A Verse of Torah - Vayigash 5785
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ShareHow does Jacob bless Pharaoh when they meet for the first time?
(ז) וַיָּבֵ֤א יוֹסֵף֙ אֶת־יַֽעֲקֹ֣ב אָבִ֔יו וַיַּֽעֲמִדֵ֖הוּ לִפְנֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֑ה וַיְבָ֥רֶךְ יַעֲקֹ֖ב אֶת־פַּרְעֹֽה׃
(7) And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
(י) וַיְבָ֥רֶךְ יַעֲקֹ֖ב אֶת־פַּרְעֹ֑ה וַיֵּצֵ֖א מִלִּפְנֵ֥י פַרְעֹֽה׃
(10) And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.
parting blessing. Heb. va-y’varech; compare v. 7. | The bond between the two elders becomes even clearer when Jacob blesses Pharaoh before departing from his presence. Jacob’s blessing is rooted in the blessing of life that Pharaoh made possible for Joseph’s family. Normally it would go without saying that one utters a benevolent wish when departing from a favorable audience before a monarch. What is noteworthy here is that such an utterance is mentioned—and described as a “blessing,” which in the Torah has an overtone of divine favor. Compare Bathsheba’s exit from an audience with her husband, King David, in I Kings 1:31.
“Jacob blessed Pharaoh” [47:10]. Jacob blessed Pharaoh and said to him. The water from the river Nile should also go up and water all the fields. There was no rain in Egypt to water the fields. From Jacob’s blessing onwards, the river Nile watered all the fields.
ויברך יעקב. כְּדֶרֶךְ כָּל הַנִּפְטָרִים מִלִּפְנֵי שָׂרִים מְבָרְכִים אוֹתָם וְנוֹטְלִים רְשׁוּת, וּמַה בְּרָכָה בֵּרְכוֹ? שֶׁיַּעֲלֶה נִילוּס לְרַגְלָיו, לְפִי שֶׁאֵין מִצְרַיִם שׁוֹתָה מֵי גְשָׁמִים אֶלָּא נִילוּס עוֹלֶה וּמַשְׁקֶה, וּמִבִּרְכָתוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב וָאֵילָךְ הָיָה פַרְעֹה בָא אֶל נִילוּס וְהוּא עוֹלֶה לִקְרָאתוֹ וּמַשְׁקֶה אֶת הָאָרֶץ (תַּנְחוּמָא):
ויברך יעקב AND JACOB BLESSED [PHARAOH] — i.e. he gave him the salutation of peace as is usual for all who take their leave of princes — they salute them and depart. A Midrash however understands this more literally and asks, “What was the blessing with which he blessed him? That the waters of the Nile might rise at his approach Because Egypt does not drink (is not irrigated by) rain-water, but the waters of the Nile rise and irrigate it. And from the time when Jacob blessed him and henceforth, whenever Pharaoh came to the Nile it rose at his coming, overflowed its banks and watered the land. Thus it is stated in Tanchuma Yashan 4:2:26 to נשא.
וַיְבָרֶךְ יַעֲקֹב אֶת פַּרְעֹה הִיא שְׁאֵלַת שָׁלוֹם כְּדֶרֶךְ כָּל הַנִּרְאִין לִפְנֵי מְלָכִים לִפְרָקִים, לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על בראשית מ"ז:ז'). וְאֵינוֹ נִרְאֶה כֵן, שֶׁאֵין מִדֶּרֶךְ מוּסַר הַמְּלוּכָה שֶׁיִּשְׁאַל אָדָם בִּשְׁלוֹם הַמֶּלֶךְ, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ (שבת פט), כְּלוּם יֵשׁ עֶבֶד שֶׁנּוֹתֵן שָׁלוֹם לְרַבּוֹ. אֲבָל הָיָה בְּרָכָה מַמָּשׁ, שֶׁדֶּרֶךְ הַזְּקֵנִים וְהַחֲסִידִים הַבָּאִים לִפְנֵי הַמְּלָכִים לְבָרֵךְ אוֹתָם בְּעֹשֶׁר וּנְכָסִים וְכָבוֹד וְהִתְנַשֵּׂא מַלְכוּתָם, וּכְעִנְיָן שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב (מלכים א א לא) "יְחִי אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד לְעֹלָם". וּבְצֵאתוֹ מִלְּפָנָיו חָזַר וּבֵרַךְ אוֹתוֹ, לִטֹּל רְשׁוּת מִלְּפָנָיו, וְאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ (תנחומא נשא כו), שֶׁיַּעֲלֶה נִילוּס לְרַגְלוֹ:
AND JACOB BLESSED PHARAOH. This refers to a salutation, as is customary for all who are granted an occasional interview with kings. Thus the language of Rashi. But this does not appear to be so, for it is not royal protocol for a person to greet the king, and the Rabbis have similarly said: “May a servant greet the king?” Instead, it refers to a real blessing which Jacob bestowed upon Pharaoh, for it is customary for aged and pious people who come before kings to bless them with wealth, possessions, honor, and the advancement of their kingdom, even as Scripture says, Let my lord king David live forever. Upon his taking leave of Pharaoh, Jacob again blessed him in order to take permission to leave. Our Rabbis have said that he blessed him that the Nile might rise at his approach.
עוד ירצה שהעמידו למול פניו כדרך המברכין ויברך יעקב וגו':
It may also mean that he placed Jacob immediately opposite Pharaoh so that his father could bless Pharaoh.
ויברך יעקב את פרעה. ברכו בעושר והתנשאות מלכותו, כי כן דרך הזקנים והחסידים בבואם לפני המלכים לברך אותם כענין שכתוב בדוד (מלכים א א׳:ל״א) יחי אדני המלך דוד. והזכיר עוד שנית ויברך יעקב את פרעה ויצא מלפני פרעה כי בצאתו מלפניו חזר וברכו, ודרשו ז"ל ברכו שיעלה נילוס לרגלו.
ויברך יעקב את פרעה, “Yaakov blessed Pharaoh.” He wished him wealth and success in his position as ruler of a great Empire. This was the customary blessing conferred by elders and pious people who were granted an audience by a king. We find an example of this in Kings I 1,31 where Bat Sheva, David’s wife, blesses him in a similar vein, saying: “may my lord King live forever.” The Torah mentions Yaakov blessing Pharaoh again before he took his leave. Our sages (Tanchuma Nasso 26) say that the blessing consisted of a wish that the river Nile would rise again and irrigate the fields of Egypt.
ויברך יעקב את פרעה, נתן לו שלום כדרך הנכנסים לפכי המלך, וכן כי תמצא איש לא תברכנו (מלכים ב' ד') ואיני מוצא טעם לספור הזה למה נכתב:
ויברך יעקב את פרעה. He greeted him (bestowed a blessing) as is customary when one is introduced to the king. The custom is highlighted in Kings II 4,29 where Elisha told Gechazi not to respond to anyone’s greeting. Yaakov blessed Pharaoh again upon leaving after the audience. I have not found a satisfactory explanation why the Torah had to report something so ordinary.
ויברך יעקב את פרעה, נתן לו שלום כדרך הנכנסים לפכי המלך, וכן כי תמצא איש לא תברכנו (מלכים ב' ד') ואיני מוצא טעם לספור הזה למה נכתב:
ויברך יעקב את פרעה. He greeted him (bestowed a blessing) as is customary when one is introduced to the king. The custom is highlighted in Kings II 4,29 where Elisha told Gechazi not to respond to anyone’s greeting. Yaakov blessed Pharaoh again upon leaving after the audience. I have not found a satisfactory explanation why the Torah had to report something so ordinary.
