Life and death at the tip of Genesis

Jewish academic and Hebrew scholar Irene Lancaster offers her insights into the ultimate chapters of Genesis.

It is the turn of the 12 months in many alternative ways. Days get longer. Nights get shorter. And the weather is freezing!

And this can also be the time of 12 months when the Jewish community finishes reading the Book of Genesis in shul and turns to Exodus. 

Despite the colder-than-ever weather, snowdrops are coming through, a harbinger of spring despite the icy frosts. And it’s right now between Chanukah and Tu B’Shvat (New Year for Trees) that a lot of us break the back of the home clear-out in preparation for Pesach cleansing.

I’ll come back to this subject later but, within the meantime, what’s the last chapter of Genesis actually about?

It’s called ‘Va-Yechi’: And Jacob lived ….’. For, even though it is about death, it’s also about life. Jacob lived until the age of 147 and asked Joseph to bury him in Israel. But it’s Jacob’s life and heritage that is widely known on this final section of Genesis (Genesis 47:28-50:26).

First, Jacob blesses Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Menashe, the younger one first, as had been the case with Jacob himself along with his own father. 

Later, Ephraim will grow to be the generic name for the Northern Kingdom after the split when Solomon dies. Ephraim shall be conquered in 722 BCC by the Assyrians and dispersed into the Assyrian Empire. Menashe’s territory spans either side of the Jordan, but in future they aren’t mentioned much in any respect.

In chapter 49, Jacob then turns to his own sons. Reuben, the first-born, is ‘unstable as water’, and subsequently not cut out for leadership. 

Shimon and Levi had jointly used ‘weapons of violence’ to stealthily wreak vengeance on Shechem for the rape of their sister Dinah (Genesis 34). 

They were also behind the sale of their brother Joseph (Genesis 37 and 43). 

In Moses’ later blessings of the tribes before his own death (Deuteronomy 33:17) he states of Shimon and Levi that ‘at their whim they maimed an ox.’ This ‘ox’ is Joseph, their brother. 

As a result, Shimon and Levi shall be ‘dispersed amongst Israel.’ This signifies that they don’t acquire their very own territory. Simon lives in a component of Judah, and the tribe of Levi is split among the many other tribes, being dedicated to learning and, later, Temple service. It is essential to keep in mind that priesthood doesn’t imply ethical behaviour. That is the realm of the prophets. 

The fourth son, Judah, lives as much as his name and is ‘acknowledged’ by his brothers, regardless that he can also be removed from blameless. However, Judah ‘acknowledges’ his wrongdoing and is subsequently worthy of leadership. Judah also lends his name to the term for ‘Jew’. Jews are presupposed to lead by example and acknowledge after they are unsuitable. 

Jacob likens Judah to each aspect of the lion, from cub to maturity, encompassing the courage of youth and the maturity of old age. From Judah stem David and Solomon, who’re the topics of the accompanying Haftorah, 1 Kings 2:1-12. Here the dying David hands over the monarchy to Solomon, who will later go on to construct the First Temple and unite the country for a short while. 

These 4 were the youngsters of Leah. Jacob now turns to 2 children of her handmaiden, Zilpah. He blesses the younger, Zebulon, before Issachar. This is for the very vital reason that Zebulon enables Issacher’s Torah learning and teaching by engaging in trade at sea. Zebulon’s profits pay for Torah teaching and learning. As it says in Pirke Avot (Ethics of the Fathers 3:17): ‘If there isn’t any flour, there isn’t any Torah.’ 

This seminal Tirah teaching was taken literally within the lifetime of Rambam, Moses Maimonides (1135/8-1204), who was financially supported by his seafaring brother, David, until the latter was drowned in a shipwreck. From then on Rambam became the court doctor to the Caliph of Fustat (Old Cairo). 

After these six children of Leah and Zilpah, Jacob next turns to Dan, son of Bilhah, handmaiden to Rivka. Dan is likened to a serpent and a viper. His attributes are seen in his descendant, Samson, who defeated the Philistines single-handedly. Later the snake epithets were used to explain various daring battles within the history of recent Israel.

Zilpah’s sons, Gad and Asher, each mean ‘joyful’ and these two tribes willingly support the opposite tribes, while Naftali, Bilhah’s younger son, is ‘a hind let out’. He is nimble, swift and alert, and is especially helpful to Deborah in her war against Sisera (Judges 4:4-5:30) and as messenger and go-between for the opposite tribes. 

Jacob turns to his youngest two, the sons of Rachel, his favourite wife. Joseph is each charming and able, a wonderful administrator and customarily admired. However, he attracts envy and is subsequently not chosen to assume the mantle of Jacob. In the tip it’s Judah who was considered a more fitting leader for the Jewish people, regardless that Joseph was a zaddik, a righteous man.

Finally, Benjamin is ‘a predatory wolf’ whose descendants shall be warriors. Examples are King Saul and, in exile, Queen Esther of Persia, together together with her kinsman, Mordechai. Esther even has a Megillah reading named after her at Purim, and her life demonstrates how Jews can cope with the iniquities of diaspora living. 

With the death of Jacob, who’s buried outside of Egypt, and of Joseph himself, we now turn to the Book of Exodus.

Turning to the current day right now of 12 months, the news is grim. More Jews have been massacred – this time in the course of the Chanukah summer celebrations of Bondi Beach in Sydney. The murdered rabbi was related to people here in Manchester. These included members of Heaton Park Shul, site of the Yom Kippur massacre, in addition to to one in every of the rabbis and members of our own Shul, a few mile away from Heaton Park Shul. 

At the identical time, the Jews of Prestwich, half a mile the opposite way, were threatened with the greatest-ever terrorist attack on British soil. This was foiled. Simply being Jewish, descendants of Judah, causes these murderous schemes.

But as I used to be clearing out the home in preparation for Pesach cleansing, I got here across a small challah cover, embroidered by one in every of my children after they were small. I assumed that at the correct time this could be a beautiful gift for Ahava, my youngest grandchild, who turned eighteen months on January 4th. She began nursery school in Israel on January 1st.

Imagine my joy subsequently once I was just sent a photograph of a small challah, kneaded by Ahava for her first lesson at Israeli nursery school. 

She ate this primary challah she made herself for Shabbat meal, together with her proud Mum and Dad sitting next to her.

To survive on this increasingly hostile age, when not a couple of pundits are stating publicly that it’s now open house on Jews, what is required greater than anything is Jewish education, more Jewish educators, more willingness to fight on all fronts if needed, and more love for the State of Israel.

As immigration to the Jewish State increases, more people than ever are landing each day at Ben Gurion airport from the USA, Canada, Australia, France and the UK. Israel’s population has now reached well over 10 million, with fertility high amongst all sectors. 

A rustic which teaches challah baking as its first lesson for toddlers is the very best preparation for Jewish life, and for flourishing and thriving as a people. 

However welcome we predict we could also be in diaspora, Jews should always remember the primary words of Exodus through which ‘there arose a latest king over Egypt who knew not Joseph.’ And this factor led to the eventual Exodus out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.