Vayaḥi and New beginnings / ויחי

This is a weekly series

of parsha dvarim (Tōrah commentaries) written by an orthodox atheist transsexual anarchist, with guest posts from comrades. It's the work of each generation to extricate meaning from our cultural and religious inheritance, and it's crucial that we resist the narrative that Zionism owns Judaism. We aim to offer comment which is true to the pshat (i.e. engages with the plain meaning of the text, especially when it's difficult) and uses Tōrah like a light to reflect on our modern times.

Read more commentary on parshas Vayaḥi

Last year I wrote about the bris object—the circumcised penis.

An appeal

My friend Lina needs help surviving in Gaza. Any amount you can give helps tremendously.

This week's parsha is the final one in Bereshis, the first book in Torah. The leyening melody for concluding the final verse in a book is unique, and the congregation rises to chant "Ḥazak ḥazak v'nitḥazeyk!" Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened! We plea for strength as the cycle ends, to begin again renewed, with resilience and resolve. Are you tired? That's to be expected. When we're at the end of a book or year, we ask Hashem for help that we can continue.

There is nothing we should pray for which we haven't first tried to fix ourselves.

We are obligated to exhaust our resources before admitting defeat and resorting to pleading with God. When we ask for strength this week, I expect that we are doing everything we can to empower each other before asking Hashem for help. I'm not sure if He listens, but this collective moment of asking—of admitting vulnerability and aspiring to strength—starts with the repeated imperative. Be strong, be strong. Find your strength and use it to support yourself and others. If that fails, ask your community for help. If that fails too, then talk to God.