When a Star Dies

pic: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/A_home_for_old_stars.jpg

"Yaakov Avinu never died" according to the declaration of R' Yochanan in Taanis 5b. "How could that be?" the Gemara goes on, pointing out that he was, after all, mummified, buried, and eulogized. The answer offered is that so long as his progeny lives, so does he.

As that seems just a tad too facile, I thought about what does it mean to live through one's progeny and why we don't say it about everyone who is survived by children. I thought about this:
In Lech Lecha, 14:4 Hashem assures Avraham (then still called Avram) that though he is childless now, he will have offspring as numerous as stars.

5And He took him outside, and He said, "Please look heavenward and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So will be your seed."

הוַיּוֹצֵ֨א אֹת֜וֹ הַח֗וּצָה וַיֹּ֨אמֶר֙ הַבֶּט־נָ֣א הַשָּׁמַ֔יְמָה וּסְפֹר֙ הַכּ֣וֹכָבִ֔ים אִם־תּוּכַ֖ל לִסְפֹּ֣ר אֹתָ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ כֹּ֥ה יִֽהְיֶ֖ה זַרְעֶֽךָ:

So we are supposed to be like starts. In fact, though, we Jews are relatively few in number (just over 14.4 million in the whole world according to http://www.jewishdatabank.org/Studies/details.cfm?StudyID=831) To make sense of this star and population connection, I thought about why we can't count the stars. It's not just because there are so many of them but because of how we see them.

Stars are so far away that the light form them could have traveled for thousands of years before reaching our eyes on earth. In fact, we may even see the light of stars that have already died, and we may not be seeing stars that were born just a few years ago because their light hasn't arrived yet (see http://blogstronomy.blogspot.com/2010/08/is-it-true-that-stars-we-see-are.html). We can never count the stars accurately then, not just because we can't see all the ones that are out there but also because we can see the ones that have already died.


So what's that got to do with Parshas Vayechi in which Yaakov appears on his deathbed, yet can still be considered not to have died? I would say this: just as a star's light can continue to illuminate the heavens for beyond its own lifetime, so can a tzadik continue to light up the world even beyond his physical death. That's what we see with Yaakov. On his deathbed, he blesses and instruct his sons -- and a couple of grandsons, as well. So long as they keep that influence alive, he is still alive within them.

We carry on the transition of that original influence  from our father Yaakov in an unbroken chain through the generations in Egypt, in the desert, then in Israel, and throughout the first and second Exile all the way to this day. As a result of keeping that light alive, the star still can be seen. As light is essential characteristic of a star, so long as it can be seen, it has not ceased to exist even if it stop carrying on its chemical reactions. In light of this, it makes perfect sense to also declare that "Tzadikim afilu bemithatam kruyim chayim." The Righteous -- even in death -- are called living [beings]. Even after their bodies die, their positive influence continues to be seen like the light of stars.

Related post: http://kallahmagazine.blogspot.com/2017/01/vayechi-unique-form-of-swearing.html



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