‘The End of the Day’ Parashat Vayechi 5786 |
Our forefather, Jacob, on the last day of his life, calls his family to gather around so that he can give them his parting words [Bereishit 49:1]: “Gather and I will tell you what will happen to you at the end of days”. Jacob then goes from son to son and blesses each of them individually. Rashi[1], sensitive that the phrase “end of days” is typically referring to the eschatological End of Days – the Days of the Messiah – quotes the Talmud in Tractate Pesachim [56a] that asserts that Jacob wanted to reveal to his sons the date of the Messiah’s arrival (ha’Ketz) but G-d’s Divine Presence (Shechina) withdrew from him so he segued to other topics.
Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein[2], writing in the “Torah Temima”, notes that Jacob’s power of prophecy did not completely depart from him. Indeed, his blessings to his sons are rife with predictions of the future. For instance, he calls his son, Dan [Bereishit 49:17]: “A serpent on the road, a viper on the path, which bites the horse’s heels, so its rider falls backwards”. Rashi asserts that this is a prophecy referring to Samson, who will one day defeat the Philistines. This begs a question: Why did Jacob’s powers of prophecy falter only partially? Further, Jacob does indeed describe the Messiah in his farewell address. When blessing his son, Judah, Jacob says [Bereishit 49:10] “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes”. Our Sages in the Midrash [Bereishit Rabbah 99:8] assert that “Shiloh” is referring to the Messiah. Why, then, did G-d prevent Jacob from revealing the date of the End of Days while other Messianic details were revealed?
A clue lies in the following verse, a verse nearly completely glossed over by the commentators[3] [Bereishit 49:2]: “Gather and listen, sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel, your father.” The verse as a whole seems completely superfluous. Jacob’s sons have already gathered around him. Clearly they are there to hear what he has to say. Why not just delete the verse........