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, and I have witnessed it with my own eyes. My youngest son, Jeremy, used to be in love with my late father, Z”L. 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. He packed his bag, putting his pajamas,his book and his teddy bear inside. On 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 used to drop him off at home before he went to Kanissa. When they had to separate, it was another dramatic scene! Although I envied my father’s relationship with my son, but I found it to be so adorable. Two generations gap, what is there to talk about? Where did all these love and affection come from? Well, half-jokingly, I contribute this relationship to the fact that they had one common enemy, which was 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.

Well, 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 himself and for his two 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, a great blessing! 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 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 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 Ba-alei Ga-avah (haughty). 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 are more spiritual. 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 also happy for your brother for what Hashem has given him!

So tonight, after you say the Kidush on the wine, take a moment of your time and bless your sons with the following blessing:  “Yesimcha Elokim Ke Ephraim VeChi Menashe”, May G-d make you be like Ephraim and Menashe. Because there is no greater blessing than to see your children living in peace and harmony together!

Shabbat Shalom and Regards;

Martin