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Why did Yaakov wait until his deathbed to criticize his sons, and why couldn't he reveal the keitz? The shiur explores the Ramban (רמב"ן)'s teaching that the Chashmanaim were destroyed for violating Yaakov's will by taking kingship. True redemption requires character transformation—not just mitzvah (מצוה) observance—and denial is the primary barrier preventing us from undertaking that transformation.
Rabbi Zweig begins with a fascinating Ramban (רמב"ן) in Parshas Vayechi that teaches one of the messages in Yaakov's tzava'as hazaken (deathbed will) was that no kohen should become king—only Yehuda should have kingship. The Ramban states that the Chashmanaim, despite saving Torah (תורה) and mitzvos from being forgotten through their revolt against the Greeks, were completely decimated because they violated this tzava by making themselves kings. This raises a profound difficulty: how could something as serious as pikuach nefesh—saving the entire Jewish people—be outweighed by violating a tzava, which is not even a binding Torah obligation? The Chashmanaim must have had good reason; they were saving Klal Yisrael from destruction. The shiur then addresses Rashi (רש"י)'s teaching that one should only give tochacha (rebuke) close to death, as Yaakov waited to criticize his sons and Moshe waited until Sefer Devarim to rebuke Klal Yisrael. This seems to contradict the Torah obligation of hochei'ach tochi'ach—to rebuke repeatedly when seeing wrongdoing. Rashi explains Yaakov feared Reuven might join Eisav if criticized earlier, and that repeated rebuke would cause ongoing embarrassment. But this appears to violate an explicit mitzvah (מצוה).
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Bereishis 47:28-50:26 (Parshas Vayechi)
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