Vayechi -Lchaim!!

The portion of Genesis that is read this week opens with the words vayechi yaakov,and Yaakov lived.The truth is though,just from knowing his “story lines”,it seems more like a Robinson Crusoe,survival narrative than a life story! The ongoing turbulence in his life ranging from the complexity of his marriage(s),his relationship with his parents,hatred from his sibling,the guilt associated with his deception,to Lavans betrayals,and finally the heartbreaking loss of Rachel the love of his life,coupled with the disappearance of Joseph the first child he had with her, must have tested his faith and pushed him to the brink emotionally. Here we are presented with the classic case of a man on the edge,hardly the Siddharta spiritual journey style narrative we might expect from the finale of the first section of our holiest book! The truth is however,that the intentional empahsis on his narrative, juxtaposed as it is to the book of Shemot,which tells his childrens story, poignantly captures the essence of the Jewish experience,and the powerful envelope pushing legacy that jacob left to his children. Yaakov was aware that the seeming hiatus from a life frequently in crisis mode in lush egyptian suburbia,was temporary,and that the dark clouds of his childrens slavery loomed perilously on the horizon.His life is a reminder to them,to be fully aware of the true purpose of life.We are put here in this world not just to survive our difficulties,and then be content that we can exist,but rather to transcend our challenges and still figure out how to lead a life that matters! Jacob did not lead a charmed existence,but he had an amazing life because he raised the family that would become the Jewish people,forever associated with him till today,hence our name still remains” The children of Israel “! So Yaakov did do more than survive. He was teaching us that to be Jewish is to lead a vayechi driven life.In fact the Kabbalistic look at the hebrew spelling of the word chayim,leads us to this same realization.It has two yuds in the middle,which spells the name of G-d!This is a profound teaching.Jacobs prayer for his children of course,is the same as ours for our children,namely that they never feel even one moment of pain or sorrow in their lives.Our stopping at nothing to ensure they they have a happy and safe existence however is not where our role as parents and teachers end,but rather precisely where our most critical role must begin,enroute to instilling in them the value of leading meaningful lives. It significant that after all the years of slavery, instead of Moses leading the jewish people to a lush middle eastern vacation spot,some well earned R and R and some fun in the sun,he leads them instead through the desert to the foot of the mountain to hear the sacred voice from on high pressing them into service,from slavery to the freedom of living a higher G-d centered life,not only a transition from slavery to the comfort of freedom. Lchaim to Health,happiness,prosperity,and the chance to lead meaningful and g-d centered lives! Yossi