Every parent prays for the success of his or her child, and dreams about the kind of person he or she will grow into. Will he be a Talmid Chacham? Will he be a giver, a Ba'al Chesed, a mentsch?
In assigning blessings to his family before he dies, Yakov singles out Efraim and Menashe, and declares: "By you shall all Israel bless (their children), saying, 'May Hashem make you like Efraim and Menashe." What's so special about Efraim and Menashe? They may have been good kids, but why not name, say, Yehuda and Yosef as the paradigms of the ideal Jewish child?
Many answers have been offered as to the uniqueness of Efraim and Menashe: The most popular is that these two young men grew up in Egypt, surrounded by perverse and pervasive negative influences, devoid of an extended holy family, yet they managed to stay faithful to the ways of Hashem. They are excellent role models for a people that would spend so much of history in Exile, exposed to the temptations of a secular, sinful world. If Efraim and Menashe could do it, so could we!
Yet, I suggest that there is another factor at work here. When Yakov chooses to bestow the pre-eminent bracha on the younger Efraim, Menashe, the first-born, does not complain nor cry out. He accepts, thus breaking the pattern of brotherly jealousy and enmity that had plagued siblings from Kayin and Hevel (Cain and Abel) toYakov and Esav to Yosef and the brothers. Menashe's silence speaks volumes.
The pasuk seems to hint to this approach by saying, "Y'simcha Elokim k'Efraim vechi'Menashe, vayasem et Efraim lifnei Menashe." (?May the L-rd make you like Efraim and like Menashe, and he placed Efraim before Menashe.?) Note the similarity between the words "Y'simcha" and "Vayasem". There seems to be a clear link between the placing of the brothers and the bracha bestowed upon them.
Throughout our history, at key moments, the Jewish people are nurtured by certain key individuals. They are signified by the term ?eim? - mother - the nurturer par excellence. The letters alef and mem form the word eim. Adam starts with an alef and ends with a mem; Avraham starts with an alef, ends with a mem; Aharon and Moshe - alef and mem; Esther and Mordechai - alef and mem; Eliyahu and Moshiach - alef and mem. To this distinguished list, we can add Efraim and Menashe - alef and mem. Their ability to get along with each other and to graciously accept the good fortune of a sibling is a virtue to admire and emulate.
May all our children inherit their bracha and bring shalom to Am Yisrael.
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Rabbi Weiss is the director of the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra?anana.
In assigning blessings to his family before he dies, Yakov singles out Efraim and Menashe, and declares: "By you shall all Israel bless (their children), saying, 'May Hashem make you like Efraim and Menashe." What's so special about Efraim and Menashe? They may have been good kids, but why not name, say, Yehuda and Yosef as the paradigms of the ideal Jewish child?
Many answers have been offered as to the uniqueness of Efraim and Menashe: The most popular is that these two young men grew up in Egypt, surrounded by perverse and pervasive negative influences, devoid of an extended holy family, yet they managed to stay faithful to the ways of Hashem. They are excellent role models for a people that would spend so much of history in Exile, exposed to the temptations of a secular, sinful world. If Efraim and Menashe could do it, so could we!
Yet, I suggest that there is another factor at work here. When Yakov chooses to bestow the pre-eminent bracha on the younger Efraim, Menashe, the first-born, does not complain nor cry out. He accepts, thus breaking the pattern of brotherly jealousy and enmity that had plagued siblings from Kayin and Hevel (Cain and Abel) toYakov and Esav to Yosef and the brothers. Menashe's silence speaks volumes.
The pasuk seems to hint to this approach by saying, "Y'simcha Elokim k'Efraim vechi'Menashe, vayasem et Efraim lifnei Menashe." (?May the L-rd make you like Efraim and like Menashe, and he placed Efraim before Menashe.?) Note the similarity between the words "Y'simcha" and "Vayasem". There seems to be a clear link between the placing of the brothers and the bracha bestowed upon them.
Throughout our history, at key moments, the Jewish people are nurtured by certain key individuals. They are signified by the term ?eim? - mother - the nurturer par excellence. The letters alef and mem form the word eim. Adam starts with an alef and ends with a mem; Avraham starts with an alef, ends with a mem; Aharon and Moshe - alef and mem; Esther and Mordechai - alef and mem; Eliyahu and Moshiach - alef and mem. To this distinguished list, we can add Efraim and Menashe - alef and mem. Their ability to get along with each other and to graciously accept the good fortune of a sibling is a virtue to admire and emulate.
May all our children inherit their bracha and bring shalom to Am Yisrael.
--------------------------------------------------------
Rabbi Weiss is the director of the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra?anana.