“And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for
seventeen years.” The Baal HaTurim notes that 17 is the numerical value of the
Hebrew word “Tov” which alludes to the fact that Yaakov’s best years were the
ones that he lived in Egypt. On one level, we can understand why these last
years were so good for Yaakov. Until he arrived in Egypt, Yaakov’s life
consisted of struggle after struggle: Eisav, Lavan, Dinah, Yosef. Once he
arrives in Egypt, Yaakov’s struggles are behind him. However, on another level
it is difficult to imagine that the years spent in a depraved and pagan society
like Egypt, in a land that was not part of that which was promised to Avraham
by Hashem, could be considered the best years of our patriarch’s life.
Tradition has it that the Tzemach Tzedek, the third Rebbe of Chabad, asked this
question to his grandfather, Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi (aka the Alter Rebbe/
Baal HaTanya). The grandfather explained to his grandson that Yaakov spent his
years in Egypt studying Torah. We learned in Parshat Vayigash that Yehuda was
dispatched ahead of the rest of Yaakov’s family to make arrangements. Rashi
quotes the Midrash that Yehuda established a Yeshiva for Torah study before
Yaakov and the family arrived. Not only did Yaakov spend his twilight years
studying Torah, but he was able to teach Torah to his children and
grandchildren. Rashi explains at the beginning of Parshat Vayechi that Yosef’s
son Ephraim had a regular chavrutah learning session with his grandfather
Yaakov. Even though Yaakov did not live close by to Yosef, the relationship
between grandfather and grandson was developed through time spent together in
Torah study. It was due to this arrangement that Ephraim was on hand to alert
his father of Yaakov’s health deterioration.
It’s interesting to note that Yaakov was
able to spend 17 years with Yosef- twice. Yosef is sold by his brothers at age
17. That means Yaakov and Yosef were together for the first 17 years of Yosef’s
life, in addition to the final 17 years of Yaakov’s life.
Yaakov’s
years in Egypt can be considered his retirement. With life expectancies on the
rise and people changing jobs (and even professions) more frequently, the
concept and expectations of retirement are changing. While some people live 20,
30 or more years after retirement, the average length of retirement today in
America is 18 years. Eighteen years is a long time. Rabbi Sy Eckstein a’h (who
lived in Hollywood after retiring from the Canadian Rabbinate and starting his
next career in psychology and writing) was fond of the expression “You can’t
just retire FROM something, you also have to retire TO something.” If we
believe that every day of life contains potential to grow and to contribute in
some way to this world, then 18 (or more) years of retirement contains within
it great opportunities and great potential. Whether it is Torah study, other
classes, reading, spending time with family/ friends, volunteering, traveling,
or taking up a new hobby, job or career; retirement years contain unique
opportunities to grow and to contribute. I encourage those in our community who
are retired to consider the many opportunities that our shul offers to engage,
grow and contribute. While the majority of our (adult) programs and events are
open to all ages, we are proud of our Empty Nesters Group that currently hosts
a monthly Lunch and Learn at shul as well as other periodic events. We are
launching an Empty Nesters WhatsApp group to provide curated content for those
in the empty nest/ retirement stages of life. If you are in this age
demographic and have ideas for programs or events, please let me or Rabbi Frieberg
know. From Yaakov’s years in Egypt we learn that every stage of life has its
challenges- but also its opportunities. Let us always be on the lookout for
opportunities- no matter what stage of life we find ourselves in.
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