Strengthening One Another on Our Journeys

Parashat Vayechi • Genesis 47:28–50:26

As we step into this new year, I’m grateful to share something I’m truly excited about: my new book, Illuminated Journey, is ready and available to order!

I so appreciate the notes I receive from clergy saying that they included one of my prayers in their Shabbat service. I am blessed because I love what I do, and it’s a blessing to know that my words touch people, and are widely shared. Illuminated Journey is a coffee table book featuring my illustrations and prayers for each of the 54 Torah portions. It also includes a section on Visual Midrash, creative process insights, and illustrated prayers.

I hope this collection will be a helpful tool—something that something that provides inspiration and illuminates your journey. Here’s a link if you’d like to order the book: https://joannefinkjudaica.com/product/illuminated-journey/

This week, as we reach the end of Genesis, we arrive at a Torah portion filled with legacy: final blessings, final words, final moments of tenderness and truth. Jacob’s blessings to his children are not only personal—they’re directional. They point us toward what matters most, especially when we’re standing at the edge of transition.

The verse I illuminated this week comes from Jacob’s blessing to Joseph:

“God will bless you with the blessings of the heavens above,
the blessings of the deep, lying below…”
— Genesis 49:25

I love that pairing—above and below—because it mirrors real life. Some days we feel uplifted by possibility, clarity, hope, and grace. Other days we are navigating the depths of grief, uncertainty and overwhelm. The Torah doesn’t deny either place. Instead, it reminds us that blessing can meet us in both.

And perhaps that’s one of the gifts of finishing a Torah book: we remember, again, that Torah is not only something we study—it is something we lean on. We draw strength from its stories, its questions, its wisdom, and its insistence that we do not walk alone.

As we close Genesis, we recite as a community Chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek—Be strong, be strong, and may we strengthen one another.

Strength doesn’t always look like pushing through. Sometimes it looks like reaching out. Sometimes it looks like letting yourself be held. Sometimes it looks like choosing, one more time, to begin again. Often it is the challenges we face that give us the strongest opportunity for soul growth.

Prayer: Deepening Connections

(Prayer for Parashat Vayechi)

Source of Strength,
Creator of the Highest Heavens
and the Deepest Depths—

On this day,
may we deepen our connection
to You
and to those we love.

May we feel safe and secure
and continue to grow in strength,
courage, and wisdom.

May we discover and hone
our innate gifts
and use them
to make a difference in the world.

May we be blessed
to experience moments of joy
and moments of wonder
each day.

May we always strengthen—
and be strengthened by—
one another.

Spiritual Practice: Small Acts of Kindness

One way we can strengthen community is through small acts of kindness. Here are some suggestions to do this week:

Reach out! Send a “thinking of you” message to someone who’s carrying a lot, or call someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time.
Be kind to yourself! Ask for support in one specific, doable way (and let someone show up for you).
Connect! Invite someone to join you for Shabbat dinner and/or go to Shabbat services with you.
Acknowledge! Send a note letting someone know that you appreciate the difference they’ve made in your life.

Guided Journaling:

This week, I invite you to reflect on the blessings “above” and “below” in your own life—along with the strength you’re being asked to claim, cultivate, or share.

Blessings from above: What is currently uplifting you—giving you hope, perspective, or a sense of possibility?
Blessings from the deep: What challenge, uncertainty, or “depth” are you navigating—and what might it be teaching you?
Your gifts: What is one gift you know you have, but don’t always use fully? How could you bring more of it into the world this year?
Strengthening each other: Who has strengthened you recently? How can you express your appreciation? How might you strengthen someone else this week?

Closing Blessing

In this season of transition—
as we move from what was
toward what will be—

May we be blessed with courage
to step into the sacred circle
of endings and new beginnings.

May we greet the new year
with equanimity,
and discover inspiration and connection
in unexpected moments.

May we feel held by love,
blessed and bolstered by community,
and strengthened by the gentle reminder
that we do not have to do life alone.

May we find strength and meaning
in the words of Torah,
and in the holy work of showing up
for one another.

And as we turn the page on the calendar,
may we strengthen—
and be strengthened by—
each other.