Vayechi

📜 The Story

This is the last parsha in the Book of Genesis. Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years, close to his son Joseph. When he felt he was going to die soon, he called Joseph and made him promise not to bury him in Egypt. He wanted to be buried in Canaan, in the Cave of Machpelah, with Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Leah.

Jacob gathered all his sons and gave each one his own blessing. The blessings hinted at the future of the tribe that would come from each son. He also blessed Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. That is where parents today get the blessing 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.' Jacob crossed his hands on purpose. He put his right hand on Ephraim, the younger one, and his left hand on Manasseh, the older one, because he knew Ephraim would become the greater of the two.

In his blessing to Judah, Jacob said, 'The scepter will not leave Judah.' This meant the kings of Israel would come from Judah's tribe. Jacob died at one hundred forty-seven, and his sons did what he asked. The Egyptians embalmed his body, and a huge procession carried him to Canaan, where he was buried in the Cave of Machpelah.

After Jacob died, the brothers were afraid Joseph would now take revenge for what they had done to him. But Joseph calmed them down. He said, 'You meant to hurt me, but God meant it for good.' Even when hard things happen, God is guiding everything toward good in the end. Joseph went on taking care of his whole family in Egypt.

At the end of the parsha, Joseph grew old. Before he died, he made his brothers promise that when God took the Israelites out of Egypt, they would bring his bones with them to the Land of Israel. Joseph died at one hundred ten. His body stayed in Egypt until the Exodus. This is the end of Genesis, the book about the forefathers. The next book, Exodus, tells what happened to their children in Egypt.