Standard Bearers for the Past and the Future

When Yaakov is introduced to Pharaoh in Egypt he is asked his age. Yaakov responds in a surprising manner:

And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my sojournings are one hundred thirty years. The days of the years of my life have been few and miserable, and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my forefathers in the days of their sojournings."

טוַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל פַּרְעֹה יְמֵי שְׁנֵי מְגוּרַי שְׁלשִׁים וּמְאַת שָׁנָה מְעַט וְרָעִים הָיוּ יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיַּי וְלֹא הִשִּׂיגוּ אֶת יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי אֲבֹתַי בִּימֵי מְגוּרֵיהֶם:

There are a number of questions that immediately came to my mind (this time I read this verse):

Why does Yaakov call his years “few and bad” at this juncture- especially since he has just been reunited with his long lost son Yosef? Granted, he has just been forced to relocate- which is never easy and certainly not so for a man of Yaakov’s age- over 100 years old. But even within that difficult transition- God has just spoken directly to him and assured Yaakov that things will be OK- that God will continue to be with him and his family with transition from a family clan into the nation that was promised to Avraham.

What does Yaakov mean when he says that his years have not reached the life span of his father or grandfather? Yaakov is still alive!

Perhaps we can better understand Yaakov’s declaration in light of a Rabbinic teaching: A person should always be asking him/herself:  When will my actions reach the actions of my forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov?" (Tanna deBei Eliyahu 25)

At this crossroads in Yaakov’s life he reflects and wonders whether he has lived up to his family name. He wonders whether his father and grandfather would be proud of the choices he’s made and the direction his life- and that of his children and grandchildren- has gone. No amount of Divine assurance is sufficient for a person to stop asking him/herself that question.

As we read this episode- the very beginning of the pivotal Jewish experience that was Egyptian slavery- we should accustom ourselves to think in a similar way. As parents and transmitters of a rich Jewish tradition we should ask ourselves: Are we doing our part to project a rich and meaningful Jewish life that can be a model for the next generation. As receivers of this tradition we must ask ourselves: How are we doing at safeguarding And nurturing that gift of Jewish values that was safeguarded by our ancestors and then entrusted to us?