Yakov leaves the world in Parshat Vayechi. He addresses each son,some with rebuke’s and some with accolades. In a way, his oration gives you an insight into his feelings of not accomplishing his life’s spiritual mission. We know from Vayigash that Yakov felt the years of his life were “bad and short” . He dies with the family in Egypt and facing years of slavery. However, unlike Avraham and Yitzchak, Yakov is the father of the 12 tribes and the patriarch whose name is changed to reflect the nation.

This week on the 10th of Teves, Dovid ben Yitl passed into the better place. Dovid Ben Yitl grew up in a labor camp during the holocaust. Orphaned in a monastery after the war until a relative found him. Fled the Communists in 1956 and ran all the way to America. In America he built a family and a new life. He was married for 50 years and died the day after his 50th anniversary. His life was too short like Yakov’s, but it was full, beautiful and good. Like Yakov, Dovid Ben Yitl built a new family. Dovid Ben Yitl started a new spiritual legacy in America. Dovid ben Yitl was a righteous person. He was one of the most honest and honorable persons the Shikker Dovid ever met. May the neshama have an aliyah.