Parshas Vayechi 5786: The Feather and the Glass

                                                             Torah Parallels 

Parshas Vayechi 

לעילוי נשמת האדא בת מרדכי 

 

The Feather and the Glass 

The passuk (49:1) describes that Yaakov gathered his sons and told them that he wanted to prophetically share what will happen b’acharis hayamim (in the End of Days). However, the next number of passukim continue with Birkas Yaakov, the berachos that Yaakov gave to each of the shevatim. Rashi explains that while Yaakov wanted to reveal the future to them, the shechina left him and he began to say other things. From the plain reading in Rashi it almost seems like the berachos were an “accident”. Were the berachos a spontaneous shift once the shechina left or is there a connection between the berachos and the revealing of acharis hayamim itself?  

This Rashi is actually quoting the Gemara Pesachim 56a, which describes the scene with a little more detail. When Yaakov noticed that the shechina left him, he was concerned that one of his sons was unfit. After all, Avraham had Yishmael, Yitzchak had Eisav, and now Yaakov was concerned that he too had a bad apple which was causing the shechina to depart. To counter this, the shevatim declared in unison, “Shema Yisroel Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad”. In response, Yaakov said, “Baruch Shem Kavod Malchuso L’olam Va’ed”. The context of the Gemara is discussing whether or not we should say “Baruch Shem...” when reciting Shema. On the one hand, it does not explicitly appear in Chumash. On the other hand, Yaakov said it in affirmation to the 12 shevatim, the completeness of his family, reciting Shema, so it is clearly a fundamental statement. The Gemara concludes that while it should be said, it should be recited quietly, as we do today. What is the connection between the start of the Birkas Yaakov and the “Baruch Shem Kavod....” that we say now multiple times a day with Shema? 

As Yaakov gives the berachos tailored to each of the shevatim, it seems on the surface that some are not receiving berachos at all, but rather mussar (rebuke). However, that wasn’t the case. Rashi (49:28) comments that after all the berachos, the passuk reiterates “...vayevarech osam” (and he blessed them), which comes to teach that Yaakov gave berachos to all of the shevatim, even to the ones that he more expressly gave mussar. 

Yaakov didn’t just give each of the shevatim a general beracha, rather each got a personalized beracha focused on each one’s particular strength. Rashi (49:28) points out that Yaakov actually gave two tiers of berachos. He gave each one a beracha to have the general strength of all the shevatim combined, as well as a focus on each one to lean into their individual strengths.  

We indeed learn a tremendous amount from Birkas Yaakov. We learn about the strength of each shevet, the importance of individualized chinuch and chanoch l’naar al pi darko, the extreme sensitivity and deliberateness of when and when not to give rebuke (see Rashi Devarim 1;3), and so much more. Altogether, for something which Rashi referred to as “devarim acheirim”, the Birkas Yaakov are full of rich detail, prophecy, lessons, and fundamentals. Was this all really a mere shift of topic?  

Perhaps we could explain as follows. The “Acharis Hayamim” which we are heading to is not really a destination, it is an inevitability. While knowing the ending is helpful in navigating the way to the destination, it is not the most important. The more important element is understanding the tools in your tool kit, your faults and strengths, and what it will take to get there. The “devarim acheirim” that Yaakov shifted to in giving the berachos was not a random other topic as a fallback plan once the shechina left, it was the recognition that what the Shevatim needed to hear heading into galus (exile) was not what would happen at the end, but rather what it would take to get there. 

With this framing we could now understand the three fundamental layers that Yaakov was introducing to the shevatim as the key tools to hold to be able to emerge from galus. First, never abandon Hashem. We are banim la’makom (Avos 3:14). In galus it may look like we are slaves, so we must bookend each day with a declaration that “Shema Yisroel.... and Baruch Shem...”. Second, we are all blessed with the core components of what makes each of us individually strong. In other words, while we are even stronger together, each person has the DNA himself of B’nei Yisroel and what it takes to succeed. Third, each individual has their own superpower strength that needs to be identified but is guaranteed that it holds the power for the individual to succeed. Each person’s path through galus and life challenges is different, and each person needs a different toolkit to make it through. Comparing what one sees as a lesser tool that one has relative to someone else would be like a snorkeler looking at his snorkel and tube and wondering why he doesn’t have a firefighter suit. It has nothing to do with the intensity of the challenge; they are just categorically different. This was perhaps the overall message that Yaakov was conveying to his sons, and indeed very much related to Acharis Hayamim – it is the way we get there. 

This concept comes with a fundamental challenge that many of us face each day. Namely, reconciling things that seem contradictory. How could we be slaves if we are the sons of the King? How could we succeed in growth when opposing forces are constantly trying to push us down? How could we see the power of our inner ability when successes seem so small?  

There is a fascinating psychological experiment which demonstrates the evolution of deductive reasoning from child to adult. It goes like this (if you have little kids at home, give it try). The child is told that he’ll be given a fact and a scenario and will then be asked a question. The first fact is that a hammer will break a glass. The first scenario is that Moshe takes a hammer and hits a glass. The question is: What happens to the glass? The kid will likely answer correctly, “The glass will break”. If you ask why, he’ll respond, “Because a hammer is stronger than glass”. The child is that presented with a second fact and scenario. The second fact is that imagine you have a feather that will break glass. The second scenario is that Moshe takes a feather and hits a glass. The question is: What happens to the glass? The kid will likely answer, “Nothing.” If you ask why, he’ll respond, “Because a feather is so light, it can’t break a glass”. What seems like a simple logic flow and explicit telling of what will happen, it is still hard for the child (who may even live in his own imaginary world a lot of the day) to reconcile what seems like a hard fact with what appears to be a hypothetical, even if you are explicitly saying that it isn’t hypothetical: this feather will break a glass!  

This is Birkas Yaakov. Yaakov was telling the shevatim that B’nei Yisroel will spend many more years in galus than not; we will live through tragedies, witness atrocities, and ride waves up and down bouncing around the world with a variety of enemies on top of regular life challenges. However, we must never forget that we have the tools to endure. We are Banim LaMakom, part of the shevatim, and have our unique individualism. In aggregate, each of us is a feather that could break glass. If we keep this in mind, then we will be ready for Acharis Hayamim.