Questions on Parshas Vayechi to think about and discuss:

1. (48:5) Yakov blesses Yosef two sons, Efrayim and Menashe, that they will be like Reuven and Shimon, namely counted as part of the twelve shevotim. How can this be when Yakov himself already had twelve shevotim?
2. (48:20) Yakov says that the Jews will bless their sons to be like Efrayim and Menashe. Why do we bless our children to be like them more than any of the other shevotim?
3. What date in the year did Yakov die on?
4. Yosef was in charge of organising Yakov’s burial. How was he rewarded?
5. Who was the first person who was ill before he died?
6. Why was Yakov’s burial slightly delayed?
7. Why did Paro agree to let Yakov be buried outside of Mitzrayim?
8. In Gematria there is the idea of being able to be one out, know as “adding the kollel”. Where is there a source for this in Parshas Vayechi and what is the idea of adding one?
9. The Ramban has a principle of מעשה אבות סימן לבנים. How is this seen in Yakovs descent to Mitzrayim?
10. What did Yakov make Yosef swear to bury him in Eretz Yisroel as surely Yosef was a trustworthy individual who kept his word?
11. Why does the Torah need to tell us the episode of Yakov switching hands and Yosef protesting? Why did he not bentch each of them separately to prevent problems? Why the need to bentch them together with one brocho?
12. When we bencth our children, the boys we bentch to be like Ephrayim and Menashe and the girls we bentch to be like the Emohois. Why do we not bentch the boys to be like the Avos paralleling to what we say to the girls?
13. How could Yakov again favour Yosef by giving him an extra portion of land more that the brothers something that might again cause jealousy (that resulted in Yosef being sold)?
14. In the number of shevotim we always count twelve. However, sometimes it is the twelve sons of Yakov and sometimes we take out Levi and Yosef and replace them with Menashe and Ephrayim. What dictates when which of these are included?
15. The tribe of Levi sometimes not being included in the twelve shevotim is this something positive or negative?
16. Parshas Vayechi is the last parsha in Sefer Bereishis and we end it by saying חזק חזק ונתחזק. What does this mean? Why do it at the end of each of the five Chumoshim? Why not say it at the end of every single sedra or only at the end of the five chumoshim?
17. In the Sefer Torah there are columns. Usually there is no rule of what words they start with. However, there are six exceptions on of which appears in Parshas Vayechi. What are they and what lies behind them?
18. Why did Yakov call all his sons together and only bless his children before he died?
19. Why did the Malchus go to Yehuda?
20. In the blessing to Yehuda the words contain all the letters of the Aleph-Beis with the exception of one. Which one is missing and why?
21. Rashi (49:33) brings that Yakov did not die. Why does this mean as he certainly physically died?
22. How many days did the whole of Egypt mourn Yakov? Why and what is the significance of this number?

Ideas for answers on the general parsha:

1. You will notice that when the twelve shevotim are counted, it is done in one of two ways. Either it counts the twelve shevotim as the twelve sons of Yakov. A second way is where Yosef and Levi are not counted and instead Efrayim and Menashe are. An example of this in by the Degolim, the camps of the Jews in the desert.
2. We are Jews living in exile amongst the negative influences of the other nations. Efrayim and Menashe were the first Jews born in exile, in Mitzrayim, and they turned out strong in their Jewish faith. We therefore want to bless our children to turn out the same finding ourselves also in exile.
3. The Gemora (Rosh Hashana 10b) brings two opinions when Avrohom and Yakov died – either in Nissan or in Tishrei. The Bnei Yisoscher brings that (according to the opinion in Tishrei) it was on the 15^th of Tishrei, the first day of Sukkos.
4. The Mishna in Sota (1:9) brings about the principle, Midda Keneged Midda. On the good side where the reward is more, it brings that the reward for Yosef burying Yakov was that Moshe, the leader of the generation, was involved in starting the process of his burial.
5. The Gemora (Bova Metzia 87a) brings that Yakov was the first one do be ill in the world and Tosfas (Bova Basra 16b) adds this means to die from an illness. The Pirkei DeReb Eliezer (Chapter 52) brings that before this people would just sneeze and then die until Yakov davened to became ill and thereby know he was about to die and have time to leave his last blessings and will to his descendents.
6. The Gemora (Sora 13a) brings how Esav blocked the burial by claiming that the last remaining burial space in Meoras Hamachpela was his since Yitzchok had two sons and Yakov had given his burial plot to Leah leaving the last one for Esav. Naftoli was sent to get the signed document that Esav had sold his plot to Esav. Meantime, Chushim Ben Don, was deaf and was annoyed at all the delay and he struck Esav and killed him, allowing the proceedings to continue.
7. Rashi (50:6) brings that it was only because Paro was scared that Yosef would break his promise to him not to reveal that he knew more than Paro that Paro allowed him. Otherwise, Paro would have wanted to have Yakov buried in Mitzrayim to become a shrine. (see Rashi 47:29)
8. The Baal Haturim (48:5) brings that Yakov blesses Yosef’s two sons, Ephrayim and Menashe, to be like Reuven and Shimon, his own sons. He points out that the gematria of each of these two sons is the same. However, they are one out: ראובן שמעון=725 while מנשה אפרים=726. Why should you be allowed one out? Kollel means “inclusive” it is like the whole thing together as one while the gematria itself is like the details that go into making everything. The example is that a table is made out of parts: four legs and a top. However, you can describe it as a kollel, a one word that includes all the rest, i.e. a table.
9. The Ramban in his introduction to Parshas Vayechi explains that Yakov going down to Mitzrayim alludes to our exile…
10. The Ramban (47:31) says that it was not done because he doubted Yosef. Rather it was done to impress upon Paro the seriousness of the matter. Moreover, see Rashi (50:6) that in actuality it was only because of this oath that Paro did let him go!
15. Rashi (49:7) seems to imply that it was something negative, to separate him from Shimon. However, usually we see Levi being excluded due to their high spiritual level being the ones chosen to serve in the Beis Hamikdosh.
17. The Baal Haturim (49:8) bring that the six places have the siman of בי”ה שמו, the first being Bereishis, the second in here in Parshas Vayechi with Yehuda.
19. Rashi (49:3) brings that Malchus should have gone to Reuven, the firstborn. When he did something wrong it was taken away from him and next in line was Shimon and Levi. They also did not merit it due to their actions of the sword against Shechem therefore it then went to Yehuda.
20. It is missing the letter זיי”ן that means “weapon”. This is to teach us that Jewish kings are unlike the kings of the other nations who depend on being powerful through weapons. The victory of the Jewish King depends not on weapons but on Hashem battling for the Jews.
21. The Gemora Taanis 5 brings this question and answers that it is referring to his continuation through his offspring…
22. (50:3) The possuk mentions that they mourned seventy days. Some say that these seventy include the forty of being embalmed, making it thirty days (Rashi). Others say it was seventy, excluding the thirty days of being embalmed.