Pasuk יד says ״וישלך ישראל את ימינו וישת על ראש אפרים והוא הצאיר ואת שמאלו על ראש מנשה שכל את ידו כי מנשה הבכר״
Yaakov knew that Menashe was the בכור but he blessed אפרים with his right hand? Why did he switch his hands? Isn't the oldest supposed to be blessed with the right hand?
Rashi says that Yaakov knew that he had switched his hands and that it was not a mistake. Gideon would be a descendant of מנשה, however, Yaakov knew that יהושע, the man that would bring בנ״י into Israel, would be a descendant of אפרים and that Yehoshua is greater than Gideon. This symbolizes thatאפרים׳s descendants would be greater than those of מנשה.
If this is true, why did אפרים get "extra" blessing? Shouldn't the "weaker" brother get more of the blessing?
IN a previous pasuk yakov is confused who menasheh and ephraim are, even though it is obvious they are yosefs sons because he is bringing them. Rashi says that the reason why Yakov was so confused was that the Shechinah left his presence when Ephraim and Manasseh came to him. The Shechinah left Yaakov at that moment because of Ephraim and Manasseh’s evil descendants. Here, the explanation that Rashi gives is Ephraim’s offspring’s will be greater then Manasseh’s. Since Ephraim’s main offspring will be Yehoshua, who will lead Bnei Yisrael into Israel after Moshe’s death; and Manasheh’s main offspring will be Gideon, who will unify the tribes and overthrow the Midianites. Yaakov was such a big tzaddik that he was able to tell that Ephraim and Manasseh will both have bad descendants but on the other hand, they will also have good descendants thus deserving the bracha, regardless of who is the bechor. He even goes on to bless them that future generations should be like them. Yaakov was able to get over the bad and think of the good parts, something we should all strive to do.
ReplyDelete- Rabbi Yosef Kalatsky
Ha’emak Davar explains that the greater leader actually needs more blessing from Hashem (“shefah yetaira”) than a less prominent leader because more is at stake. Yehoshua’s responsibilities to Bnei Yisroel were huge because he was responsible for bringing them into Eretz Yisroel and teaching Torah to the entire nation. If Yehoshua had failed, it would have been disastrous because the Land of Israel would not be ours, and Torah would be forgotten. Pirkei Avos 1:1, singles out Yehoshua by name as the next in the chain of Torah transmission after Moshe.
ReplyDeleteGideon's contributions were important to neutralize the threat from the Midianites to the Jewish people. After Gideon's victories, peace reigned in the Land of Israel. But Yehoshua's contributions were more foundational, without which there would be no Jewish nation in the Land of Israel, and the link of Torah transmission would have been broken.
it’s not the time to start seeking blessing from Hashem when things are not going our way. Of course, we need blessing at such times. But it’s when everything seems to be going great that we are in even greater need of Hashem’s blessing because there is so much more at stake – there is so much more to lose.
Rav Shlomo Wolbe brings up the idea that a bracha cannot create potential, it can only help potential that already exists transpire. Ephraim had the potential to produce offspring like Yehoshua, but Menashe only had the potential for producing offspring like Gideon. Yaacov realized that he could not increase Menashe's potential offspring, so the greater blessing had to go to Ephraim.
ReplyDeleteWhen Blessing his grandsons, Yaakov switches his hand so that the older son is in his left hand and the younger one in his right.
ReplyDeleteWhy does he do this?
Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe suggests the idea that a brace cannot create potential. Ephraim had the potential to lead to Yehoshua, but not to Gideon. Only Menashe had the potential to create someone like Gideon. As much as Yaakov wished that by giving Ephraim the greater blessing it would create more potential, he knew that potential could not be created and therefore he had to give the greater blessing to Menashe in order to enhance his potential.
Ha'emal Davar says that: in general, a bigger leader requires more Brachot from Hashem then a less great leader. Ephraim's descendent Yehoshua had big responsibilities to Bnei Yisroel. He was in charge of bringing them to Israel and teaching the nation Torah. If Yehoshua were to mess something up, all of Bnei Yisroel would be effected. Without him, the Torah would be forgotten and Israel wouldnt be ours. This shows why it was important for Ephraim to get the greater Bracha – his descendents would need it.
ReplyDelete