With Vayechi, the book of Genesis, full of conflicts within the family, comes to a serene end.

Jacob, reunited with his beloved Joseph, sees his grandsons, Ephraim and Menashe, and blesses them. This is the only such scene in the Torah.

Then, on his death-bed, Jacob blesses his twelve sons. He dies and is buried in the Cave of Machpelah with his parents and grandparents.

Joseph forgives his brothers a second time, and he himself dies, having assured his brothers that God will eventually bring the family back to the Promised Land. The long patriarchal narrative is at an end and a new period – the birth of Israel as a nation – is about to begin.

Subscribe to our mailing list to receive the weekly parsha commentary.