Jacob's Hardships - NCCG.ORG Ning Network Archive 2008-10

Parashat Hashavuah
Vayigash - ויגש : "And came near"
Torah : Genesis 44:18-47:27
Haftarah : Ezekiel 37:15-28
Gospel : Matthew 23-25

Jacob's Hardships

Thought for the Week
All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance." (Hebrews 11:13)

Commentary
Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. (Genesis 47:7)

When Pharaoh saw Joseph, he was amazed at how old the man looked. He dispensed with any pleasantries and immediately asked him, "How many years have you lived?" (Genesis 47:8).
The years had worn heavily on Jacob. For twenty years he had served Laban. "By day the heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes," he had complained to Laban (Genesis 31:40). He was harried by four wives, and he had lost the only wife he had ever wanted to an early grave. He had spent more than twenty years inconsolably mourning the death of his beloved son Joseph. No wonder he looked old. Add to all that, he was 130 years old when appeared before Pharaoh.

Jacob complained to Pharaoh about his life. "Few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning" (Genesis 47:9). To us, it seems strange to imagine a man 130 years old bemoaning a short life. But his grandfather Abraham had lived to 175. His father, Isaac, had lived to 180. Pharaoh was astounded at these amazing ages. Jacob was the oldest man he had ever met.

The sages criticize Jacob for complaining to Pharaoh and calling his years few and unpleasant. They imagined a humorous story whereby God transforms Jacob's complaint into a self-fulfilling prophecy. In the story (which is called a midrash), God was listening to this complaint. He replied as follows:

So you call your years few and unpleasant? I gave you the covenant blessings, saved you from Esau and Laban, returned Dinah, Joseph, Simeon and Benjamin to you, prospered you and saved your family from famine, yet you complain about your life! I will take the thirty-three words spoken in those two verses and deduct them from your years. Then your years will indeed not reach those of your fathers. (Genesis Rabbah 95)
What does this mean? There are thirty-three Hebrew words in Genesis 47:8-9. Jacob lived to the age of 147, which is thirty-three years short of his father's lifespan of 180. God deducted one year from his life for each of the Hebrew words in those two verses of Genesis. Obviously, this story is not meant to be taken literally. Its whimsical style is characteristic of the sages. While teachings like this are not literally true, they always teach some deeper truth. In this case the midrash has recognized that it was inappropriate for Jacob to complain about his life. In reality, he had received great blessings. He did not know how many years he had left to live. For all he knew, he might have yet outlived his forefathers.

To a certain extent, our words create our own reality. At the very least, our words and attitudes color the reality we must live in. How we respond to life's hardships determines how much of a toll those hardships will take on us.

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