Our parsha relates that Yaakov’s life span was 147 years. Interestingly, the Daat Zikeinim (Bereishit 47:8) quotes a midrash which teaches that originally Yaakov was destined to live until 180, much like his father Yitzchak. However, when Yaakov met Pharaoh, Pharaoh (ch. 47, v. 8) asked him his age, and whenYaakov answered (in v. 9) he also added that the years of his life have been “few and bad.” Because Yaakov complained, he lost 33 years of his life, as the number of words in these two verses which contain the exchange between Yaakov and Pharaoh total 33. Rav Chaim Shmuelvitz elaborates on this point, and seems to explain that essentially, Yaakov’s complaining stemmed from a certain degree of lack of appreciation for life, for had he truly appreciated the gift of life, then he would not have complained (Sichot Mussar, Shemot).
It would seem to emerge then that the root of Yaakov ultimately losing those 33 years of his life was because he did not have sufficient appreciation for life (which seemingly led to his complaining). It can be suggested then, that if Yaakov didn’t adequately appreciate life and therefore ultimately lost some years of his life the converse of this can perhaps teach us that by having the proper appreciation for life, we might ultimately merit an increase in the years of our lives.
Appreciating life might not only merit us an increase in the quantity of our years, it may also increase the quality of our lives. While it’s true that the two verses which provide the exchange between Yaakov and Pharaoh total 33 words, the first verse merely records Pharaoh’s question of how old Yaakov was! So why should Yaakov be held responsible also for those words that Pharaoh asked him?!
When Yaakov met Pharoah, Pharaoh asked him how old he was. Now, why was Pharaoh so interested in the age of his visitor? The Daat Zikeinim explains that what prompted Pharaoh to ask such a question was because Yaakov looked extremely old, and the hairs of his head and beard were white due to being so old.
Yet, we might ask, had Pharaoh never seen an extremely old person before? Perhaps what the Daat Zikeinim means is that while Pharaoh may have indeed come across some very old people, he had seldom seen a person who looked as old as Yaakov did. (Similarly, the Ramban (47:9) says that the reason why Pharaoh asked Yaakov his age was because Pharaoh was astonished over Yaakov’s old age due to the fact that most people of his era did not experience such longevity.) Still, just because Yaakov may have been one of the oldest looking people Pharaoh ever saw, thus prompting Pharaoh to ask Yaakov how old he was, why should Yaakov be held responsible for Pharaoh’s inquiry? Does being extremely old and being asked about one’s age deserve the punishment of a reduced lifespan?
Rav Shmulevitz seems to suggest as follows: What prompted Pharoah’s inquiry was because while Yaakov was in fact very old at that time (130 years old), his appearance of old age did not match his actual years! In other words, he looked much older than he actually was. The reason why this occurred was because Yaakov was overly affected by the troubles he endured in his life, causing him to look older than what he should have objectively looked considering his actual age. For this, Yaakov was taken to task. For if Yaakov would have truly appreciated life, he wouldn’t have been affected to such an extent by the challenges and troubles he endured (See Sichot Mussar, Ibid).
Based on this, it can be suggested that Yaakov did not sufficiently appreciate life and was thereby overly affected by his troubles, perhaps causing him to feel “old” so to speak, and to make him appear older than he actually was. This can perhaps teach us that appreciating life can enhance the quality of our lives, and bring us to feel more vibrant and youthful than what our actual years may objectively dictate. Appreciating life might merit us more life in a quantitative sense, resulting in more “life” in a qualitative sense.
Binyamin is a graduate of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, and Wurzweiler School of Social Work.
