Talmud Bavli
Talmud Bavli

Chasidut for Megillah 33:1

למה נמנו שנותיו של ישמעאל כדי ליחס בהן שנותיו של יעקב דכתיב (בראשית כה, יז) ואלה שני חיי ישמעאל מאת שנה ושלשים שנה ושבע שנים כמה קשיש ישמעאל מיצחק ארביסר שנין דכתיב (בראשית טז, טז) ואברם בן שמונים שנה ושש שנים בלדת הגר את ישמעאל לאברם וכתיב (בראשית כא, ה) ואברהם בן מאת שנה בהולד לו את יצחק בנו וכתיב (בראשית כה, כו) ויצחק בן ששים שנה בלדת אותם בר כמה הוה ישמעאל כדאתיליד יעקב בר שבעים וארבעה כמה פיישן משניה שתין ותלת

"Why were the years of Ishmael counted? To calculate with them the years of Jacob. As it is written, 'And these are the years of the life of Yishmael: 137 years (Genesis 25:17).'" How much older was Ishmael than Isaac? Fourteen years, as it is written: "And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave bore Ishmael to Abram (Genesis 16:16)." And it is written: "And Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac, his son, was born to him (Genesis 21:5)." And it is written: "And Isaac was sixty when they were born (Genesis 25:26)." How old was Ishmael when Jacob was born? [He] was seventy-four [years old.] How many years were left in his life? Sixty-three.

Pri Tzadik

We find in the Torah that the details of the life of Yaakov are not written clearly, but are alluded to, as is written in Megilla 17A: Why were the years of Yishmael counted? In order to relate the longevity of Yaakov's life - to teach us that he was blessed (by Isaac) at the age of 63, and that he was 14 years in the study halls of Shem and Ever (although this was never explicitly stated anywhere in the Torah itself). This is true especially when he arrived in Egypt and said to Pharoah: The days of my sojourn are 130 years, and since we know that he lived 147 years old, we know from this that he was in Egypt for 17 years. If this is the case his age is obvious, and there is no need for us to be told his final age of 147 years. There is therefore no need to mention both his final age or his 17 years that he lived in Egypt (we could derive one from another quite simply (ed))!
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Full ChapterNext Verse