Parasha Vayechi (ויחי) — Bereshit 47:28 – 50:26. Read on Shabbat, December 26, 2026.
Summary of Parasha Vayechi
Yaakov lives seventeen years in Egypt and reaches the age of one hundred and forty-seven. Sensing that his end is near, he makes Yosef swear to bury him not in Egypt but with his fathers. When Yaakov falls ill, Yosef comes with his two sons. Yaakov declares that Menashe and Efraim will be counted as his own sons. In blessing them, he crosses his hands placing his right hand on the head of Efraim, the younger, and announces that he will be greater than his elder brother. The parents of Israel will bless their children with the words: “May G-d make you like Efraim and Menashe.” Yaakov then gathers his twelve sons and addresses each one, in words now of rebuke, now of blessing, describing the character and the future of each tribe, notably the kingship promised to Yehudah. He renews his request to be buried in the Cave of Machpelah, and then he dies. The Egyptians mourn him for seventy days; a great procession, including Pharaoh’s servants, goes up to Canaan to bury him. After their father’s death, the brothers fear Yosef’s revenge, but he reassures them: they had meant it for evil, but G-d meant it for good. Yosef dies at the age of one hundred and ten, after making the children of Israel swear to bring up his bones when G-d remembers them.
The Themes
- Yaakov’s blessings
- Efraim and Menashe
- Yosef’s forgiveness
Rav Raphaël Benizri’s Lectures on Vayechi
Study booklets for each lecture: questions for the Shabbat table
A Question for the Shabbat Table
If we were to give each member of our family a personal blessing, what would we say to them?
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Summary by the Pensées Juives editorial team. The Rav’s teachings are found in his lectures, linked above.