The Death of Yaakov and His Burial

Words of Strengthening and Emunah for Parshat Vayechi from the Chassid, Rabbi Menachem Azulai shlit"a - "And Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years" (47:28)

"Yaakov Avinu did not die" – he did not taste the taste of death. For every death is a matter of change and transition from this world to the World to Come, whereas Yaakov, during all those years he lived in Egypt, the Holy One, Blessed be He, gave him a taste of life resembling the World to Come, and in his death, he did not change. The death of Yaakov and his burial are like a man removing his clothes and hanging them on a wall; when he needs them, he will return and put them on (Sefer HaParshiyot).

"Praise Hashem, O my soul" (Psalms 146).

What is the blessing with which Yaakov blesses the tribes? "And he blessed them on that day." Yaakov's blessing is that they should merit "that day," that they should have the specific day, that they should live in the present and not in the past or the future. That they should merit to see how many gifts the Holy One, Blessed be He, sends us hour by hour, moment by moment; that they should merit to see how everything we receive here in this world is all gifts that the Creator, blessed be He, gives us out of His great love for us.

With a little lowliness and humility, a person can see how everything he has and everything in which he succeeds—it is all Hashem sending it to him. Thank You very much, Hashem, that You gave to me, and how wonderful it is that You gave to me. Now that a good prayer came out for me, from my mouth, that I didn't have distracting thoughts during the prayer, and foreign thoughts within the prayer, but I could truly have kavanah (intention) in prayer—thank You very much, Hashem. Thank You very much that I had a good heart to open the door for a neighbor, or for the one who came to ask for charity, and that I didn't close the door on him, and that I didn't make a face. And thank You very much to You that I forgave and didn't hold a grudge, and thank You very much to You for this and thank You very much to You for that, because You gave me everything.

The Holy One, Blessed be He, is the Bestower and man is the receiver. We must constantly remind ourselves of this matter. That any praise a person suddenly receives, any compliment, or if he gives himself a compliment, saying "How beautiful, Baruch Hashem I succeeded," he must remember on the spot where he got it from. Thank You very much Hashem, thank You very much, it is from You, because where did I get this Da'at (knowledge), the talent to understand, to speak, to do, to act? It is all from the Image of God You gave me... After a minute he forgets again, he thought it was he himself, and he is constantly in these zigzags: "It's me, it's not me." "After all, I am so nice, I don't make the mistakes that so-and-so makes because I am more refined, and I understand, and I don't hurt others, and Baruch Hashem I have Shalom Bayit (domestic peace), and I succeed in this and I succeed in that"—but actually it is not me, it is the Holy One, Blessed be He. Thank You very much Hashem, You brought me the Shalom Bayit, You brought me the success with the children, everything I have is You—and a minute later, [he forgets] again. It is a lifelong work.

One must give thanks, praise, and laud Hashem without pause. Tzaddikim knew how to give thanks for every breath, for every step, for every thing, even the smallest.

We have become so accustomed to the good, that only when there is suddenly some lack, some trouble, Heaven forbid, only then do we understand how much we need to give thanks all the time; not to wait for Hashem to take from us so that we start appreciating what we had. To stop all the time, to lift our gaze to Heaven, to say "Thank You, Master of the World" for everything. Like the story about a Jew who suddenly began to suffer from a terrible lack of appetite and severe nausea, and of course, immediately accompanying these feelings was worry about the unknown. He suffered from such terrible weakness that when he saw a Jew carrying his two-year-old child in his arms, he wanted to shout at him: "Do you know how to appreciate that you can lift a child? Did you say thank you to Hashem for that? Did you think about the fact that not everyone can do that? I, for example," so he thought, "am not capable of even lifting a book." And when he suffered from terrible nausea, and saw dozens of avreichim (Torah students) in the Kollel eating their meal, if he hadn't been ashamed, he would have taken a loudspeaker and shouted into their ears: "Hey, you! Did you say thank you for having an appetite? That you have a desire to eat?" For the first time, he relates, this thought struck him that we do not know how to give thanks; everything seems simple, natural, taken for granted. Only when these wondrous gifts are taken from us, Heaven forbid, do we understand what a loss it is to live here all these years and not know how to give thanks... By Hashem's kindness, he recovered, and slowly returned to life, but not to the same life. He simply started to give thanks for everything. For the desire to eat, for the ability to walk every morning fresh and energetic to the Kollel, and thus he felt endless gratitude and immense love for the Creator (Appeared in "Kol Todah," a newsletter of "Le'Olam Odecha," an organization for spreading gratitude).

Yaakov Avinu lived seventeen years in the land of Egypt, and Chazal (Our Sages) expound that these were the best seventeen years of all his years. And this is a tremendous wonder. From all his years of living in Eretz Yisrael, Yaakov Avinu did not have good and blessed years like the years he went down to Egypt, to the nakedness of the land? Specifically there he had a good life? Rather, Rebbe Nachman reveals to us that the essence of the perfection of joy is when one overcomes to grab the sorrow and sighing and turn it into joy, "Just as sometimes when people are happy and dancing, they grab a man from outside who is in sadness and depression, and bring him against his will into the circle of dancers, and force him against his will to be happy with them as well" (Likutey Moharan II, 23).

One must declare war on sadness. A person who is used to mainly asking [for things], always sees what he doesn't have. But one who is used to mainly giving thanks, sees what he receives. 23 hours a day a person needs to think and speak—with his wife, with his children, with his friends—how good it is for us, how fortunate we are, how much we need to thank Hashem Yitbarach. Baruch Hashem, there is food to eat, there are clothes to wear. And even though many things are still missing, do not think all day about what you lack, but rather give thanks for what the Holy One, Blessed be He, gives, and this will draw down more and more kindnesses. And the same applies in spirituality. Baruch Hashem, I keep Torah and Mitzvot, I pray in the synagogue, I learn Torah—and to thank and praise Hashem. To look only at the good, to think good, and then automatically it will be good. And regarding what is not in order, regarding what is missing—for that, there is the hour of Hisbodedus. Only after 23 hours that you thank Hashem for all the kindnesses, only then can you come to Hisbodedus and cry over what is missing, over what is difficult.

Just as Yaakov Avinu lived there in Egypt in joy and tranquility, so too can every Jew draw down joy and life even to places he arrives at against his will. Our joy rises above all pain, sorrow, and grief. It is not connected to anything we have or lack; it is joy in Hashem. Like the story Rebbe Nachman tells about the Simple One, whose custom was to always be happy, rejoicing in everything to such an extent that he appeared to others as a fool. He rejoiced in bread as if it were meat, and in water as if it were wine, and in this merit, he merited to feel in his food all the wonderful tastes in the world and never ceased to laud, praise, and glorify Hashem. Small things that bring joy are plentiful; one needs to discover them.

A person with a "Good Eye" will see all the kindnesses and say thank you. If a person looks to the sides [at others], then he will always have an "Evil Eye." Because if he has this, then he doesn't have that; he always lacks something that others have; there is always someone to envy, someone who succeeds more, who advances more than him. But if a person looks to Hashem, not to the sides, then he lacks nothing, and all the abundance he receives he can shower upon others. When a person looks constantly to Hashem, he will look with a Good Eye at every person, because they are all children of Hashem. Each one with his uniqueness; every Jew has something that his friend does not have, and with this special thing, he completes the Nation of Israel; no one can handle his personal "slot" in his place. This uniqueness of every person is hard to see with a superficial look; sometimes one does not notice it even if one knows the person for quite a long time. But there are special opportunities where one can catch the special point of the person, to be impressed by it, to thank Hashem for this giant mosaic in which all of Klal Yisrael are partners.

One must give thanks in minute detail. Do not settle for general words. "And for Your miracles that are with us every day"—a person needs to search and find each and every day the miracles Hashem does for him and thank Him for them. A person needs to educate himself, to accustom himself to give thanks for every single detail in life, at literally every moment. Nothing is taken for granted, everything is Hashem's kindness, even the water coming out of the tap, even the clean and folded clothes he takes out of the closet. Rebbe Nachman, the holy one, when he was a child, did not settle for the blessings one recites over food; he would give thanks in his own language for every single food item: Thank You Hashem for the cucumber, thank You Hashem for the tomato, etc.

There is nothing that is exaggerated to give thanks for; everything is Hashem's kindness, everything happens by total Divine Providence.

Gratitude is submission and humility; we understand that without Hashem we are nothing, we cannot achieve anything with our own strength. We both thank Hashem and admit [modeh means both thank and admit] that without Hashem we are nothing.

Gratitude is Hakarat HaTov (recognizing the good), which is such a lofty trait, that it both brings one closer to Hashem and opens all the gates. Just as we see that when a person truly thanks you, you immediately have a desire to do more and more favors for him, and when a person does not know how to recognize the good, then the heart closes and there is no desire to help him and give to him.

This world was created for only one thing: that every single moment we remember Hashem and mention Hashem. A person needs to constantly mumble, aloud or quietly: "With Hashem's help," "Baruch Hashem," "If Hashem wills it," "Yishtabach Shemo" (May His Name be praised). Everything that passes over him all day is only so that he will say "Baruch Hashem." The Holy One, Blessed be He, created the world so that we would know Him. So that we would recognize Him. So that we would know that we cannot exist without Him. That we would know that every single moment we are dependent on Him. And that everything we have, it is all from Him, blessed be He. And the main thing is that we should be happy. You are here now, alive, healthy, breathing—so be happy, be joyful, stop thinking all the time about what was and what will be. Live the moment. Connect to Hashem every single moment, in everything you do. Rejoice in the good that Hashem gives you! This is your work, to rejoice! Every mitzvah you do is a gift. Kiss it. Hug it. It brings you closer to Hashem, it connects you to Him, and you aren't happy? Say "Ashreinu" (How fortunate are we) several times a day; that you merited to be part of Klal Yisrael—with this alone, make yourself happy.

Did you fail? Did you not succeed? This too is a reason to say thank you, because only in this way do you begin to understand that alone you cannot do it. As King David says, "It is good for me that I was afflicted, in order that I might learn Your statutes" (Psalms 119).

The past was and is no more, the future will be and it too is not yet here. What exists is only this moment before you, so connect to Hashem and be happy. A Jew gets up in the morning, the Creator has given him his soul anew; he must thank Him first of all for this. This is how Jews always rejoiced, this is how they had enthusiasm all their days, until even before their death they rejoiced over every additional moment that it was possible to do the will of Heaven.

To be like children who have so much happiness and joy, by virtue of the fact that they are not troubled by the future, living and enjoying every existing moment, utilizing it to the fullest.

Every word of Torah, every word of prayer, every lesser thought [of sin avoided], every small movement I make in "turning away from evil" or in "doing good"—it is worth everything. This is everything. This is the ultimate purpose. This is for all eternity. You learn Torah for a minute—for this the world was created. You pray and make a little effort to have kavanah—for this the Holy One, Blessed be He, created the world.

To rejoice in our portion and say thank you. Ashreichem Yisrael (Fortunate are you, Israel) that you merited the Torah, Ashreichem Yisrael that you merited mitzvot, Ashreichem Yisrael that you love one another, and bestow kindness upon one another, even if sometimes there is a price for it.