Parshat Vayechi
The completion of sefer Bereishit marks the conclusion of an era—the era of the patriarchs. And, together with that we find the resolution of the book’s family struggles of bechira, bracha and bechora—who would be chosen, the one to carry on the Abrahamic blessing and the one to don the leadership mantel of the firstborn. Yaakov’s brachot resolves those struggles, clarifying that, in actuality, all of his sons would be chosen and all would carry on the Abrahamic blessing. But what about leadership? What about the bechora? Would it be Reuven, Jacob’s firstborn? Would it be Yosef, Rachel’s firstborn? Or, would it be one of the other sons who were firstborn to their respective mothers?
Ironically, as we look back upon sefer Bereishit, we realize that the ongoing struggle for the bechora had—in the end—no impact upon the choice of leadership whatsoever! Neither Avraham’s first son nor Yitzchak’s eldest were granted that role. And, in this week’s parsha, Yaakov, too, carries on that “tradition” when he blesses a “non-bechor,” his fourth son, Yehuda, with the promise of “Lo yasur shevet meYehuda—the ruling scepter will never depart from Yehuda.”
The events depicted in this week’s haftarah reflect the same ongoing struggle that went through sefer Bereishit, i.e., who would don the mantle of leadership? But in our haftarah, the question was not who would “eventually” lead or whose family would, in the future, become the prominent one. The decision as to who would lead was one of immediate consequence. The “leader” now would become the next king—the successor to David. And, as such, it was the entire nation that would be affected and the entire nation that needed to know who the next ruler would be. No one—it seems—knew for sure.
So, consider the following: David himself was not the firstborn; he was—in fact—the youngest of Yishai’s sons. David’s firstborn, Amnon, who was assumed to be heir to the throne, ravished his own (half?) sister, Tamar, and was never punished or chastised. Avshalom, David’s next eldest son (of his mother), avenged the rape of Tamar by murdering Amnon and, subsequently, fleeing Jerusalem. Yet, some years later, Avshalom was allowed to return to the city but soon gathered supporters—plotting to remove his father from the throne. After his successful coup, he took his father’s wives for his own and pursued the escaping (former) king, hoping to assassinate him. It was during that civil war, a battle that included the prince’s attempt to murder David, that Avshalom himself was killed. Sadly, even that tragedy was not David’s final familial struggle for—as our haftarah relates—David faced the challenge of his next of the firstborn sons, Adoniyah, who had gathered his own supporters and proclaimed himself the new king. So, if you were David, would you look for another firstborn to succeed you?
Please note: The haftarah depicts the palace intrigue caused by the fact that very few were aware of the king’s—and Hashem’s—promise to place Shlomo upon the throne. I would submit that David’s reluctance to publicize this choice of Shlomo may well have been the result of his fear of yet another uprising from within the royal family. Ironically, the very uprising he feared was realized because of David’s silence regarding his choice of successor. This explains why Adoniyah was able to gather a large following—including many of David’s officers—to crown himself as regent—an act which, had David’s decision been known, would have been an act of treason, “mored bamalchut—crime punishable by death!” Indeed, when they did hear of David’s decision to have Shlomo anointed, the bulk of Adoniyah’s followers scattered and supported the true successor, Shlomo.
The haftarah’s clear message for the future—and one we learn from the parsha as well—is that birth does not confer leadership. Leaders must be those who care about the nation more than the self; those who would weigh the opinions of others but then decide firmly and those who recognize their own limitations and admit their own mistakes.
Leaders might be publicly chosen by God … or not, they might be seen by the masses as being divinely inspired … or not. On the other hand, they might simply be caring individuals whose concern for others outweighs their interest in themselves. And that is what allows them to rise to leadership.
They do not become leaders merely through birth. In the age of democracy, it is essential for would-be leaders to recognize what will make them so. And, for the people to choose wisely.
Rabbi Neil Winkler is the rabbi emeritus of the Young Israel of Fort Lee, and now lives in Israel.
