemmed in on both sides by powerful enemies, it’s now time for us to stand with strength we may not have thought we had inside — strength we may have thought we would never have to muster before. And as Isaiah teaches, we do not stand alone, “Each one of us helps one another, saying to the other, Chazak! — Take courage!”
Rabbi Neil Tow is the rabbi of Congregation Sha’are Shalom in Leesburg, Virginia.
