This week’s Torah portion contains a powerful teaching about what it means to go through hard times, and how we survive.

Jacob, the last of the patriarchs, is about to die.  And he has one last gift that he wants to give to his children.  God has told him that his descendent will be slaves in Egypt, and about how slavery will end.  “Don’t be afraid,” said God, “because I will go down with you and I will bring you up too.”

The rabbis said that Jacob wanted to reveal the end – the end of slavery perhaps, or maybe even a vision that extended to the end of time.  But God took away his vision, and he was not able to reveal it.

We read the Torah portion, and we sense Jacob’s pain.  And we know that the fate of the Jewish people is about to change.  We’ve reached the end of Genesis, and we know that next week, slavery will begin.

But for all of the foreboding, the Torah portion is filled with wonderful family moments.  Jacob meets Joseph’s sons for the first time – the grandchildren he never knew he had.  And he gives them a blessing, filled with powerful words of love and hope.

And finally, we see all of Jacob’s children gathered around his deathbed.  You can imagine Jacob, worried about his decedents, still remembering a bit of his vision, but not having the strength to reveal it.

And you imagine his children, sensing that he is fading, wanting to reassure him that they will be okay, that Judaism will go on until the end of time.  What do they say?  How do they find the words?

The Midrash says that the children needed to get Jacob’s attention.  So they called to him by his other name – Israel, the name that had been given to him in later life.  And for the first time in history, a group of Jews said the Shema. “Here, O Israel,” they said, “Adonai is our God.  Adonai is One.”

And at that moment, Jacob knew that his decedents would be okay, that his beliefs and his traditions would continue for all time.

The Book of Genesis leaves us in limbo.  The story of the patriarchs has ended, and slavery has not yet begun.  And perhaps, as 2023 ends, we too find ourselves in limbo.  The war in Israel is continuing.  There is antisemitism at home.  And we don’t know what the next election will bring.

But this week’s Torah portion gives us a powerful lesson.  In the end, our people survived because of the small things – because of the love of a grandfather, because people gathered around Jacob’s bedside to visit the sick, because all of little things Jews do.

And Netivot Shalom, one of the great Chassidic masters, reminds us that this week’s Torah portion is only a beginning.

In the next few weeks, we’ll read about the birth of Moses, the exodus, the crossing of the sea, and the revelation at Mt. Sinai – the greatest miracles that the world has ever seen. 

And after that, we’ll read about something even more important.  God tells us to build the Tabernacle – the prototype for the modern synagogue.

And that, says Netivot Shalom, is what kept the Jewish people alive.  As long as we have each other, as long as we have communities where people help each other and care for each other, the Jewish people will survive.

Times may seem dark.  And perhaps, that’s why we surround ourselves with symbols of light – the Shabbat candles, the Chanukah menorah, and the eternal light.  But Nachman of Breslov taught that all of those things revealed a secret:

The menorah and the eternal light bear witness to God’s presence in the world.  They remind us that only God can create light.  All we can do is to take one light and use it to light another.  And so, we find that everything is from God, the fire, and the light, and the oil, and the wicks – all of them are gifts from God.  But if we do not do our part, the world will be dark.  One candle will not light another.

This is the world that the Holy One wanted to create: a world that we would complete through our holiness down below.  This is the work of all of us, to kindle the light in each other’s souls.  This is the light that shines from shines from evening until morning, the light of the human soul.  And this is the light that reminds us that the Holy One dwells among us.  God could have lit the menorah by Himself.  But God wanted us to bring light to each other.

Perhaps, this was the end that Jacob wanted to reveal – a world where we all bring light to each other.  It won’t happen overnight.  But we build that world in our communities, everyday and every night.

As we begin 2024, may we continue bringing that light to each other.  And may Jacob’s vision come true.

Shabbat Shalom
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