Vayechi

 בס״ד

Vayechi

A father eventually has to cast off,

Aspirations he’s had for his children,

To honestly see them for just who they are,

The wonders that he should take joy in.

Yaakov’s brachos are not so much,

The paths he wants them to take,

As they are insights about who they are,

And the impact they’re destined to make.

One might have thought Yaakov hadn’t a clue,

Of the nature of each shevet mentioned,

But, we can see from the brachos he gives,

That he’d really been paying attention.

So why did he give Yosef, Rachel’s son,

A clear designation of preference?

Sometimes a dream seems like insight as well,

To which we are wont to give deference.

But wisdom comes late to the wisest of us,

And I know I am not an exception,

So be, kleine kinderlach, just who you will be,

Your futures beyond my reflection.