Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Va'Yehi: letting opportunity slip away

Parshat Va'Yehi

In 48:1, Yosef finds out that his father is nearing the time of his death. He takes his two sons and goes to visit Yaakov and receive brachos from him.

We do not find any of the other sons bringing their kids for brachos, though we do find Yaakov gathering his sons and giving them brachos.

But here we find Yosef doing something none of the other brothers did. Yosef saw an opportunity and realized that it was slipping away. In a little while there would never be this opportunity again. If he wanted it to happen, he had to act right away. If he wanted to make sure his sons would get blessings from their grandfather Yaakov, he had to go right now.

Yosef realized this. Maybe he was the only one of the sons who realized it, or who had the perception to act and to take advantage of such an opportunity.

We can learn from Yosef about the importance of recognizing and being aware of the situation, and not letting opportunity slip away.

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