This week’s Torah portion, Vayechi, opens by describing the events preceding Jacob’s death in Egypt. Jacob makes Joseph swear that he will bury him in Israel. He then gives his grandsons, Joseph's two sons, Menashe and Ephraim, a special blessing that elevates them to the status of his own sons (as a result, each of them will later become known a "tribe of Israel"). He then gives each of his twelve sons a blessing that reflects his individual character traits and defines his tribe’s spiritual mission.

Jacob passes away in Egypt at the age of 147. Accompanied by a procession of Egyptian royalty, his sons bring him to Israel, where he is buried in the Ma'arat HaMachpelah (The Doubled Cave) in Hebron. Upon their return to Egypt, Joseph's brothers fear, now that their father is deceased, that Joseph will avenge their sin of selling him into slavery. Joseph assures them that he does not bear a grudge and reminds them that his enslavement was part of a Divine plan to bring a greater good: the sustenance of the family in Egypt during the terrible famine years.

The portion closes with Joseph’s death at the age of 110.

This week concludes the Book of Genesis in which the Torah details the beginnings of time and the foundation of our great nation, the lives of our forefathers and mothers and the lessons they impart to their descendants, the Jewish People.