Citazione Commento su I Re 11:21

“And the days of Israel drew near to death.” In the Midrash (Tanchuma Beracha 7) they said: The days die but they [the righteous] do not die, because as long as the righteous person is in the world, days of tranquility are found in the world, and upon his death those days of tranquility cease, and their cessation is considered their death. As it is written, as long as Jacob was alive, the [Egyptian] enslavement did not begin. But regarding Jacob himself, our Sages said that he did not die. And although every righteous person is called “living” even after death, nevertheless they specifically chose Jacob, because they interpreted regarding him (Taanit 5b): “He is compared to his offspring — just as his offspring are alive, so too he is alive.” This is because a son contains a portion of his father, and every fetus is considered an extension of its mother and father. When his offspring are alive, it is as if he too is alive — meaning, a part of him [lives on]. This specifically applies to Jacob, whose progeny was complete and all were living, active offspring. However, one who bears a wicked son, who is considered dead even while alive, in such a case the son does not bring merit to the father, for it is sufficient for that which is derived to be like that from which it is derived — and he himself is considered dead while alive, so how can his father’s portion be called alive? This is what they interpreted (Bava Batra 116) on the verse And Hadad heard in Egypt that David lay with his fathers and that Joab had died (1 Kings 11:21) — why does it mention “lying” with David and “death” with Joab? Because David left behind a righteous son like himself, unlike Joab. For this reason, the term “lying” was used with Jacob, while “death” was specifically applied to the days.