“Information's Unavailable to the Mortal Man”
And Yaakov summoned his sons and he said: Gather together and I will tell you that which will befall you at the end of days. (Sefer Beresheit 49:1.)
Yaakov’s vision of the end of days
Parsaht VaYeche describes Yaakov’s final days. The above passage introduces the closing scene of his life. Yaakov summons his sons. He tells them that he will share with them his prophecy of the “end of days” – the Messianic Era. The prophecy that he reveals does not fully satisfy this description. In includes references to the Messianic Era. However, most of the prophecy reveals events or accomplishments that will occur long before the arrival of the Messiah.
Rashi, quoting Midrash Rabba, explains that Yaakov intended to reveal far more about the end of days. Hashem stopped him.[1] In his summons to his sons, Yaakov tells them his intention. Hashem prevented him from fulfilling this intention. Yaakov provides only an incomplete account of the Messianic Era.[2]
Why did Hashem prevent Yaakov from fully describing the end of days? Apparently, the vision included information that Hashem did not wish to be revealed. What was this information and why could it not be revealed to Yaakov’s sons?
These questions cannot be answered with certainty and in detail. However, we can seek a general response. Let us consider Rashi’s comments more carefully. Hashem did not withhold this more comprehensive vision from Yaakov. He was fit to receive it. Hashem prevented Yaakov from sharing it with his sons. What was the difference between Yaakov and his sons and why did this difference render his sons unfit to receive a more complete description of the Messianic Era?
The perspective of one facing death
The fundamental difference between Yaakov and his sons, at the moment he wished to reveal this vision, was that Yaakov was about to die. Only when confronted with death was Yaakov able to achieve this final vision of the Messianic Era.[3] The imminence of death rendered him fit for the prophecy. His sons were not capable of experiencing such a prophecy; neither were they fit to hear its contents from their father. How did death elevate Yaakov to the spiritual level requisite for this prophecy?
Rav Yaakov Moshe Hillel, commenting on a passage in Kohelet, provides a beautiful description of the impact of death upon the perceptions of the righteous.
The final word is that all has been heard. Fear the L-rd and observe His commandments. This is the whole of humanity. (Sefer Kohelet 12:13)
The time at which a person leaves this world is a moment of truth. At this time, a person is fit to see and recognize this world as it is in truth, without any bias or self-deceptions. At that time, every person sees with his eyes and understands in his heart, without any reservation, that the ultimate reason for life in this world is the objective of “fear the L-rd and observe His commandments. For this is the whole of humanity.”
When a person is experiencing the vitality of life, he is not likely to see and recognize the truth. This world shows him a pleasant face of falsehood and deception in order to mislead him and confuse his vision. However, at “the final word” which is the moment of departure from this world, “all has been considered”. The truth of the Torah is self-evident in clear proper vision. There is no distortion or confusion.[4]
When death is imminent a person attains a degree of objective detachment that cannot be achieved when engaged in life. A person looks back upon life as a bystander rather than as a participant. The aspirations, fantasies, and desires, that biased one’s view of life have vanished. Now, one can look upon one’s personal life and upon human endeavor and experience with complete detachment.
This detached, objective perspective was essential to Yaakov’s prophecy of the end of days. Apparently, the prophecy could not be given to or shared with one who lacked this unique perspective. In other words, some aspect or element of Yaakov’s vision of the Messianic Era required his absolute detached objectivity. What is this element or aspect? An insight is provided in Parshat VaYigash.
And they spoke to him all the words of Yosef that he had spoken to them. And he saw the wagons that Yosef had sent to carry him. And Yaakov their father was revived. (Sefer Beresheit 45:27)
Yaakov refuses to believe Yosef is alive
Yaakov’s sons return from Egypt. They tell Yaakov that Yosef is alive and that he is the ruler of Egypt. Yaakov refuses to believe his sons. In the above passage, they relate to him the message that Yosef had directed them to deliver to their father. Yaakov then sees the wagons sent by Yosef to transport him to Egypt. After hearing Yosef’s message and seeing the wagons, Yaakov accepts the truth of his sons’ report.
In some manner Yosef’s message convinced Yaakov that he was alive. What was this message? The message contained three components. 1. He told his father of his power and authority in Egypt. 2. He told him to come to Egypt and described the support he would receive. 3. He explained to Yaakov that the famine would continue for another five years. Yaakov and his family risked destruction by remaining in Cana’an. How did this message persuade Yaakov that Yosef was alive?
And all his sons and daughters rose up to comfort him. And he refused to be comforted. He said: I will descend to my son in the grave. And his father cried for him. (Sefer Beresheit 37:35)
Yaakov cannot be consoled
This passage describes Yaakov’s response to the news that Yosef was lost. He refused to be comforted. He declared he would mourn the loss of his son to his grave. The death of a son is a terrible tragedy. Yaakov was shaken by the enormity of his loss. Yet, we would expect him to eventually accept his loss and move on. What prevented Yaakov from healing?
The midrash offers a number of explanations. Many have a shared theme. Yaakov could not understand the loss. Hashem had promised him that his sons would be the beginning of a great nation. How was he to reconcile Yosef’s death with that promise? He was tormented by the possibility that he had somehow proven unworthy of Hashem’s covenant.[5] In other words, Yaakov struggled to accept Yosef’s death because he could not understand it. He did not know how to reconcile it with Hashem’s promise.
Now, we can understand the impact of Yosef’s message upon his father. At first, Yaakov’s sons told him that Yosef was alive and that he was the most powerful minister in Egypt. They did not provide an explanation for Yosef’s disappearance. They communicated facts but they did not provide an explanation for their extraordinary news. Yaakov’s mind resisted accepting that Yosef was alive without an explanation for his disappearance. He needed to understand the purpose of these long years of separation from his beloved son. Yosef’s message provided this explanation. Their separation was a terrible ordeal but it served an invaluable purpose. Yosef was now a powerful minister in Egypt and he can save his family from destruction. When Yaakov heard this message and its explanation for the long years of torment, he accepted that his son was alive.
Our need to understand
These two incidents provide an important insight into human nature. We struggle to accept difficult or unexpected truths. We seek an explanation. Yaakov needed to understand the purpose of Yosef’s disappearance. Without an explanation, he could not be consoled. Later, he could not believe that Yosef was alive until he understood the purpose of their painful separation.
Hashem’s revelation to Yaakov
With this insight, let us now return to Yaakov’s prophecy. Why could it not be shared with his sons? What was the substance of his vision of the end of days? If it included only a vision of the world in the Messianic Era, it is difficult to explain Hashem’s reason for preventing Yaakov from sharing this information with his sons. It seems that Hashem provided Yaakov with more than a vision of the Messianic Age. Yaakov beheld the unfolding of history. Hashem provided Yaakov with a vision of the destiny of his children. Yaakov saw the final destination – the Messianic Era – and the path to be traveled to that destination. He beheld not only the eventual salvation and triumph of his descendants but also generations of persecution, exile, and suffering.
We expect that Yaakov sought an explanation for the misery and agony that would be the destiny of his children. He needed to understand why the path to redemption would lead his descendants into exile, persecution and even a Holocaust. At this special moment, he could consider this vision with detached objectivity. From his unique perspective, he attained an understanding. He was able accept the strange, painful path that his children would travel to arrive at their final redemption.
His children lacked this perspective and its detached objectivity. If Yaakov had shared his vision of a path through dark terrible nights to arrive at the sunrise of the Messianic Era, they too would have needed to understand the meaning of this difficult journey and its purpose. But they lacked their father’s perspective. They would not uncover meaning and discover understanding. Hashem withheld Yaakov’s vision from his children and from us. We lack the perspective to find meaning in our history.
Accepting the unacceptable
We are sometimes confronted with very unpleasant realities. We wonder how a compassionate G-d allows terrible suffering and loss. We ask how a just L-rd tolerates rampant injustice. We accept that Hashem is compassionate and just. But we seek and need an explanation, an insight into His plan. Seeking this understanding is the natural human response to our confrontation with cruelty and injustice. We ask why is this explanation withheld from us and assert that if we had this explanation, then we would be able to accept the suffering and injustice that surround us.
We assume that the explanation would satisfy us. We would understand Hashem’s ways and appreciate the purpose and meaning of suffering and cruelty. The above analysis suggests that we are deluding ourselves. We imagine we have the clarity, objectivity, and detachment to appreciate and accept Hashem’s ways – were they only revealed. We should consider that Yaakov was not permitted to communicate his prophecy. We share the perspective of his children. Like them, our perspective prevents us from understanding Hashem’s ways.
[1] Rabbaynu Shlomo ben Yitzchak (Rashi), Commentary on Sefer Beresheit 49:1.
[2] The comments of the midrah quoted by Rashi are not completely clear. Yaakov was prepared for and anticipated a prophecy describing the end of days. One interpretation of the midrash is that the vision was withheld. Another interpretation is that Yaakov attained the vision but it was then taken from him before he could share it with his children.
[3] For a more thorough discussion of the impact of approaching death upon Yaakov’s prophetic capacity see: Rav Yisroel Chait, VeYechi, TTL C-036.
[4] Rav Yaakov Moshe Hillel, Asher Yitzaveh, Introduction.
[5] Rav Menachem Mendel Kasher, Torah Shelymah vol 2, p 1439.