Vayechi-Live to Eat or Eat to Live

Live to Eat or Eat to Live
Parshat Vayechi

In this week's Torah portion Vayechi, we read the final chapters of Jacob's life, the conclusion of the era of "The Tribes" and also conclude the book of  Genesis-Bereishit. The portion finishes off on somewhat of sad tone how all the Shevatim (12 tribes) passed away and were interred in Egypt. Of course, next week we begin the book of Exodus and the story of the servitude.

The portion begins with the words "Vayechi Yakov Beretz Mitzrayim Sheva Esreh Shanah-And Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years." The famed commentator Klei Yakar (Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim ben Aaron Luntschitz of Prague 1550 –1619) explains that the Gematriya (numerical value) of  seventeen is Tov, which means good. In other words, Yakov Avinu lived his best years (Tov) in Egypt. 

At first glance this statement seems puzzling. After all the suffering he endured, and having to leave his beloved land Israel to go into exile, were these really his best years? While one can understand the joy of being reunited with his long-lost son Yosef, it still seems a bit of a stretch to say that these last seventeen years were truly the best of his life.

I recently saw a health article about positive and healthy eating habits which asks a simple yet profound question attributed to the French playwright Moliére "Do you eat to live or do you live to eat?" This is a profound question because it is essentially asking us do we control our food or is our food controlling us?

The same question can and must be asked of our lives in general. Do we live in order to work, eat etc., thereby becoming slaves to everything around us, or, do we use all out life's experiences (jobs, family, success) towards a higher and more lofty purpose, i.e. eat to live?

Jacob lived his best years in Egypt because he was able to look back at his life, at all of the trials and tribulations and put them all in perspective. He was able to finally see how everything he had lived through, and worried about, came to a peaceful conclusion. He was surrounded by his family. They were all G-d fearing and committed to a life of goodness and spirituality. This was his greatest Nachas (joy) and success. Jacob truly fell into the category of "Eat to live" as he was solely focused on his true mission, to build, educate and preserve Am Yisrael.

Shabbat Shalom,