When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to see you,” Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. – Gen. 48:2
Shortly before Jacob’s passing, he blesses Joseph’s children and his own. Why does the Torah tell us that when Joseph walks in, his father Jacob makes an effort to sit up? It seems to be an insignificant detail, but we know that every word and even letter in the Torah has deep meaning.
Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky compares this verse to a story about Abraham Lincoln, as related by American historian Paul F. Boller, Jr. It was January 1, 1863 and President Lincoln had spent the morning glad-handing supporters because of what he was about to do: sign the Emancipation Proclamation. Now Lincoln was sitting at his desk with the document before him. He picked up his quill and was about to dip it into the ink when he paused and put his arm down. Again he picked up the quill, paused, and put it down. Then Lincoln turned to his Secretary of State, William Seward, and explained his hesitance. After spending hours shaking hands, Lincoln’s own right hand was numb and practically paralyzed. He told Seward, “If I am ever going to go down in history, it will be for this act. My whole self is in it. However, if my hand trembles when I sign this proclamation, whoever examines it will say hereafter, ‘he hesitated.’”
The President then gathered his strength, dipped his quill in the ink, and signed the proclamation very slowly and with careful control: Abraham Lincoln.
Both our Patriarch and our 16th U.S. President sent vitally important messages to their people and the world. These weren’t messages that could be delivered lying down, or with trembling hands. As Rabbi Kamenetsky says, “Execution of great actions needs great strength and fortitude.” May we all be inspired by these two exceptional men to summon our strength and change the world!
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Have you seen our film, SAVING LINCOLN? It’s the true story of Abraham Lincoln and his closest friend U.S. Marshal Ward Hill Lamon, a banjo-playing Southerner who lifted Lincoln’s spirits during the darkest hours of the Civil War and saved his life more than once. Available on Apple, Prime and other streaming platforms.
Image: Lincoln signature