VAYECHI

The virtue of discipline.

What were the odds of such a promise? Among the people of Israel there were many distinguished dynasties, and not one of them survived. The upheavals of history created especially formidable threats against the descendants of the House of David. Enemies struggled to annihilate them, and almost no descendant remained. Yet each time, a single survivor slipped away from the pile of corpses and continued to sustain the royal lineage, poised to redeem Israel.

why Yehudah? Why was his seed chosen for kingship? And what is the secret of eternity that survives every threat?

Yehudah was the most disciplined of all. He was not necessarily the wisest among the tribes, nor the most righteous, nor the most God-fearing, but Yehudah lived within a framework of laws. He did not believe in himself; rather, he believed in Hashem, and arose and did what needed to be done. One who lives according to the Creator’s will, endures forever.