Vayechi – Making Tools to Enrich our Relationships (5760)

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Vayechi – Making Tools to Enrich our Relationships (5760)
By Mordechai Dolinsky

Yaakov’s blessing to Yehuda has special significance.  Yehuda is royalty-leadership-Torah and Moshiach.  Yehuda is also so special that his name became the name of our nation.  All of Klal Yisroel are “Yehudim”.

Five times there are references in the blessing that Yaakov gave to Yehuda involving wine.  “He ties his he-donkey to the vine”
“To the branch (of the vine) his she-donkey’s foal”
“ He launders his garment in wine”
“ And his robe in the blood of grapes”.
“ Red-eyed from wine and white-toothed from milk”

When Noach came out of the Ark his first preoccupation was the planting of a vineyard.  We must understand why this was such an important priority to Noach.

Do you ever experience the feeling of negativity towards someone and not being able to or wanting to forgive him for the cause of the friction?  Then, when meeting him after having consumed some wine you are overcome with the urge to forgive and forget and let bygones be bygones.  All the rational reasons for your resentment remain yet you have this feeling of warmth and perhaps compassion.  You might find that you are addressing yourself: “One moment, hold on here, let’s no lose ourselves, this absolutely makes no sense, why should I forgive him.  Let’s face it, it’s only a little alcohol that put me in to a good mood.   It’s not rational, logical or sensible.  The issue is whether to allow yourself to be swayed by harnessing the force of wine.

Right before Noach’s  planting the Chumash relates: “Hashem smelled the pleasing aroma (of Noach’s sacrifice) and said in His heart I will not continue to curse again the ground because of man etc”.  This is as if to say that HaShem allowed himself to be swayed by the good smell of the sacrifice.

Chazal tell us that in the time of the Dor Haflaga they revolted against HaShem yet they weren’t destroyed because of the high quality and level of the human relationships that existed between them.  This was lacking in the generation of Noach that resulted in and caused the destruction of the world by the flood.

Wine is a catalystic agent that brings good feelings and good will and a person should allow it to happen.  Harness the power of the wine.

Yehuda—Torah—royalty—leadership and Moshiach: Yehuda the “Yid”, received the blessing of the grapes.  “U’Liven Shinayim MayChalav”—more nourishing than a glass of milk is the joy of the hearty smile.