We’ve reached the end of the first book of Torah for this year’s Torah reading cycle. It always feels like an accomplishment to close the pages of the Genesis narrative as we prepare to dive into the epic tale of Moses and the Israelites. The final chapters of Genesis, parshat Va-y’chi, tell of Jacob’s farewell blessings to his sons. He calls each before his deathbed and tells them “what is to befall [them] in days to come.” (Genesis 49:22b) The ailing Jacob goes on to admonish and praise his sons; reviewing for them what their lives have been, rather than what they will be.
Whenever a young person is called to the Torah in our community, we afford their parents the opportunity to give them a blessing. During the rehearsal for the service, I remind the parents that it is not a speech, it is not a roast: it is a blessing. While we may not be in the habit of blessing, I encourage them to think of it as a sacred wish for their children and take the opportunity to let them know how they are seen by their parents. To be seen is the real blessing, I think. Jacob lets each of his children see themselves through their father’s eyes in this parsha. Some of what he sees is harsh, some of what he sees is kind. Rather than forecasting their futures, he lifts up for them what he has seen, leaving them to make of their lives what they will. Perhaps that freedom is the true blessing.