I tend to see 18s wherever I look. 18 being the magic Hebrew number, bringing together the Hebrew letter Chet (8), and Yud (10), equaling the Hebrew word Chai, meaning life. So important is this number in our Jewish lexicon that we wear the letters around our necks and give gifts in denominations of eighteen for good luck. As a rabbi, I see 18s everywhere – in people’s addresses, in prices at the supermarket, and in important dates. So with the year 2018 beginning in a few days, it’s only natural that the number eighteen would be on my mind while reading the Torah portion.
Parashat Vayichi begins with a variation of the Hebrew word Chai, so there is the first 18 right off the bat. And then in the first verse we are told that Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years, just one short of eighteen. The goal of all of our Biblical patriarchs and matriarchs was to live in Canaan. Egypt was the least desirable place in the world. Egypt was the enemy. Jacob’s last request was to be brought back home to be buried with his ancestors. This is where his bones are brought, presumably returning to Cannon exactly eighteen years after he first left. What a perfect way to conclude Genesis. What a perfect way for us to begin 2018. May this be a year where projects are completed, where wholeness and peace surround us in our lives.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex