Dear Friends;

I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

The Jewish People receive a series of civil laws concerning social justice. Topics include: Proper treatment of Jewish slaves/servants; a husband’s obligations to his wife; penalties for hitting people and for cursing parents; rules governing the conduct of judges and leaders; financial responsibilities for damaging people or their property; payments for theft; for not returning an object that one accepted responsibility to safeguard; the right to self-defense of a person being robbed.

Other topics include: Prohibitions against seduction; witchcraft, relationship with animals and sacrifices to idols. The Torah warns us to treat the convert, widow and orphan with dignity, and to avoid lying. Lending money to get interest is forbidden and the rights over collateral are limited. Payment of obligations to the Temple should not be delayed, and the Jewish People must be holy, even concerning food. The Torah teaches the proper conduct for judges in court proceedings. The commandments of Shabbat and the Sabbatical year are outlined. Three times a year — Pesach, Shavuot and Succot — we are to come to the Temple. The Torah concludes this listing of laws with a law of kashrut — not to mix milk and meat.

The people of Israel promise to do and listen to everything that G-d says. Moshe ascends the mountain to remain there for 40 days in order to receive the two Tablets of the Covenant.

“ Dvar Torah “

In this week’s parsha which is filled with commandments and laws concerning man and his fellow, we come across two unrelated commandments which are placed next to each other. The first one tells us about the laws of a non-kosher animal. The Torah says: “People of holiness shall you be to Me; you shall not eat flesh of an animal that was torn in the field; to the dog shall you throw it”.  The next verse tells us about carrying a false or evil reports, “Do not accept a false report, do not extend your hand with the wicked to be a venal witness”.

The Chachamim say that there is always a connection between the laws of the Torah when written in juxtaposition. But it’s very difficult to see the connection between these two. What does throwing non-kosher meat to a dog have to do with a gossip? The two seem totally unconnected.

Rabbi Kamenetsky says that the meat given to the dogs is a payback for keeping silence on the night of the Egyptian exodus. That night, despite the cries and wails of the Egyptians as their first-born were smitten, the dogs kept quiet. The Torah says: “Against all the Children of Israel, no dog shall whet its tongue, against neither man nor beast, so that you shall know that Hashem will have differentiated between Egypt and Israel”. Therefore they are rewarded with the meat that a Jew must refrain from eating. But how is their reward of reticence a lesson for Jews who slander?

The Chafetz Chaim explains the reason dogs were rewarded was because their nature is to yelp and bark at tragedy. Despite their instinct, they went against their nature and held back. They followed the command of the Almighty and held their tongues. The Torah rewarded their reserve with the spoils of our non-kosher meat. But when humans, who are supposed to control their tongues, lose control, there is no better method to learn how to mend the folly of their ways than through the very animals who mastered self-control in most trying times. How fitting is it that the two verses, one that rewards the canine for constraint be juxtaposed next to one which prohibits their mortal masters from evil talk and gossiping. We are the masters of our animals, but more so must be the masters of our desires and our tongues! Sometimes, instead of just teaching our dogs new tricks, we can learn a lesson as well.

I recently read the following story. Although amusing, yet it carries a moral lesson. I hope you like it too:  A man was going on vacation to Jamaica. He wanted a room for himself and his pet dog, and asked if the establishment, a hotel in Kingston, Jamaica, would allow an animal. A little while later he received the following reply to his email:

Dear Sir,

I’ve been in the hotel business for forty years and never had to eject a disorderly dog. Never has a dog set a mattress on fire while smoking in bed. Never has a dog stolen a towel or sneaked an unpaid guest into his room. Never has a dog acted disorderly, drunk or otherwise. Your dog is welcome. If he can vouch for you, then you can come along as well.

Sincerely;

Hotel Manager.

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

Soon after allowing the Children of Israel to depart from Egypt, Pharaoh chases after them to force their return, and the Israelites find themselves trapped between Pharaoh’s armies and the sea. G-d tells Moshe to raise his staff over the water; the sea splits to allow the Israelites to pass through, and then closes over the pursuing Egyptians. Moshe and the Benei Israel sing a song of praise and gratitude to G-d.

In the desert, the people suffer thirst and hunger and repeatedly complain to Moshe and Aaron. G-d miraculously sweetens the bitter waters of Marah, He causes manna to rain down from the heavens before dawn each morning, and quails to appear in the Israelite camp each evening.

The Children of Israel are instructed to gather a double portion of manna on Friday, as none will descend on Shabbat. Aaron preserves a small quantity of manna in a jar, as a testimony for future generations.

The people of Israel are attacked by the Amaleks, who are defeated by Moshe’s prayers and an army raised by Joshua.

” Dvar Torah “

Music! Oxford dictionary defines it as “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” There is an inner connection between music and the spirit. Words are the language of the mind, while music is the language of the soul. Religious worship cannot do without music. That’s why when we pray, we do not read; we sing. Melody inspires the soul; music connects you to G-d.

In this week’s Parsha, Moshe and the Benei Yisrael also sing a song of gratitude to Hashem; “Az yashir Moshe uvenei Yisrael….”. After Hashem saved the Israelites from the hands of Egyptians, and the Israelites saw the Egyptians dead on the shore, they believed in Hashem and His servant Moshe. So they expressed their appreciation by singing a song to the G-d Almighty. Accordingly, this week’s Shabbat is called “Shabbat Shira”, Shabbat of Song.

But Rabbi Frand has a different view of why this week’s Shabbat is called Shabbat Shira. He says that it could not merely be because the parsha contains the ‘Shirah’, for if that were the case, then Parshat Yitro, (next week) should be called Shabbat Torah, since it contains the story of the giving of the Ten Commandments. So there must be something else about  Parshat Beshalach that gives it the title of “Shabbat Shira”.

Rabbi Frand says that the word “Shira” comes from the same root as “Yashar”, meaning straight. The entire parsha contains this idea of “Straightness,” of ups and downs which eventually balance out. No other parsha has so much repetition between peaks and valleys. The Jewish people came out of Egypt mightily, with a powerful Hand. Then the balloon was deflated when their backs were against the sea and the Egyptians were bearing down on them. The whole Exodus from Egypt seemed to be in jeopardy. It seemed to dissipate and go up in a cloud. Then the sea split. That was a tremendous high. They were miraculously saved. Then what happened? They found themselves without water, and the ‘lows’ began again. Then the bitter water miraculously turned sweet and they again were on a ‘high’. Then they had no food. They complain again — another ‘low’. Then they were miraculously given Manna and they were happy again. Then Amalek attacked and the cycle continued…..

There are high points and low points in a person’s life. There are peaks and there are valleys. When a person can look back and see the straightness (Yashar) of life — that somehow, after a while, things tend to work themselves out and become straight — that is the time when a person can utter Shirah; sing a Song. That’s why this week’s Parsha is called Shabbat Shira — the Shabbat of fairness and straightness!

Yes my friends; this week’s Parsha teaches us about life. Life is all about the highs and lows, ups and downs, the peaks and valleys. When a person can look back on his life and recognize that while there have been defeats and low moments as well as the high points, and sees the straightness/fairness of it all, then he understands what life is all about. That is when he can indeed utter the Shira, song of praise to G-d which is the essence of this week’s Parsha.

Remember that there is one good thing about reaching the bottom… You can only go up! After a bitterness in life, there usually comes sweetness. There is a great example of this in this week’s Parsha. The Israelites came to a place called Marah. However, they were unable to drink the water there because it was bitter. They complained against Moshe, asking what they could drink. Moshe prayed to G-d. G-d showed Moshe a tree. Moshe threw the tree into the water and the water became sweetened. The Jews were then able to drink the water. The Talmud says that the bark of the tree that G-d showed Moshe was itself extremely bitter. The bitter water was sweetened through the addition of a bitter tree. The lesson of this incident is:  “From the bitter, sweet emerges”. Sometimes, the sweetest outcome can emerge from the bitterest pain.

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;
Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

The last three of the Ten Plagues are visited on Egypt: a swarm of locusts devours all the crops and greenery; a thick, tangible darkness envelops the land; and all the firstborn of Egypt are killed at the stroke of midnight of the 15th of the month of Nissan.

G-d commands the first mitzvah to be given to the people of Israel: to establish a calendar based on the monthly rebirth of the moon. The Israelites are also instructed to bring a “Passover offering” to G-d: a lamb to be slaughtered and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts of every Israelite home, so that G-d should pass over these homes when He comes to kill the Egyptian firstborn. The roasted meat of the offering is to be eaten that night together with matzah and bitter herbs.

The death of the firstborn finally breaks Pharaoh’s resistance and he literally drives the Children of Israel from his land. So hastily do they depart, there is no time for their dough to rise, and the only provisions they take along are unleavened bread (Matzah). Before they go, they ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold, silver and garments, draining Egypt of its wealth.

The Children of Israel are commanded to sanctify all firstborn and to observe the anniversary of the Exodus each year by removing all leaven from their possession for seven days, eating matzah, and telling the story of their redemption to their children. They are also commanded to wear tefillin on the arm and head as a reminder of the Exodus and their resultant commitment to G-d.

” Dvar Torah “

This week, we read about the last and final plague that Hashem brought upon the Egyptians; the killing of the firstborns. This was by far the most devastating and destructive plague that the Egyptians experienced. All other nine plagues destroyed the Egyptians’ livelihood and their economy, while the last plague destroyed their actual lives!

So, prior to the plague of the firstborn, Moshe told Pharaoh, “So says Hashem: ‘ At around midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt. Every firstborn in Egypt shall die,…”.

Once again, the Chachamim pick up a strange word used in the pasuk which needs explanation. They are bothered by Moshe’s use of the word, “around” midnight. Why did Moshe need to approximate? The plague was actually executed at exactly midnight, 12:00am. Why didn’t Moshe declare the exact time? Well, Rashi, the famous Torah commentator, explains that Moshe did not want to be precise in his declaration, lest the advisers of Pharaoh err in their calculation and attribute their mistake to Moshe’s inability to be exact. This was obviously before the days of clocks and certainly before the days of calculating the exact time with minutes and seconds. Telling time was usually an estimated calculation.

But you may ask yourself, what is the big deal if the Egyptians thought that Moshe wasn’t exactly accurate? What if they would have thought that the time was 12:05, for example? Hadn’t the Egyptians experienced a series of nine plagues before? Hadn’t Moshe been correct and accurate every single time about every single detail? Moshe had a flawless track record. Do you think a little inaccuracy in time would have damaged Moshe’s reputation?

Rabbi Yissachar Frand gives a very interesting explanation to this question. He says that Moshe wasn’t concerned about his own reputation at all, but rather, he was worried about the Honor of Hashem. If G-d said that he would be there at midnight and people were waiting and thinking that it was midnight already and G-d is not here yet, that would be a Chillul HaShem (a desecration of G-d’s Name), even though it only lasted perhaps for a minute or two. There is no room for doubts when it comes to G-d’s reputation. By now, the Egyptians knew that the G-d of Hebrews is the true G-d. They knew that He was perfect and they expected His agent, Moshe, to be perfect too. That’s why Moshe approximated the time, in order not to give them any reason for suspicion. He didn’t want the people to doubt his prediction even for a minute. Moshe knew that it’s not good enough for the people to think that he’s right most of the time; he had to be right ALL of the time, since he represents the G-d Almighty, who is perfect and will always be perfect!

Yes my friends, G-d is perfect and so is expected from his agents too! G-d has chosen us to be his “Chosen People” and we act as Hashem’s representatives in this world in the eyes of other nations. Anything we do publicly wrong is considered Chillul Hashem, a desecration of G-d’s name. The way we conduct our businesses, the way we treat other people, the way we dress, the way we eat, the way we drink and the way we socialize are all being carefully observed and judged by other people. Something which might be normal for other nations to do, might be a disgrace to be done by a Jew. For example, for the President of United States to be engaged in immoral activity might be acceptable by the nation, but if a Rabbi is involved in a sexual misconduct, it’s considered an outrage and is not accepted by the society. The Torah is telling us that we need to be at our best behavior at ALL times, because it’s not only our own reputation which is at stake, it’s Hashem’s honor which we are jeopardizing too ! For us Jews to be good people 90% of the time is not good enough; we have to be good All of the time!!

In science and mathematics, perfection and accuracy are the key elements to find the right solution; in Judaism however, to be perfect is the only solution to be a honorable Jew!!!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear friends;

I hope you’ll enjoy the following parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

G-d reveals Himself to Moshe. He promises to take out the Children of Israel from Egypt, deliver them from their enslavement, redeem them and acquire them as His own chosen people at Mount Sinai; He will then bring them to the Land He promised to the Patriarchs as their eternal heritage.

Moshe and Aaron repeatedly come before Pharaoh to demand in the name of G-d, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness.” Pharaoh repeatedly refuses. Moshe’s staff turns into a snake and swallows the magic sticks of the Egyptian sorcerers. G-d then sends a series of plagues upon the Egyptians.

The waters of the Nile turn to blood; swarms of frogs overrun the land; lice infest all men and beasts. Hordes of wild animals invade the cities, a pestilence kills the domestic animals, painful boils afflict the Egyptians. For the seventh plague, fire and ice combine to descend from the skies as a devastating hail. Still, “the heart of Pharaoh was hardened and he would not let the children of Israel go; as G-d had said to Moshe.”

“ Dvar Torah “

Moses! The Torah records for us later on, that we shall never see such a great prophet ever again. But the greatest prophet of all times, seems to have failed his mission at the beginning. Last week, we read of how Moses was sent by G-d to lead the Israelites to freedom, and how his initial efforts met with failure. Not only did Pharaoh not agree to let the people go; he made the working conditions of the Israelites even worse. They had to make the same number of bricks as before but now they had to gather their own straw. The people complained to Pharaoh, then they complained to Moses, then Moses complained to G-d. “Why have you brought trouble to this people? Why did you send me?”

Also, at the beginning of this week’s parsha G-d tells Moses that he will indeed bring the Israelites to freedom, and asks him to relay the message to the people. So Moses told this to the Israelites but the Torah says that they did not listen to him because “their spirit was broken and because the labor was harsh”.

It seems that Moses has failed. The people did not believe in him and they did not listen to his words, because Moses had brought them messages from G-d before and they had done nothing to improve their situation. Since, Moses had failed to deliver in the past, they had no reason to think he would do better in the future.

Also, Moses predicted his failure from the start. When Moses first met G-d at the burning bush, G-d told him to lead, and Moses kept refusing on the grounds that the people would not listen to him. He told G-d that he was not a man of words. He was slow of speech and tongue. He lacked eloquence. He could not sway crowds. He was not an inspirational leader.

So the fundamental question is; did Moses really fail?! Was he the wrong pick? Would the people reacted differently, if it was someone else delivering the words of G-d?!

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says that the reason that the people did not listen to Moses had nothing to do with his leadership or his ability to speak! In fact it had nothing to do with Moses at all.  They did not listen “because their spirit was broken and because the labor was harsh.” In other words, they did not listen to him because of the shortness of breath and from the hard labor. It did not matter if they had Moses or anyone else as a leader at this point. Moses did not fail. People failed to hear the words of G-d.

Rabbi Sacks says that we can learn from here that in order to improve people’s spiritual situation, first we need to improve their physical situation. The well-being of the soul is dependant on the well-being of the body. Spiritual achievement is higher than material achievement, but we need to ensure the latter first, because a person suffering from great hunger, thirst, heat or cold, cannot grasp an idea communicated by someone else, let alone he can arrive at it on his own. In other words, if we lack basic physical needs, there is no way we can reach spiritual heights. When people’s spirits are broken by harsh labor they cannot listen to a Moses. If you want to improve people’s spiritual situation, first improve their physical conditions.

Yes my friends, in order to climb to spiritual heights, we must first have satisfied our material needs. When it comes to the poverty, Judaism is a religion of  protest, not acceptance!  God does not want people to be poor, hungry, sick, oppressed, uneducated, deprived of rights, or subject to abuse. He has made us His agents in this cause. He wants us to be His partners in the work of redemption. That is why so many Jews have become doctors fighting disease, be good lawyers like the brain injury lawyer Vegas firm expert fighting injustice or educators fighting ignorance. Helping to ease poverty, curing disease, ensuring the rule of law and respect for human rights: these are spiritual tasks no less important than prayer and Torah study.

Ultimately, We need to work in order to provide for ourselves and for our family. Sitting and learning Torah the whole day and letting our family live in poverty and hard conditions is not the best way to achieve spiritual heights.

Remember, when the physical world is harsh, the human spirit is broken, and people cannot then hear the word of G-d, even when delivered by the greatest prophet of all times……

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

The Children of Israel multiply in Egypt. Threatened by their growing numbers, Pharaoh enslaves them and orders the Hebrew midwives, Shifrah and Puah, to kill all male babies at birth. When they do not comply, he commands his people to cast the Hebrew babies into the Nile.

A child is born to Yocheved, the daughter of Levi, and her husband, Amram, and placed in a basket on the river, while the baby’s sister, Miriam, stands watch from afar. Pharaoh’s daughter discovers the boy, raises him as her son, and names him Moses.

As a young man, Moses leaves the palace and discovers the hardship of his brethren. He sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and kills the Egyptian. The next day he sees two Jews fighting; when he disapproves, they reveal his previous day’s murder, and Moses is forced to flee to Midian. There he rescues Yitro’s daughters, marries one of them – Tzipporah – and becomes a shepherd of his father-in-law’s flocks.

One day when Moses was watching the herd, G-d appears to him in a burning bush at the foot of Mount Sinai and instructs him to go to Pharaoh and demand: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.” Moses’ brother, Aaron, is appointed to serve as his spokesman. In Egypt, Moses and Aaron gathered the elders of Israel to tell them that the time of their redemption has come. The people believe; but Pharaoh refuses to let them go, and even intensifies the suffering of Israel.

Moses returns to G-d to protest: “Why have You done evil to this people?” G-d promises that the redemption is close at hand.

” Dvar Torah “

In this week’s Parsha, we read about the birth of Moshe Rabeinu, the savior of the Benei Yisrael. After the Benei Israel have been enslaved by Pharaoh for many years, Hashem finally decides to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians by sending Moshe to lead them out of Egypt. But there were other heroes involved in the rescue operation, who risked their lives in order to save the Jews. Two of these heroes were the two midwives who delivered the Jewish children, Shifrah and Puah. The Torah says: Now the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, and he said, “When you deliver the Hebrew women, and you see on the birth stool, if it is a son, you shall put him to death, but if it is a daughter, she may live.” The midwives, however, feared G‑d; so they did not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them, but they enabled the boys to live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, that you have enabled the boys to live?” And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are skilled as midwives; when the midwife has not yet come to them, they have already given birth.” G‑d benefited the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong. Now it was because the midwives feared G‑d, that He made houses for them.

There is an obvious difficulty in understanding G-d’s reward to the midwives. The phrase “and the people multiplied and became very strong” seems totally out of place?! It appears to interrupt the description of the actual reward with which G-d benefited the midwives by making them houses. So what is the significance of this “extra” phrase?

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetsky gives a beautiful explanation. His method of commentary is usually by telling a relevant story first: A couple had a premature child. The baby was in the hospital for a couple of months and came home after several weeks of intensive care in the hospital. The parents were very grateful to the doctors and especially to the nurses in the children’s Intensive Care Unit. The father of the baby called his Rabbi and asked him how he could show his appreciation to the staff in the hospital. The Rabbi advised the following: Every year on the child’s birthday, he should take the child back to the children’s ICU and show the nurses and the doctors how much he has grown. “See the actions of your hands. Look who you allowed to live and to grow up.” The greatest reward for the people working in that unit is seeing that their efforts paid off, that their labors resulted in a very significant accomplishment.

Accordingly, Rabbi Kamenetsky, uses the same reasoning to explain the midwives’ reward. G-d rewarded the midwives with what? And the answer is: “The people became many and very mighty.” The greatest reward for the midwives was that the Bnei Yisrael grew. Pharaoh wanted to kill off all the Jews and destroy the possibility of a future Jewish nation. The “houses” that G-d made for Shifra and Puah were only a secondary reward. Their main reward was seeing the fruits of their labor, which was: “The people became many and very mighty!”

Yes my friends, two of the heros in helping to rescue the Benei Israel from the hands of the Egyptians were Shifra and Puah, the two midwives. They risked their lives in order to save the lives of others! And because of their heroic sacrifices, we are a living nation today.

Pharaoh and the Egyptians did not succeed in killing the Jews, but unfortunately, we still have Pharaohs in our generation.  And our today’s Pharaohs are the enemies of the State of Israel, who want to destroy the Jewish nation and wipe Israel off the map. But once again, Hashem has not abandoned us. He has send us the midwives too. And our today’s heroic midwives are our dear Israeli Soldiers who risk their lives in order to protect the lives of other Jews living in Israel. Don’t think for a moment that their rewards are the medals or any other benefits that they might receive from the State of Israel. But rather, their true reward is to see the Bnei Yisrael “increase, multiply and become very strong”. May Hashem bless them, protect them and make them houses in this world and the world to come, just like he did for Shifrah and Puah.

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

Jacob lives the final 17 years of his life in Egypt. Before his passing, he asks Joseph to take an oath that he will bury him in the Holy Land. He blesses Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, elevating them to the status of his own sons to be among the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jacob desires to reveal the end of days to his children, but is prevented from doing so. Jacob blesses his sons, assigning to each his role as a tribe: Judah will produce leaders, legislators and kings; priests will come from Levi, scholars from Issachar, sea-merchants from Zebulun, schoolteachers from Shimon, soldiers from Gad, judges from Dan, olive growers from Asher, and so on. Reuben is rebuked for “confusing his father’s marriage”; Shimon and Levi for the massacre of Shechem and the plot against Joseph. Naphtali is granted the swiftness of a deer, Benjamin the ferociousness of a wolf, and Joseph is blessed with beauty and fertility.

A large funeral ceremony consisting of Jacob’s descendants, Pharaoh’s ministers and the leading citizens of Egypt accompanies Jacob on his final journey to the Holy Land, where he is buried in the Machpeilah Cave in Hebron.

Joseph, too, dies in Egypt, at the age of 110. He, too, instructs that his bones be taken out of Egypt and buried in the Holy Land. Before his passing, Joseph tells the Children of Israel not to loose hope and faith in the Almighty in the difficult years to come: “G-d will surely remember you, and bring you up out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

” Dvar Torah “

Since the beginning of creation, there has always been a special bond between grandchildren and grandparents. I don’t know about you, but I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes. My youngest son, Jeremy, is in love with my Dad. When he was 5-6 years old, every other Friday night he would go for dinner and sleepover to my parents. He didn’t want us to come with him. He just wanted to be alone with my Dad. Since Friday mornings, he was so excited to go. At Friday nights, when we got to their house, you should have seen the joy on both their faces. Just like two lovebirds which haven’t seen each other for ages! They had dinner together, they talked, they had fruits, read a book and went to sleep together. Shabbat mornings they had breakfast together and my Dad dropped him off before he went to Kanissa. When they had to separate, it was another dramatic scene! Although I envied my Dad’s relationship with my son, but I found it to be so adorable. Two generations gap, what did they talk about? Where did all these love and affection come from? Well, half-jokingly, I contribute this relationship to the fact that they have one common enemy; Me!! But the truth of the matter is that there is much less tension between grandparents and grandchildren, since the grandparents always see the fruits of their labor through their grandchildren.

In this week’s parsha, we can also see a fine demonstration of the love relationship between the grandfather and grandchildren. When Joseph heard that his father, Jacob, is ill and his days are numbered, he immediately takes his two sons, Ephraim and Menashe, to see his father in order to give him the final respect and to receive a blessing for his sons. Once they arrived, they informed Jacob that Joseph is here. So he raises himself in bed and after identifying the two accompanying children to be Joseph’s sons, he gives his grandchildren, Ephraim and Menasheh, the blessing of a lifetime! He gives his most powerful blessing to his favorite grandsons, and not to his favorite son, Joseph. He blesses them with the following: “With your (names) will the Jewish people bless (their children) saying: May G-d make you be like Ephraim and Menashe…”!!!

But don’t you think that the blessing sounds a little bit strange? The blessing actually, does not bless Ephraim nor Menasheh! It just says that every Jew should wish their children to be like Ephraim and Menasheh. It seems that Ephraim and Menasheh were blessed already, and Jacob just wants to pass on the blessing to the future generations!

So what were Ephraim and Menasheh actually blessed with already? What was so special about them that we should all want our children to be like them? What characteristic did they have that Jacob could not find in his own children? After all, why didn’t Jacob want us to wish our children to be like “Shimon and Levi”, or “Joseph and Binyamin”?

I read a beautiful explanation given by Rabbi Yissachar Frand which I would like to share with you. He says that the answer can be found in the way Jacob blessed Ephraim and Menashe. At the time of the blessing, Jacob specifically crisscrossed his hands and put his right hand on the younger child Ephraim, giving him the preference. Joseph, noticing his father’s action, tells him that he has his right hand on the younger son by mistake. Menasheh is the older son and he should get the preferred blessing. Jacob says: ” I know my son, I know. He will be a great nation too, but the younger will be greater…”. Yet Menasheh, the older son, did not utter any words of complaint. He did not turn around and complain to his father. He did not issue any words of protest to his grandfather. And above all, he did not feel any jealousy towards his brother who was getting the preferential treatment. He accepted his brother’s superiority with a cheerful attitude. He respected his grandfather’s blessing and he accepted it wholeheartedly.

But let’s not give all the credit to Menasheh. After all, we want our children to be like Ephraim too. So what did Ephraim do that was so special? The answer is, when a person receives a preferential treatment, such as a higher status, he might flaunt it. He might think that he’s a more important person now and he might look down on others. He might even think that he has got to this position because of his own strength and intelligence. He might boost his ego and become haughty (Ba-alei Ga-avah). But we see that Ephraim received his blessing with humility and modesty. He didn’t take a pride in himself for his superiority. He didn’t come up with a dream that his brother is bowing down to him! He still considered Menasheh as his older brother, and he continued to give him the respect that he deserved for the rest of his life.

Given the sibling rivalry that Jacob witnessed with himself and his brother, and with his own sons, when he saw such good behavior in his grandchildren, he was thrilled that they got along so well with each other. So he could not find any better blessing to give them other than what they are blessed with already. So all he could say was that every Jew should be inspired to have them as role models for their own children.

Yes my friends, ” May G-d make you like Ephraim and Menashe” is the greatest blessing we can give to our children. It means that they should not be jealous of one another, and they should get along and respect each other. No two children are the same. Some succeed more in life, financially. Some succeed more spirituality. Some are more intellectual and some are more athletic. Some are more beautiful and some are more charismatic. But the children must learn to respect each other for what they are. Being jealous of one another can only mean that you are not happy with what Hashem has given you! To respect one another, on the other hand, is a sign of humility and faith. It means that not only you are happy with what Hashem has given you, but you are happy with what Hashem has given to your brother too!

So tonight, after you say the kiddush on the wine, take a moment of your time and bless your sons with the greatest blessing that you can ever give them:  “Yesimcha Elokim Ke Ephraim VeChi Menashe; Yevarechecha Hashem Ve Yishmerecha…………”

Shabbat Shalom and Regards;

Martin