The Joseph story comes to its dramatic close this week in Parashat Vayechi. Brash young Jacob who stole his father’s blessing has become dying Jacob, blessing his own children. Foolish young Joseph has become an older, wiser, sadder man, finally reunited with his family.
Change is the constant in human experience. This can distress us if we try to cling to the past, because no matter how hard we try, we cannot stop time. But we can find hope in the inevitability of change: very little, other than death itself, is as final as it seems.
Our darshanim this week:
No Matter Where We Think We Are, We Are Still in Egypt by Rabbi John Rosove
Giving Others the Benefit of the Doubt by Rabbi Marc Katz
Bilhah and the man who mistook his wife for a bed by Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild
Jewish Time by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Theology defines… by Rabbi Kari Hofmeister Tuling, PhD
Make Meaning of the Past by Rabbi Seth Goldstein (VIDEO)
End of a Cycle by Anita Silvert