Bar’chu
et YHVH ha-m’vorach, Baruch YHVH ha-m’vorach l’O’lam va-ed!
Baruch
ata YHVH Eloheinu melech ha-olam asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim, v’na-tan lanu
eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Bless YHVH the blessed One; Blessed is YHVH, the
blessed One for all eternity. Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim, King of the
Universe, you have selected us from among all the peoples, and have given us
your Torah.)
In the entire Torah
scroll, “vayechi” is unique in that there is no extra space between it and the
preceding parashah, in contrast to the general rule that a new parashah begins
on a new line or is at least separated by nine empty spaces. Rashi, therefore,
describes “vayechi” as “closed.” Yakov wanted to tell his children the time of
the “end,” the Messianic age when Yisrael’s exile would finally end. This
revelation would be ‘’closed’’ for most people.
Jer 30:21 And his Prince shall be from him, and
his Ruler shall come from among him. And I shall bring him near, and he shall
approach(‘’nagash’’) Me, for who is this who pledged his heart to
approach(root
‘’nagash’’) Me?’
declares יהוה.
Jer 30:22 And you
shall be My people, and I shall be your Elohim.’ ”
Jer 30:23 See, the
storm of יהוה shall go forth in a rage, a whirling storm! It bursts upon the
head of the wrong.
Jer 30:24 The
burning displeasure of יהוה shall not turn back until He has done and
established the purposes of His heart. In the latter days you shall understand
it.[b] Footnote: bSee Jer_23:20.
Gen 47:28 And Yaʽaqoḇ lived (‘’vayechi’’)in
the land of Mitsrayim seventeen years. So the length of Yaʽaqoḇ’s life was one
hundred and forty-seven years.
These
seventeen years were the best years of his life -- years of prosperity,
goodness and peace. (Midrash; Baal HaTurim).
When
the child came home he asked his grandfather, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi:
How can it be that our father Yacov, the greatest of the Patriarchs, lived the
best years of his life in pagan Egypt?
Replied
Rabbi Schneur Zalman: It is written that Yakov "sent Yahudah ahead of
him... to show the way to Goshen" (Genesis 46:28). The Midrash explains
that this was to establish a house of learning, where the sons of Yakov would
study Torah. When one studies Torah, one is brought close to G-d, so that even
in Egypt one can live a true "life." (HaYom Yom)
These would have been the
best years of Yahshua’s life. He would have had his bar mitzvah at age 13 and
17 years later he would enter into the ministry of his Father. These were years
where promising students would be trained for the ministry.
Why
should it be different today? Training for the ministry was to be trained in
Torah.
We
see a similar pattern repeated for the apostle Paul. If we look at Galatians
1:17,18 and Galatians 2:1 - It would
appear that Paul went through 17 years of preparation before he was released as
an apostle to the Gentiles.