Recently, as my family was sitting together, someone shared that when they asked my father what the best day of his marriage was, he answered, “Today.”
Emphasizing the value of living in the moment makes us wonder why this week’s Torah portion—which discusses the death of Jacob—is called “Vayechi Yaakov,” meaning “and Jacob lived,” but the emphasis is on his death. Shouldn’t we be focusing on his life?
Reading the details of the story, we see that these seventeen years of his life—his last seventeen—were his best years, because he enjoyed peace and harmony between his children. He witnessed the success of his son Joseph’s rise to power to lead the Egyptians, and he witnessed the growth of his own family.
However, these blissful years did follow 130 challenging years. Years of pain and suffering under Laban. Years of hard labor. Years of longing for his long-lost son Joseph.
Yet, it is in his death that we see Jacob’s life come to light. All the pain and suffering were not for naught. It was all a prelude to what came at the end—and even after his passing.
That is why, although we do read about Jacob’s death, it is his life that is celebrated. A life lived cannot be taken in piecemeal; we should look at the culminative whole, and even more so, we should be looking at the legacy a person leaves after they are gone, what the next generation does in their absence.
This is why we call this portion “Vayechi Yaakov,” meaning “and Jacob lived.” This is what living in the moment is really all about.
Live in the moment. Enjoy the moment. Shabbat Shalom.