Hot answers tagged vayechi
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The following information is recorded on the Mechon Mamre website:
בתנ"כים שלנו יש גם סימני הפרשייות {פ} {ס} {ר} {ש} שהם מסמנים פרשה פתוחה, פרשה סתומה, סוף שורה בשירות מסויימות, ושורה ריקה (או שורות ריקות בסוף ספר).
My translation:
In our Tanakhs there are also [the following] disjunctive symbols: פ,
ס, ר, ש, which stand for ...
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A sampling of other explanations
It refers to Achiyah of Shiloh (as in Ben's answer), the prophet who announced to Yeravam that Hashem was giving him rulership over ten of the tribes. (Baal Haturim, first explanation)
A variation on this: Shiloh here stands in for the nearby city of Shechem, where the secession of the Ten Tribes took place. (Rashbam; ...
7
Midrash Hagadol (to Gen. 48:1) cites an opinion that Osnas, Yosef's wife, urged him to do so: "I have heard that anyone who receives a blessing from a tzaddik is as if he received it from the Divine Presence. Take your sons so that he can bless them!"
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From KolTorah.org
The Maharal commenting on Rashi, answers that
this was the way the people back then made Shevu’ot; the one swearing would place their hands under the other thigh of the person he is swearing to (as the Ibn Ezra points out in his commentary to Breishit 24:2 and confirmed by Da’at Mikra ad. loc.). Yaakov thought that if he did not do ...
5
Building on DoubleAA's first point, we find that with King David, when Shimi cursed him (II Sam. 16:5-8), David let it slide not only at the time (ibid. vv. 10-12), but even after he had been reinstated as king (ibid. 19:23-24). The Mishneh Lamelech (Parshas Derachim, derush 11) explains that David was of the opinion that during Avshalom's rebellion he had ...
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The Lubavitcher Rebbe answered here (and is translated here).
In order to understand this answer, he first quotes the relevant Gemara. The Gemara begins with a Mishna which (according to R' Meir) says that according to a verse both Yoreh [the early rains] and Malkosh [the late rains] fall during Nissan.
R' Nachman asked R' Yitzchak "How could the Mishna ...
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From the Prince by Machiavelli (I never thought I would reference Machiavelli on this site!)
A prince, therefore, being compelled knowingly to adopt the beast,
ought to choose the fox and the lion; because the lion cannot defend
himself against snares and the fox cannot defend himself against
wolves. Therefore, it is necessary to be a fox to ...
4
Mizrachi explains that even though a fox is considered the lowest of the animals, when you need it bow down to it, the same here, Yaakov bowed down to Yosef not because he was the King, only because he needed him and therefore bowed down to him.
Sifsei Chachomim says that there is a month when the fox is King.
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The Torah Temima on Bereshit 49:33 goes through the gemara and explains. The gemara (Ta'anit 5b) goes through a list of instances where R Nachman would ask R Yitzchak a question and R Yitzchak would give an answer he heard from R Yochanan. In this specific part, R Nachman asked for a dvar torah from R Yitzchak while at a meal. R Yitchak answered that R ...
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In the "Parshat HaShavua Chat", I gave Abarbanel's explanation of what R' Yochanan meant when he said that Yaakov did not die. The explanation is that Yaakov, in that the nation of Israel is called by his name still today, did not die, but lives on; i.e. his name lives on.
Abarbanel there also gives an explanation for the dialogue in the gemara (which he ...
3
This is discussed by R' Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg in Hak'sav V'hakabbala.
Originally, he suggests, as @Alex did in the comments, that it was permitted since Yaakov had already introduced them at his fathers in starting with "קברו אותי אל אבותי".
However, because of other cases where we find this rule violated (namely, Bereshis 50:24 and 25:4), he offers the ...
3
The Lubavitcher Rabbi in the Sicha of Shabbos Balak 14 Tamuz 5750 explains that there are disputing Midrashim as to whether Yosef had Arichus Yamim (an extended life) or a shortened life. Midrash Mishlai 16 says בא ולמד מיוסף הצדיק, שמתוך שעמד ונתחזק בכבוד אביו במצרים זכה לעטרת שיבה, however Pirkai D'Rav Eliezer 39 says נתקצרו מחייו של יוסף י' שנים בגלל י' ...
3
Netziv says that Yosef felt he had to make the second dream happen, so when he first appeared in the royal chariot, Yaakov assumed it was Pharaoh and bowed down. (Yes I know it's weird.)
A very different angle is one suggested by Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom, that all the characters here misunderstood the dream. It wasn't about Yosef himself; it's that the ...
3
According to Abarbanel, Yosef placed Menashe on Yaakov's right because:
להיותו הבכור והיד הימין היא גדולת הכח מהשמאלית ולכן היד הימין היא העקר בפעולות האדם
Since he [Menashe] was the firstborn, and the right hand is stronger than the left, therefore the right hand is the main one in all the actions of a man.
In other words, the blessing would be ...
3
The Maskil LeDavid (47:28) discusses how we can know it is a new Parsha. He says that verse 47:27 already says "And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt". If 47:28 was a continuation of the same Parsha, it would have been enough to just start the next verse with "וַיְהִי יְמֵי-יַעֲקֹב, שְׁנֵי חַיָּיו--שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים, וְאַרְבָּעִים וּמְאַת שָׁנָה.", since we ...
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Besides the other answers given here, I would add the following (which I develop at greater length here):
The ketiv of the word is שילה, Sheilah, who was Yehuda's youngest son. The entire pasuk is a coded reference to the incident with Yehuda and Tamar. Recall that he gave Tamar his staff, his signet ring, and his identifying cord, as surety for payment. ...
2
In the context of Rivka, Sforno explains: I'm asking for "kindness" of you to watch your little girl leave home; but the "truth" is we all know this is what's best for her.
In the case of burial it's a different dynamic: true kindness.
(Or as my father likes to quote Yogi Bera, "you should go to other people's funerals so they'll go to yours.")
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Lekutei Anshei Chain (Mikroes Gedolos Rav Peninim) says the repeat of his name is to make known that Yosef died with a shem tov, with the name Yosef even though he was king for 80 years, his Hebrew name did not leave him or become removed from him and he didn't want to be known by the name Pharoah gave him, Tzofnas Panei'ach. As chazal learn in parshas ...
1
The cunning nature of the fox is already referred to by Perek Shiroh.
Rav Chaim Kanievsky’s shlit”o commentary on Perek Shiroh (link above) refers to the Mechilta in Beshalach on pages 67 and 68. The Mechilta says that the kingdoms were compared to animals. Egypt was a very low kingdom and took prominence only for the honour of Israel. It was compared to ...
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