After Jacob has lived in Egypt for seventeen years, he feels his days on earth are ending. He calls Joseph to his side and asks him to promise that he will bury him in the land of Canaan where Abraham and Isaac are buried. Jacob then blesses Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Menasseh, that they will each become the father of a tribe, just like Jacob's sons.
Jacob then calls all of his sons to his side and blesses each one. He tells each son what his role will be as one of the Tribes of Israel. For example, he says that the tribe of Judah will produce kings, and Dan will produce judges. Naphtali will be swift as a deer and Benjamin fierce as a wolf.
When Jacob is finished blessing his children, he passes away. He is 147 years old. Joseph cries and mourns his father as do his brothers and all of the people of the land of Egypt. They mourn Jacob because he was a righteous person who brought a lot of blessing to the land. Joseph keeps his promise to his father and brings him to the land of Canaan and buries him in the Cave of Machpeila in the city of Hebron.
The sons of Jacob are worried that now that Jacob is no longer alive Joseph will take revenge on them for selling him into slavery. But Joseph comforts them and tells them he is not planning to do anything against his brothers. Joseph dies at the age of 110. Before passing away, he gives a message to the people of Israel, telling them that "G‑d will surely remember you, and bring you up out of this land to the land of which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." He asks that his body be brought out of Egypt with them.
Joseph's body is not buried in the land of Canaan yet. (The Egyptians do not let the Jewish people take him out of Egypt.) With this Parshah we conclude the first book of the Torah, the book of Bereishit.
Absolutely fundamental, the book of Bereishit. The creation of the universe and more specifically our plane - planet earth. The creation of the first beings on the 6th day of creation (Adam and Chava, begotten physicality after the forbidden fruit incident). A global purification (in form of the mabul) of absolute degeneracy and decadence save for Noach and a handful of chosen. And then, with the birth of Cham, Japheth and Shem we got the progenitors of our modern human race: Africa, Europe and Asia. The dispersion of the people in the Tower of Babel accident and the creation of various languages.
Avraham, father of a multitude of nations (not only of Jews, but his 'seed is called in us') seeks and finds our Creator.
The birth of Yitzhak and Ishmael.
Then the birth of Yaakov. The three patriarchs. The four matriarchs (Sarah, Rivka, Rachel&Leah).
Then the grand story of Joseph. The introduction on how the 'Jews' (as we're called nowadays) came to be.
Amazing.