JACOB’S MANTRA

Tevet 14, 5786 / January 2-3, 2026

Parashat Vayechi

Torah: Genesis 47:28 - 50:26 (Chazak, chazak v'nitchazeik!)

Haftarah: 1 Kings 2:1-12

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On January 5, we'll return to Ein Ya'akov, at BT Yevamot 65b.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/ 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JACOB’S MANTRA

"For Your salvation do I hope, O Lord!" Genesis 49:18

In the middle of blessing his sons, between the blessings for Dan and Gad, Jacob cries out this apparent non-sequitur. Rashi suggests that Jacob is prophesying the moment when Samson (a Danite), blinded by the Philistines, cries out to God for sufficient strength to destroy them (Judges 16:28). Other commentators say that it is a plea for God's protection of the tribe of Dan, which was to be the rear guard during the desert journey. Still others say that Jacob, on his deathbed, is asking God for help to complete the blessings before his strength gives out.

Jacob Blesses His Sons (Figures de la Bible - 1728)

Until recent times, people believed that sleep was a bit like death. Because of this, the Rabbis who compiled the siddur included a prayer to be recited on awakening each morning, which thanks God for restoring one's soul. And in the bedtime prayer, they included the above verse.

However, one does not merely recite the verse. The three Hebrew words of the verse are manipulated so that one recites the following: "For Your salvation do I hope, O Lord. I hope, O Lord, for Your salvation. O Lord, for Your salvation do I hope." Many siddurim say that this formula is repeated three times, so that the verses, and the name of God, are said nine times. It is, in essence, a Jewish mantra. Perhaps it is symbolic of the nine months of childbirth, so that when we recite this portion of the bedtime prayer, we are asking to be "reborn" in the morning.

It is also a plea that God should safeguard the soul should one die during the night. The bedtime prayer is replete with this theme - from the opening blessing through the Hashkiveinu ("cause us to lie down in peace, and to rise up again, our King") to the concluding verse of Adon Olam: "Into His hand I entrust my spirit, when I am asleep and awake; and as with my spirit, so also my body, God is with me and I will not fear."

One need not fear death in order to derive immense comfort from reciting the bedtime prayer. The feeling of having communicated to God one's hopes and fears can be a relaxing conclusion to any day. Recite Jacob's mantra, and sleep well.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Richard Flom, DD (HC)

Rabbi Emeritus - Temple B'nai Hayim
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent."
BT Yevamot 87b

-----------------------------------------------

Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net 
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net