#vayechi

[eretzyisrael]

 HOLY BROTHERS

Every Friday night, Jewish parents bless their children at the beginning of the Shabbat meal. The Biblical Matriarchs are evoked in the blessing for daughters: “May you be like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.” The blessing for sons is “May you be like Ephraim and Menashe.”

Why aren’t sons likened to the Biblical Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Who are Ephraim and Menashe and why do we want our sons to be like them?

Ephraim and Menashe are the sons of Joseph, born in Egypt, and two of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Menashe is the older brother, but when Jacob on his deathbed blesses his grandsons, he switches his hands so that Ephraim will receive the firstborn blessing (Gen. 48:14). This mysterious switching of the blessing evokes other Biblical brothers whose birth order is subverted (see: Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers.) Will Joseph’s sons also feud bitterly after the younger is favored over the elder?

The Torah does not record any reaction from Menashe at being passed over for the firstborn blessing. Righteous Menashe accepts the demotion not with angry complaint but quiet serenity. Menashe doesn’t sulk and Ephraim doesn’t gloat. They are the first Jewish brothers not to fight, and they are Jacob’s only grandsons to become Tribes of Israel.

We bless our sons to be like Ephraim and Menashe because we want them to be men of peace who prioritize family harmony over ego. In the immortal words of King David, “How good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together.” (Ps.133:1). May we all be blessed to live in peace and harmony, motivated not by envy but by love!

Image: "Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph"by Jan Victors, 1650

Source: accidentaltalmudist.org

[girlactionfigure]

[ta-chazei]

Jacob Blessing His Sons, miniature by François Maitre from Augustine's "La Cité de Dieu", book I-X (manuscript "Den Haag, MMW, 10 A 11"). Book 1, 13; at the Museum Meermanno Westreenianum, The Hague וַיִּקְרָא יַעֲקֹב אֶל־בָּנָיו וַיֹּאמֶר הֵאָסְפוּ וְאַגִּידָה לָכֶם אֵת אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרָא אֶתְכֶם בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים׃ And Jacob called his sons and said, “Come together that I may tell you what is to befall you in days to come. - Genesis 49:1

[zarinaa113]

Group activities are so funny

[torahgalus]

Vayechi

queen who redeems me, bless the young girls-- that they might give teaching blessing and curse with their arms outstretched and uncrossed--

may the blessings they give themselves when no one else will grant them be as teeming  multitudes upon the earth;

may they sit still and alert  by the sleeping lion, prey lying in the dust at their feet.

[a-kosher-dunk]

You ever think about how half the blessings Jacob gives to his sons consist of him assigning them fursonas?

[virtual-beit-midrash]

Learn the Parsha: Vayechi

Vayechi is parsha 12 out of 54.  The 12th and last parsha in Bereishit.    

Main topics:

* Yaakov’s blessing to his children

* Yaakov’s death

* Yosef’s last days

With the end of Bereishit, we shift gears.  Bereishit was the story of a family, Shemot (Exodus) will be the story of a nation

It is customary in Ashkenazi communities to say the following when we finish reading one of the five books of the Torah:  “Chazak Chazak V'nitchazek“ (Be strong, be strong, and may we be strengthened)

Texts

Parsha: Genesis 47:28-50:26

Haftara: Kings 1 2:1-12 - David’s last days and his instructions to his son Shlomo

[eretzyisrael]

BE STRONG AND WE WILL BE STRONG

Torah portion Vayechi completes the Book of Genesis. When we finish one of the five Books of Moses in the yearly cycle of Torah reading in synagogue, the congregation rises and calls out together “Chazak, chazak, venitchazek!” (“Be strong, be strong, and we will be strong!”) Unlike the later four Books of Moses, Genesis ends on an apparent down note: “Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.” (Gen. 50:26) It seems incongruous for worshippers to make a passionate avowal of strength right after reading that Joseph’s bones are sitting unburied in a box in Egypt. Why not end the Book of Genesis with the more uplifting story of Jacob’s passing, his burial in Israel, and the reconciliation of Joseph and his brothers? Rabbi Mordecai Kamenetzky provides a compelling explanation for why Genesis ends with Joseph in a state of limbo. Recall, Joseph himself tells his family not to bury him: “So Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying ‘When God has taken notice of you, you shall carry up my bones from here.’” (Gen. 50:25) Possessing wisdom as well as prophecy, Joseph knows that the Egyptians will eventually forget the Hebrew viceroy who saved their empire from famine. They will no longer see the Jews as saviors but rather as visitors, then as strangers, later as intruders, and finally as slaves. Joseph’s descendants are destined to endure great suffering before their long exile finally ends – and he wants to be part of the jubilant caravan leaving Egypt. Joseph’s request not to be buried until his people leave Egypt is a promise to future Jews that they will one day be free. Rabbi Kamenetzky says, “We must not see a box of bones – see the hope that lies therein.” Genesis ends on an unfinished note because the journey of the Jewish people is unfinished. It is appropriate for the congregation to shout “Be strong!” at this point in the story because Joseph’s box of bones is not a depressing detail but rather a promise of future salvation meant to strengthen his descendants. Dedicated by Debra Goodman in honor of Rivka Shore Image: Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem