This weeks parsha, parshat Vayechi, started off by saying “And Ya’akov lived until 147.” We know that the last 17 years of Yaakov’s life were the best years of his life. He had no problems or worries. He did not have to worry about Esav, Lavan, Rachel and Leah, Dina, Yoseph or Benyamin. None of these situations came up in the end of his life. However we do not hear a lot about the last part of his life, although it seems like we should. So why do we not hear a lot about this part of his life?

Rav Hirsch points out that there is not a separation in the writing between his time of suffering and his time of not suffering. This shows that there was nothing more significant in his “easy” life, rather it was a reward of his harder life. Rav Hirsch’s point is that the tough years build up a person. It makes them who they are. A person is known for how he overcomes his struggles. Ya’akov is known for how he went though such a tough life but still had emuna, faith, and remained to be a righteous person.

Yaakov’s struggling years made him the person who he was which is a meaningful message. The reason why we do not hear about Yaakov’s easy life is because his troubling times were the ones that counted. It shows us how our struggles are significant. Our struggling times, as annoying as they may seem, and how we overcome those situations will, and do, make us who we are.