SEEing the hidden path of destiny:
From Cain & Able through Joseph, Efraim & Menashe to Moses & Ahron:
and this week,
the hidden inner dynamics of the positive conclusion of Genesis' theme of 'sibling rivalry as a cosmic undercurrent':
(the whole book of Genesis is characterized by this rivalry, and it is brought to a conclusion here in its last parsha)
via the ultimately-forgiving brother (Yosef),
followed by the unjealousy of his sons (Efrayim & Menasheh),
preparing the way for the next stage, the two most loving brothers (Moshe & Ah'ron), who make their appearance in the next parsha and feature throughout the rest of the chumash.
May we all be blessed to resolve our rivalries positively, successfully navigate the obstacles whose overcoming is part of our individual cosmic destiny, as one thread in the fabric of the destiny of all humankind.
Review: All of Genesis was about fratricide and sibling rivalry instigated by God [Reminder: Cain & Abel, Isaac/Ishmael, Jacob/Esav, Josef/brothers: by answering Abel's sacrifice but not Cain's, telling Abraham to listen to Sarah's voice re casting Ishmael out, and telling Rivka to ensure [as per my commentary about her incredible wisdom and courage a few weeks ago] that the younger rules over the older.
And then Joseph of course is given prophetic dreams [deep prophecy, as per my commentary on this a few weeks ago] which instigates jealousy.
This cosmic process is being worked out through the generations [as the Torah states as the final words of the creation account "which God created to do" which according to Tradition means "created incomplete deliberately, with it being humanity's task to finish the process of creation via human action] and comes to a conclusion in these final portions of the book of Genesis and the beginning of Shmos (Exodus).
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Joseph has a major role in bringing this cosmic thread to a successful resolution; last week [see my commentary] he went to great lengths to give his brothers the opportunity to do teshuva ('return' penitence') and by doing that he himself did teshuva for 'bringing tales to his father about his brothers', as we explained; that episode of Joseph's great righteousness is a cosmic moment of 'fixing what was broken'.
COSMIC CONCLUSION: Joseph's two sons continue his process of healing of relations between brothers, paving the way for its conclusion via next week's appearance of the sublime duo Moses and Ahron.
Topic: EXPANDED EXPLANATION of this COSMIC CONCLUSION: Preface: This week Joseph's two sons continue his process of healing of relations between brothers, paving the way for its conclusion via next week's appearance of the sublime duo Moses and Ahron.
Key event: Joseph's two sons are near Jacob to receive his blessing. Jacob says: "Israel will bless their children with you, saying "may God grant that you be like Efraim and Menasheh". We'll be looking below at the cosmic significance of this moment, which echos throughout history, even to our day.
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The blessing: From the fact that Jacob directs the blessing to Joseph and does not speak to the two boys saying "you" but rather using their names, we can understand that this blessing was not directed AT the two boys themselves but instead was was about them.
The blessing was designed to be given by all of Israel to their children - and in fact many Jews down to this day give this blessing to their sons (usually on Friday night at the beginning of the shabbat meal).
This blessing is very unusual, since it is not for the people in front of him to whom he seemingly is speaking, but rather for all of Jacob's future descendants. And it is a blessing about a blessing - ie about the way that future descendants will bless their children.So this is a very unique type of blessing indeed!
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Note: (read the story, it's quite interesting and powerful!)
a) Imagine the two boys: effectively their grandfather Israel is also saying this to them, standing in front of him under his palms - basically saying that all the future Jewish People should by like YOU! - albeit saying this indirectly.
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b) note that:
1. here he is refering to "Israel" which is also his own name.
2. remember this is the name given by God (initially by an 'angel' then ratified by God, so it is not just "his name".
3. Although Jacob uses his own name, he means the future people who will be called by this name].
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What was so special about Ephraim & Menasheh?:
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Strangely, there is no mention at all in Genesis regarding:
1. what the two brothers did to deserve this!
2. what it means 'to be like them';
3. why that's a blessing a father would give his children.
So I'll give my interpretation, based on a conjecture.
As you can read in the story in the Torah, Ya'acov (Jacob) seems to be deliberately instigating the potential for rivalry by favoring the younger with his right hand, terrifying Joseph who knows all too well what sibling jealousy can lead to. And then Jacob openly states that he is doing so since the younger will be greater than the older! So the two boys are being set up to feel jealousy by the older and haughtiness by the younger. How horrifying this must have been for Joseph to hear.
However since the Torah does not tell us of any reaction (in contrast to the preceding cases) we can conclude that the two boys reacted calmly, accepting this.
Conjecture: The non-acrimony beteen the brothers, and their acceptance of the situation was itself the great achievement of the two brothers, it was this which led to them deserving the blessing which then follows.
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A further conjecture: in a previous week's portion I pointed out how surprising is Isaac's statement "gam baruch yihyeh - 'and indeed he will be blessed' - regarding Jacob who had just 'stolen' the blessing. Why would he be blessed? Instead, I would have expected Isaac to explain to Esav that the blessings of the forefathers was from God, only channeled via the forefather, and could not be 'stolen' as could for example technology, or perhaps a magic item, which can be stolen for illegitimate use.
Allegorically: in days where we know a virus can be emitted from one person and enter someone else but needs the appropriate protein-key to enter the receiver's cells etc, I think of the blessing as being crafted for the specific 'spiritual signature' of the receiver. In the case of Isaac, it would travel out of Isaac and lodge into the person he was blessing, and since it was designed to fit into that person, it would be sucessfully 'received' - however if God does not intend a blessing for someone, if it was 'stolen', then even if the blessing is 'emitted' it could not be successfully 'received' by the thief, and would bounce back. Or as an analogy to electrical flow there would not be the 'short circuit' created between blesser and blessee, and so not only would the blessing not be received, it would not even be emitted.
And so I would imagine that Isaac's blessing never actually entered Jacob, and so never really transcendentally-exited Isaac, and so lsaac could tell Esav that he could simply give him the blessing as originally intended. Why did he not say something like this, and instead said the opposite (that indeed Jacob would be blessed)?
Furthermore (see my discussion on that Torah portion): Why does Isaac say of the trickster Yaakov "Gam baruch yihyeh" "In deed he will be blessed"? And why does he give Yaakov yet an additional blessing wehen Yaakov flees Esav's wrath!?
My conjecture: I believe that Isaac had a prophetic ability to feel that his blessing was 'received', ie allegorically I think of it as though when it traveled out of him and lodged into the person he was blessing, he received confirmation of its 'reception' (like a computer-internet 'handshake' protocol).
Due to this ability, when he was giving the blessing to his son who he thought at the time was Esav but was Yaakov, he felt it was indeed 'received'. However later when Esav came in, Isaac realized it had been 'received' even though it was Yaakov(Jacob)! So because it was 'received' despite the trickery, he understood that the blessing must have been meant for Jacob all along! And this is why he exclaimed in surprise or shock "gam baruch yihyeh - and indeed he will be blessed" - and why later instead of criticzing Jaocb for his actions he even gives him an additional blessing as Jacob is about to flee to Laban's house, this time a blessing crafted specially for him, knowing it was Yaakov. .
Like father like son: Continuing with the above conjecture: I believe Ya'akov himself had a similar ability, ie like his father Isaac, and was able to feel the emotions of the blessee: as he laid his hands on Joseph's sons while he was stating explicitly that the younger would be greater than the older, he could feel that the older was not jealous and the younger was not arrogant despite this blatant 'favoritism' .
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The eternal power created by the overcoming of this cosmic defect: Tradition teaches that a certain degree of of the divine presence rests on someone only when they have great joy (which is why Jacob didn't receive communication from God all the while Joseph was presumed dead), and now Jacob's joy and recognition that this brotherly pair had successfully overcome the sibling rivalry which plagued their generational predecessors, leads to God channeling through him this blessing. God grants Jacob the power of channeling this energy for the future, to give an energy-assist to children of all future generations, to help them to be like Efraim and Menashe in this way, activated via the the act of parents blessing their children to be like these two.
This was the reason he arranged this great test (deliberately instigating jealousy) and why when they passed the test he knew they deserved such a remarkable blessing , that' all Israel will bless (its children) to be like them'.
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Next week's portion: The next pair of brothers we will encounter are Moses and Ahron, who not only were not jealous of each other but in fact they actively tried to ensure that the other had the higher honor. Since they finally completed the process by actually inverting brother-jealousy, they were the ones chosen by God to deliver the Jewish people from the slavery in Egypt which began with the brother-jealously/haughtiness in the time of Joseph.
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Summary: The brothers sold Joseph as a slave to Egypt, and so all ended up as slaves in Egypt... and since it was all due to brotherly jealousy, the exodus was enabled when there emerged a brotherly pair not just totally devoid of jealousy (as were Efraim and Menashe) but were imbued with the opposite, wanting only the other to get the honor and glory, and when they emerged they were able to bring the situation full circle to a successful conclusion.
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To remember the moral of the story of Joseph: If we are jealous and try to prevent someone else's success, and sell them as a slave in Egypt, we will all suffer and become slaves in Egypt, whereas if we help the other achieve their dream and become king, we will all be kings with them.
May we be blessed to channel the special energies of these great figures, to overcome jealousies (and egotistical haughtiness), and help each other achieve our dreams, and even to be happy at the successes of others who have surpassed us. And in this way to do our share of 'fixing the cosmic brokeness'.
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Imagine the moment: the cosmic brokeness represented in human terms by sibling rivalry was now being brought to a succesful healing; the great inner effort made by the brothers to conquer their egos and not be jealous or haughty created the merit of a blessing not just given now for all the future Jewish People, but a blessing which could be invoked at all times throughout future history!
The above point in a somewhat expanded form:
In this week's portion, Joseph's two sons are near Jacob to receive his blessing. The blessing is very unusual, since it is for all Jacob's descendant's and states that all should be like these two: Jacob says: "Israel [which is also Jacob's name] will bless their children with you, saying "may God grant that you be like Efraim and Menasheh"! Note that he was saying this to Efraim and Menasheh themselves (and to their father Joseph), how unique!
[In other words this blessing was not directed AT the two boys themselves but was designed as a blessing to be given by all of Israel to their children - and in fact many Jews down to this day give this blessing to their sons (usually on Friday night at the beginning of the shabbat meal).]
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Strangely, there is no mention at all of what the two brothers did to deserve this! Nor what it means 'to be like them', and why that's a blessing. So I'll give my interpretation, based on a conjecture.
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As you can read in the story in the Torah, Ya'acov (Jacob) seems to be deliberately instigating the potential for rivalry by favoring the younger with his right hand, terrifying Joseph who knows all too well what sibling jealousy can lead to. And then Jacob openly states that he is doing so since the younger will be greater than the older! So the two boys are being set up to feel jealousy by the older and haughtiness by the younger. How horrifying this must have been for Joseph to hear. However since the Torah does not tell us of any reaction (in contrast to the preceding cases) we can conclude that the two boys reacted calmly, accepting this.
So it would seem that the non-acrimony and acceptance of the situation was itself the great achievement of the two brothers, it was this which led to them deserving the blessing which then follows.
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in a previous week's portion I pointed out how surprising is Isaac's statement "gam baruch yihyeh - 'and indeed he will be blessed' - regarding Jacob who had just 'stolen' the blessing. Why would he be blessed? Instead, I would have expected Isaac to explain to Esav that the blessings of the forefathers was from God, only channeled via the forefather, and could not be 'stolen' as could eg technology or perhaps a magic item be stolen for illegitimate use. Allegorically, in days where we know a virus can be emitted from one person and enter someone else but needs the appropriate protein-key to enter the receiver's cells etc I think of the blessing as being crafted for the specific 'spiritual signature' of the receiver and it would travel out of Isaac and lodge into the person he was blessing since it was designed to fit into that person, it would be sucessfully 'received' - however if God does not intend a blessing for someone, if it was 'stolen', then even if the blessing is 'emitted' it could not be successfully 'received' by the thief, and would bounce back, or as an analogy to electrical flow there would not be the 'short circuit' created between blesser and blessee in order for the blessing to even be emitted, and so I would imagine lsaac telling Esav that he could simply give him the blessing as originally intended. Why did he not say something like this, and instead said the opposite (that indeed Jacob would be blessed)?
My conjecture: As I pointed out there on that Torah portion, I believe that Isaac had a prophetic ability to feel that his blessing was 'received', ie allegorically I think of it as though when it traveled out of him and lodged into the person he was blessing, he received confirmation of its 'reception' (like a computer-internet 'handshake' protocol). Due to this ability, when he was giving the blessing to his son who he thought at the time was Esav but was Yaakov, he felt it was indeed 'received' - and then later when Esav came in Isaac realized it had been 'received' even though it was Yaakov(Jacob), ie received despite the trickery, he understood that the blessing must have been meant for Jacob all along! And this is why he exclaimed in surprise or shock "gam baruch yihyeh - and indeed he will be blessed" - and why later instead of crotoczong YJacb for his actions he even gives him an additional blessing as Jacob is about to flee to Laban's house.
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Continuing with the above conjecture: I believe Ya'akov himself had a similar ability, and was able to feel the emotions of the blessee: as he laid his hands on Joseph's sons while he was stating explicitly that the younger would be greater than the older, he could feel that the older was not jealous and the younger was not arrogant despite this blatant 'favoritism' (read the story!).
This was the reason he arranged this great test (deliberately instigating jealousy) and why when they passed the test he knew they deserved such a remarkable blessing , that' all Israel will bless (its children) to be like them'.
....
Actually, the blessing was not to them, it was about them - and it was directed to Jacob's future descendants, so this is a very unique type of blessing, for all time, and so it reflects somethig very deep.
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Tradition teaches that a certain degree of of the divine presence rests on someone only when they have great joy (which is why Jacob didn't receive communication from God all the while Joseph was presumed dead), and now Jacob's joy and recognition that this brotherly pair had successfully overcome the sibling rivalry which plagued their generational predecessors, leads to God channeling through him this blessing, ie God grants Jacob the power of channeling this energy for the future, to give an energy-assist to children of all future generations, to help them to be like Efraim and Menashe in this way, activated via the the act of parents blessing their children to be like these two.
..
The next pair of brothers we will encounter are Moses and Ahron, who not only were not jealous of each other but in fact they actively tried to ensure that the other had the higher honor. Since they finally completely broke the chain of brother-jealousy they were the ones chosen by God to deliver the Jewish people from the slavery in Egypt.
...
Summary: The brothers sold Joseph as a slave to Egypt, and so all ended up as slaves in Egypt... and since it was all due to brotherly jealousy, the exodus was enabled when there emerged a brotherly pair not just totally devoid of jealousy (as were Efraim and Menashe) but were imbued with the opposite, wanting only the other to get the honor and glory, and when they emerged they were able to bring the situation full circle to a successful conclusion.
.
To remember the moral of the story of Joseph: If we are jealous and try to prevent someone else's success, and sell them as a slave in Egypt, we will all suffer and become slaves in Egypt, whereas if we help the other achieve their dream and become king, we will all be kings with them.
May we be blessed to channel the special energies of these great figures, to overcome jealousies, and help each other achieve our dreams, and even to be happy at the successes of others who have surpassed us.
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Yaakov's brocho to Efraim and Menasheh
Yakov mentions efraim and menashe, so it is not as if he forgot they existed, indeed he even remembered their names. And he puts Efraim first already here, without Yosef correcting him. But then it says "Yakov saw them, and asked who they are", but if he saw them, why did he ask, especially as he had just mentioned them? And then it says "he was blind (not able to see)"! And then Yakov says "and I got to see you and (even) your children"! Very ironic, deliberate, what does "see" mean? what is all this back and forth contradiction telling us?
ה וְעַתָּה שְׁנֵי-בָנֶיךָ הַנּוֹלָדִים לְךָ בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, עַד-בֹּאִי אֵלֶיךָ מִצְרַיְמָה--לִי-הֵם: אֶפְרַיִם, וּמְנַשֶּׁה--כִּרְאוּבֵן וְשִׁמְעוֹן, יִהְיוּ-לִי. ו וּמוֹלַדְתְּךָ אֲשֶׁר-הוֹלַדְתָּ אַחֲרֵיהֶם, לְךָ יִהְיוּ; עַל שֵׁם אֲחֵיהֶם יִקָּרְאוּ, בְּנַחֲלָתָם. ז וַאֲנִי בְּבֹאִי מִפַּדָּן, מֵתָה עָלַי רָחֵל בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן בַּדֶּרֶךְ, בְּעוֹד כִּבְרַת-אֶרֶץ, לָבֹא אֶפְרָתָה; וָאֶקְבְּרֶהָ שָּׁם בְּדֶרֶךְ אֶפְרָת, הִוא בֵּית לָחֶם. ח וַיַּרְא יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶת-בְּנֵי יוֹסֵף; וַיֹּאמֶר, מִי-אֵלֶּה. ט וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹסֵף, אֶל-אָבִיו, בָּנַי הֵם, אֲשֶׁר-נָתַן-לִי אֱלֹהִים בָּזֶה; וַיֹּאמַר, קָחֶם-נָא אֵלַי וַאֲבָרְכֵם.
: וְעֵינֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כָּבְדוּ מִזֹּקֶן, לֹא יוּכַל לִרְאוֹת; וַיַּגֵּשׁ אֹתָם אֵלָיו, וַיִּשַּׁק לָהֶם וַיְחַבֵּק לָהֶם. יא וַיֹּאמֶר יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל-יוֹסֵף, רְאֹה פָנֶיךָ לֹא פִלָּלְתִּי; וְהִנֵּה הֶרְאָה אֹתִי אֱלֹהִים, גַּם אֶת-זַרְעֶךָ. יב וַיּוֹצֵא יוֹסֵף אֹתָם, מֵעִם בִּרְכָּיו; וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ לְאַפָּיו, אָרְצָה.
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Yakov had already mentioned Efraim before Menashe, so Yosef now makes sure they are placed the correct way when facing Yakov.
We might think that Yakov assumed that the one at Yosef's right was Yosef's bechor, as should be, and not that Yosef switched them in order that they be the correct sides for Yakov. And so when Yakov switched hands it was in error, but the pasuk tells us that "שִׂכֵּל אֶת-יָדָיו, כִּי מְנַשֶּׁה, הַבְּכוֹר", not "in interpreting what was described we can see that in doing this it must be that he had crossed his arms, because Menashe was on the other side" but rather "he crossed his hands due to the fact that Menashe was older", ie it was deliberate.
יג וַיִּקַּח יוֹסֵף, אֶת-שְׁנֵיהֶם--אֶת-אֶפְרַיִם בִּימִינוֹ מִשְּׂמֹאל יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאֶת-מְנַשֶּׁה בִשְׂמֹאלוֹ מִימִין יִשְׂרָאֵל; וַיַּגֵּשׁ, אֵלָיו. יד וַיִּשְׁלַח יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת-יְמִינוֹ וַיָּשֶׁת עַל-רֹאשׁ אֶפְרַיִם, וְהוּא הַצָּעִיר, וְאֶת-שְׂמֹאלוֹ, עַל-רֹאשׁ מְנַשֶּׁה: שִׂכֵּל אֶת-יָדָיו, כִּי מְנַשֶּׁה, הַבְּכוֹר.
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The special brocho "yesimcha" only comes after the incident, which is why I claim it was a result of what Yakov felt in their heads when the initial brocho was given to the boys:
טו וַיְבָרֶךְ אֶת-יוֹסֵף, וַיֹּאמַר: הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר הִתְהַלְּכוּ אֲבֹתַי לְפָנָיו, אַבְרָהָם וְיִצְחָק--הָאֱלֹהִים הָרֹעֶה אֹתִי, מֵעוֹדִי עַד-הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה. טז הַמַּלְאָךְ הַגֹּאֵל אֹתִי מִכָּל-רָע, יְבָרֵךְ אֶת-הַנְּעָרִים, וְיִקָּרֵא בָהֶם שְׁמִי, וְשֵׁם אֲבֹתַי אַבְרָהָם וְיִצְחָק; וְיִדְגּוּ לָרֹב, בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ. יז וַיַּרְא יוֹסֵף, כִּי-יָשִׁית אָבִיו יַד-יְמִינוֹ עַל-רֹאשׁ אֶפְרַיִם--וַיֵּרַע בְּעֵינָיו; וַיִּתְמֹךְ יַד-אָבִיו, לְהָסִיר אֹתָהּ מֵעַל רֹאשׁ-אֶפְרַיִם--עַל-רֹאשׁ מְנַשֶּׁה. יח וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹסֵף אֶל-אָבִיו, לֹא-כֵן אָבִי: כִּי-זֶה הַבְּכֹר, שִׂים יְמִינְךָ עַל-רֹאשׁוֹ. יט וַיְמָאֵן אָבִיו, וַיֹּאמֶר יָדַעְתִּי בְנִי יָדַעְתִּי--גַּם-הוּא יִהְיֶה-לְּעָם, וְגַם-הוּא יִגְדָּל; וְאוּלָם, אָחִיו הַקָּטֹן יִגְדַּל מִמֶּנּוּ, וְזַרְעוֹ, יִהְיֶה מְלֹא-הַגּוֹיִם. כ וַיְבָרְכֵם בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, לֵאמוֹר, בְּךָ יְבָרֵךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר, יְשִׂמְךָ אֱלֹהִים כְּאֶפְרַיִם וְכִמְנַשֶּׁה; וַיָּשֶׂם אֶת-אֶפְרַיִם, לִפְנֵי מְנַשֶּׁה.
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Yosef brings his children to his father Yakov [48:13], taking care to hold them in reverse order so that the older is in his left hand, opposite Yakov’s right hand. Why is Yosef suddenly making sure of the order of the children? What makes him suspect that there will be a problem of Yakov giving priority to the younger, as indeed there was!?
Answer:
· immediately preceding this, Yakov mentions the two children, naming the younger first [48:5], so there is already an indication either of confusion or of his intent to switch their blessings!
[Also: Yakov cannot see, and Yosef knows that Yakov himself exploited the lack of vision of his father Yitschak to get the blessings instead of Esav. The situation was fraught; Yosef did not want his sons to have to choose the position they would take in getting the blessing, and perhaps compete with each other, and therefore he takes care.]
What’s With the Knees?
Staying One Move AheadThe order of events preceding the blessing to Efrayim and Menashe is strange: the Torah is perhaps implying something by it.
We are told that:
1. Yosef brought his sons near to Yakov [48:10];
2. Yakov hugs and kisses them [while they were on Josephs knees?];
3. Joseph then takes them off his knees (48:12), and bows deeply (all the way) to his father;
4. Joseph then (as in 1. above) brings his sons near to Yakov [48:13]:
Again!? Why the second bringing of his children to Yakov – were they not already with their grandfather?
Also:
· Why does the Torah emphasize this repeated action by taking care to use the same word in both passages: “and he approached”[12] .
· Why does Yosef suddenly prostrate himself to his father in the middle of things?
· Why does the Torah mention that Yosef had the children on his knees, and that he removed them before prostrating himself to his father?
· Yakov stipulates that these are the children born to Joseph before Yakov came to Egypt 17 years earlier – so the younger is at least at least 17 years old! Why are they on their father’s knees!?
Answer:
I would like to suggest the possibility that after hugging and kissing them as mentioned in the Torah, but before Yosef got up to bow, Yakov had already placed his hands on the children in the reverse order (in accordance with his earlier statement mentioning Efrayim before Menashe). Yosef was now trying to rectify this!
From the fact that Yosef a bit later tells his father “not so, father, this is the older one” we can see that Yosef thought his father could not tell the difference, and so he felt right in intervening. So rather than correcting his father Yosef looks for an excuse to move the children and bring them back in the appropriate order: he does not remove the children from his knees in order to bow, he bows in order to be able to remove them!
Therefore the Torah makes sure to tell us that he takes them off his knees and then bows, and that he approached again, and that now he had them arranged in the way he wanted them to be when Yakov blessed them – the younger facing Yakov’s left hand, the older facing Yakov’s right hand. And then Yakov again places his right hand on the younger, this time deliberately crossing his hands to do so. [By having his hands on their heads with his arms deliberately crossed during the blessing of Yosef, Yakov was able to gauge their reaction to the simple act of reversal in a relatively safe way: if he had detected jealousy he could indeed have removed them or allowed Joseph to rearrange them before giving the children their blessing.]
Yosef thinks that perhaps Yakov did not realize that Yosef has returned them in the proper order, or wants his father to now rectify the situation, and so he now corrects his father.
Furthermore, the word for “knees” (“bircav”) is exactly the same spelling in the Torah (where vowels are not included) as the word for “his blessings” (“brachav” in masculine form):
וַיֹּאמֶר יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל-יוֹסֵף, רְאֹה פָנֶיךָ לֹא פִלָּלְתִּי; וְהִנֵּה הֶרְאָה אֹתִי אֱלֹהִים, גַּם אֶת-זַרְעֶךָ.
יב וַיּוֹצֵא יוֹסֵף אֹתָם, מֵעִם בִּרְכָּיו; וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ לְאַפָּיו, אָרְצָה.
and so perhaps one could read the passage as saying not “Yosef removed them from his knees” but rather “Yosef removed them from his (Yakov’s) blessing” ie he moved them away just as Yakov was about to begin to bless the children (in the improper order), and now the reason for the Torah including this word is very clear – rather than being odd, implying that adult children were sitting on his knees, it sheds light on the entire story.
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· Why it was necessary for Yakov to place his hands on the heads of Efrayim and Menashe while giving the blessings? [13]
· Even if Yakov wished to place his hands on the heads of both children, since he gave only one blessing and directed it at both of them why was it necessary to place this or that hand on a specific head? Why not just place whichever hand on whichever child’s head.
Answer:
This was a mechanism for testing their jealousy-index; and it operated because Yakov’s hands created a special connection to the two children and between them:
· By placing himself in contact with them during the flow of the blessing to Joseph, Yakov was better able to sense their inner feelings. [He was able thus to feel Menashe’s lack of jealousy, and so when he finished the blessing to Yosef and prepared to bless the children he kept his hands as they were. Yosef however was not ‘connected’ in this link and so could not feel Menashe’s emotions and so he tried to rearrange his father’s hands. ]
· Not only were they given identical blessings; mores this blessing was not given to them sequentially, separately, but simultaneously, in one utterance meant for them both: the link created by the two hands allowed for the one blessing to flow along two paths ;
Yakov was a channel for blessing, and was connected not only to each child, but served as a connecting link between them, linking them to each other!
· This connection helped them empathize with each other and overcome any tendency to jealousy.
· since the reason for their receiving a blessing was due to an aspect of their relationship as brothers, their connection to each other, rather than as individuals, the blessing was given while both were connected in this link
· the content of the blessing was self-referential: it was not for their individual gain, for example it was not a simultaneous blessing “each of you will be wealthy as a reward for being connected so deeply” nor even “you will each succeed in life because you are connected so deeply” but rather the content of the blessing was that others would recognize their connection, be inspired by it, and would bless their children to be like them, and so the blessing was given via a physical connection of each to the other.
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Summary of the story of Yakov’s Blessing of Ephraim and Menashe
Joseph brings his two sons to his father on his death bed, careful to indicate which is the older, but Yakov gives a blessing crossing his arms to place his right hand on the head of Efrayim, the younger son, and his left on the head of the older Menashe [48:14]. His son Joseph, who had suffered greatly from the jealousy and hatred of his older brothers, attempts unsuccessfully to move Yakov’s hands so that his right hand would be on the older grandchild. Yakov doesn’t allow his hands to be budged. And there is no recorded rivalry between the two brothers as a result.
Introductory: The Blessings of Efrayim and Menashe as the Culmination of the Book of Genesis
The blessing given to Ephrayim and Menashe is very unusal: that future generations will bless their children by saying “let God make you/(place you!) as Efrayim and Menashe”. Why were they blessed in this way? What did they do to deserve that this be so for generations?
As is well known, Genesis brims with sibling rivalry on the metaphysical and physical planes, with older brothers constantly usurped by/jealous of the younger, however no such negative ramifications are recorded for this event, implying Menasheh’s compliance in the giving of the blessing to his younger brother Efrayim. As such, this event of sibling peace has great significance – it is the counterpart to the primal fratricidal murder of Abel by Cain - and so brings to a conclusion the book of Genesis and it’s associated period of spiritual development.
This event of brotherly love:
· derived its power partially from their grandmother Rachel, who was willing to sacrifice her marriage to Yakov in order to save her sister from embarrassment and pain.
· paves the way for:
1. Joseph’s overlooking his brothers’ sins [50:17-21],
2. The extraordinary brothers in the next parsha, Moses and Ahron, with the younger trying to refuse his mission in favor of his older brother, and the older brother being happy for the success of his younger brother – the God who testified to the jealousy and hatred of the brothers for Yosef testifies that Ahron was truly happy for Moses.
This is the significance of the blessing given to Efrayim and Menashe in our parsha: that future generations will bless their children by saying “let God make you/(place you!) as Efrayim and Menashe”, blessing their children that they be able to overcome sibling rivalry/jealousy as Ephrayim and Menashe had.
Introductory: Premeditated Incitement to Jealousy:
Yosef, who suffered so much from sibling jealousy was horrified: it was with great regret that Abraham cast Ishmael out, and Yitschak was fooled into causing the brother-hatred, and Yakov unwittingly caused Yosef’s brothers to hate him by showing Yosef favoritism, but here his father by deliberately placing his right hand on the younger brother was going to deliberately perpetrates an act which is almost designed to cause jealousy between his two sons, in front of his eyes!
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Among the founders of the Jewish people, the father-to-son blessing was not automatic, not simply going to the firstborn son simply by virtue of his being older – he has to deserve it. And often it was given to the younger son.
brocho (blessing) and bechorah:
Yakov blesses Yosef’s sons Efrayim and Menasheh: he deliberately crosses his arms in order to place his right hand on the head of the younger son (48:14). This 'switching' is perhaps hinted at in the word “Bracha” meaning blessing: it has the same letters as “firstbornship”, “bchorah”, just with two of the letters switched!
In fact, the one giving the blessing, Yakov, was himself given a blessing via a switching: Yitschak thought he was blessing Esav, not Yakov - here Yakov himself gives a physical expression to this by using a physical switch of the hands to place the younger over the elder.
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Yosef tells his father that his right hand is on the younger and then Yakov says: that he is aware: “I know, my son, I know”. Why is he using this double phraseology, and why is it important enough for the Torah to record it?
We can arrive at an answer by understanding the subtle aspect of Yosef's question: Even after answering Yosef that he knew that his right hand was on the younger by saying “I know, my son”, Yosef certainly would have wanted to ask another question” “OK, so you know which is the older and which is the younger, BUT WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!!??”
Of course Yakov was aware of the implied second question, and with the second “I know” he was indicating to Yosef that he was quite aware not simply of the correct order of the two sons’ birth, but also:
He knows of the loaded nature of the act of openly preferring one over the other. He knows that an ancestor’s blessing can cause eternal strife as was the case between he himself and his brother Esav, but he was doing this with a purpose (eg perhaps it was a necessary ‘rite of passage’ for those aspiring to be in the special line).
perhaps hinting that he knows what happened to Yosef at the hands of his brothers (due to sibling jealousy)
he knows it will all work out ok in this case; he knows somehow that Ephraim and Menashe would succeed in overcoming any jealousy and would bring the whole brother-jealousy issue to an end.
[Indeed, as we point out in various of the stories, much of Genesis is about what x knows that Y doesn't, or whether Y knows that x knows, etc.]
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In [48:10] we are told that Yakov was blind (‘from old age’), but immediately after this we are told of Yakov using a phrase implying ‘sight’ twice in one sentence, saying [48:11]“I never even imagined (prayed) that I would see your face (again), and now God has shown me even your children!”.[11]
· We are being informed that Yakov could discern them even without sight (or could see them from close up but not from further away), and so his choice of placing his right hand on the younger was not due to an error.
This is meant to contrast with the case when Yitschak, due to the same type of ‘old age blindness’ believed him to be his brother Esav.
Before, During or After?
· Before: We are told that before the blessings began, Joseph saw his father cross his arms to place his hands that way, so why did Joseph not correct Yakov before the blessing began?
· During: If Yakov was not finished giving the blessing, how could Yosef interrupt him in the middle, especially if he did not see fit to correct him beforehand when it would haver been without interrupting!?
· After: If the blessing was over when he tried to move his fathers’ hands, why did he bother? Did he believe that more blessing was to follow? He was right - but how did he know?
Answers:
· From [48:15] we can see that although Yakov’s first blessing was about Ephrayim and Menashe, it was actually directed at Joseph, not his children!
וַיִּשְׁלַח יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת-יְמִינוֹ וַיָּשֶׁת עַל-רֹאשׁ אֶפְרַיִם, וְהוּא הַצָּעִיר, וְאֶת-שְׂמֹאלוֹ, עַל-רֹאשׁ מְנַשֶּׁה: שִׂכֵּל, אֶת-יָדָיו, כִּי מְנַשֶּׁה, הַבְּכוֹר. וַיְבָרֶךְ אֶת-יוֹסֵף, וַיֹּאמַר........
Yakov blessed his son Joseph with the success of his children. Since it was a blessing about the children, Yakov placed his hands on their heads while he blessed Joseph.
· Probably Yosef realized that next there’d be a blessing directed to the children themselves. As there indeed was. And so Yosef tries to switch his father’s hands so that the blessing to them will be with Yakov’s hands placed in chronologically correct order.
· Perhaps there would not have been another blessing of the children themselves separately from the blessing to Joseph about them, but now gauging the positive reaction of the children, he is moved to give them a special blessing. And this is why he says the second “ya’dati” וַיְמָאֵן אָבִיו, וַיֹּאמֶר יָדַעְתִּי בְנִי יָדַעְתִּי : he knows from the positive reaction of the two children to the first blessing, about them but directed to their father, that when THEY receive theor blessings, they will be ok with receiving them in the reverse order of their birth.
Yakov:
is ‘near death’ and Yosef comes to see him.
requests (of Yosef) that he be buried in Israel;
is ill (dying), and is visited by Yosef, to whom he gives blessings;
blesses his grandchildren Efrayim and Menasheh;
blesses/warns/prophecies about his other sons, the tribes;
dies, is embalmed, has a state funeral, with a procession to burial in Israel in ma'arat hamachpelah;
Yosef:
tells his brothers not to fear revenge;
dies.....
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Reading between the lines of a Missing Space
Va’y’chi is unique among parshas: there’s no long white space separating it from the previous parsha in the Torah scroll (parsha stuma). Various reasons have been given for this.
The parsha is brief but has a very powerful prophetic set of blessings/prophecies about the tribes, ie the entire Jewish People, and also has blessings to Yosef's sons which are 'transmitted' by many Traditional parents to their own children every Friday night.
The parsha is like a parenthetical entry between the very end of the previous parsha, Va’yigash, and the beginning of next week’s parsha, Shmos, which mesh well with each other.
Indeed [Genesis 47:27] is very similar to Exodus [1:7]: both refer to the overall situation of the Jews in Egypt. Between them is our parsha, tying up some loose ends, glossing over others (see below).
missing central elements of the overall story
Of course one can speculate on reasons, but the fact that these matters are not discussed in clear detail - as are so many other elements in the story - is itself significant.
So the parsha is not only brief, but had crucial lacunae.
somewhat technical
a) Yakov is old and near death and seems to be rambling: he begins telling Yosef that God promised him the Land, and that he is giving Yosef’s two sons Efrayim and Menashe status as his own sons: they will receive a share in the land equal to that of each of the tribes, their uncles.
Then suddenly Yakov talks of the death and burial of Joseph’s mother Rachel, their grandmother, his beloved wife.
This seems like the non-sequitar one might expect from an old man. But of course it isn’t.
Yakov is giving the reason for granting Joseph’s sons that special status: his words [48:7] imply that Rachel died prematurely, before completing her mission – and from what Yakov had just said to them we can see what this mission was: she ‘should have had’[10] more children than just the two she had, Joseph and Benjamin. And so Yakov is considering Rachel’s two grandchildren as though they were her sons.
b) Yakov was with Leah on his wedding night, but thought he was with Rachel. And so his first born son ‘should have been’ Rachel’s first son Yosef; instead his first son was Leah’s firstborn Reuven, and then Shimon. And so Yakov tells Yosef [48:5] who was ‘supposed to have been’ his firstborn, that his sons will be like his firstborns: “they will be to me as Reuven and Shimon”.
c) Yosef was named by Rachel in a manner that was perhaps not totally appropriate: the name Yosef means “let God give me yet another son”! Perhaps indeed she was supposed to have one more child than she actually had, but her asking for more resulted in a curtailment, and indeed she was granted her request of having one more, but she had been otherwise slated to have two more! [Be careful what you request – you may unfortunately be granted it!] Furthermore, due to Yakov’s saying’ let the person die’ she died early and had only the two sons.
Ephrayim and Menashe were then accepted as tribes in place of Yosef (“let God give me yet another son”) and the meant-to-be but never actually born additional son.
[To understand the above we need to know of:The effect of Yakov’s words on RachelThe effect of the naming of YosefThe effect of the marrying of Leah rather than Rachel on Joseph, and ReuvenThese were explained in a previous parsha sheet, and so for reference are included in the Appendix at the end of this sheet.
It may be that this is just like all other nations' reasons for hating the Jews - they are illogical.
If so, then perhaps the torah is indicating that history need not have unfolded this way, the Jews need not have become slaves in Egypt.
That is, perhaps there was a divinely-ordained 'karmic' reason for the illogical hatered. Well expand on ths notion below.
Some aspects are decreed, foretold, fated, but not the way that event will unfold, which is dependent on human respnses: for example:
Zohar(?) says was supposed to be a "mabul" but it didnt have to be mayim or it was to be mayim but that could be torah, and the choice was detemrined by their acitons...
In the megillah the decree couldnt be abolished (made by king = H'), but the Jews could be given the right to defend themselves.
Pharaoh's dream: famine could not be overcome, but its negative effects could be, via hashgacha pratit, since Yosef openly attributed all to God.
So we can perhaps see this principle acting in our situaiton of the sudden inexplicable transition to slavery in Egypt. God had told Avraham that his descendants would be in a negative situaiton for 400 years: וַיֹּאמֶר לְאַבְרָם, יָדֹעַ תֵּדַע כִּי-גֵר יִהְיֶה זַרְעֲךָ בְּאֶרֶץ לֹא לָהֶם, וַעֲבָדוּם, וְעִנּוּ אֹתָם--אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת, שָׁנָה.
We see that in effect the amount was changed from 400 to 210, very creative accounting!, so it could also have been changed to 1 year; and maybe the same happened years later, when Moses struck the task-master, and was accused by his 'brothers', so that he had to run away, thus delaying the exodus - probably if they hadn't done so, the redemption could have come then, 40 or even 60 years earlier.
So too perhaps re avraham avinu (Abraham) being told
וַעֲבָדוּם = will serve them
וְעִנּוּ אֹתָם = will afflict them
the actualization of these two phrases could have been changed to a different form of 'eved' just as eliezer was eved avraham, and Moses was 'eved hashem', and 'inuy' can be something simple like not wearing leather shoes.
Or: If one feels that what was said to avraham is not explicable as being neutral, capable of becoming a good form of 'eved': maybe since hashem knew what would happen, it was revealed to avraham, both the actual future amount and that it would be hard avdut, but this was so only because later on of their free will the brothers would act as they did.
But unfortunately the Jews came to Egypt in the energy of 'slave' - yosef was seen by his brothers as saying they would be his servants, and setting themselves as this lowly state helped create this reality. They sold him as a slave to Egypt and this solidified the transition in their status to slaves. Instead of accepting Yosef as a tzadik and realizing he really did not intend to do them harm after Yaakov died, the brothers fabricated a command from their recently-deceasedfather, and offered themselves as slaves to Joseph, so all of this set the way that the 'fated' event would unfold - as actual slavery.
And so there came a sudden almost inexplicable change - 'vayakam melech chadash asher lo yadah et yosef' 'a new king arose who diod not know/remember Yosef'.... this 'forgetfulness' was as inexplicable as the reasons the Egyptians gave for enslaving the Jews.
Imagine how different Jewish history would have been had the brothers applied 'lekaf zechus' in interpreting his dream and motivaiotns.
There are internaitonal events of significance which affect the jewish people, and events that are divinely Fated for some reason, but how these events will unfold will depend on how we treat each other: it is up to us, whether we interpret our brothers' dreams negatively and try to confound the dreams ('nir'eh ma yihye im chalomotav') or if instead we rise to the occasion and create maximal positive spiritual energy acting in history by interpreting our brothers' words favorably, and helping them fulfil their dreams.
Although on his deathbed Yakov severely criticizes his sons Shimon and Levi [49:5-7] for their killing of the inhabitants of Shchem [Chapter 34] we can see indications that he is not totally against all aspects of it:
· Shimon and Levi were not themselves cursed by Yakov, it was their anger which was considered cursed [49:7]. (Just as Adam and Eve were not cursed by God, only the ground and the snake were.)
· Yakov does not criticize the other brothers for the aspect of the action which they were part of[14].
· Yakov grants Shchem as part of the inheritance he bequeaths [48:22];
· Yakov says that he took Shchem – and took it with his might. This implies both his acquiescence in its takeover and in the way it was taken.
We can infer from this that Yakov did not necessarily think that the killing of the Shchemites was wrong – rather, it was imprudent, not politically expedient. And, it was undertaken without due consultation, and possibly endangered the whole family.
Even though those partaking in it might have felt themselves justified, what underlay the sale of Joseph was hatred and jealousy. Yakov judges that it was temper which underlay the killing of the Schemites, so he criticizes them even though the action itself might have been justified.
His criticism is not against the act, but against the motivation: some things are justified but imprudent, and though it did not materialize, at the time Yakov had feared the vengeance of the surrounding peoples [34:30].
On his deathbed Yakov is warning Shimon and Levi to be aware that their temper may lead them to unilateral violent action which although possibly justified can endanger themselves, or even the whole family.
Did Yakov know what happened to Yosef? Possibly, even Reuven didn’t know what had happened to Yosef
Reuven says not to kill Yosef, to put him in the pit and not to do anything to him, and the Torah tells us that he had the intention of saving Yosef from them [37:22]. In 37:30 he returns and finds Yosef gone, cries out “what will I do now” and together with the rest of the brothers fabricates the evidence of a wild animal attack on Yosef (placing goat blood on Yosef’s “coat of colors”). However there is no certainty that he knew what had happened - he perhaps believed Yosef was dead, killed by some animal or kidnapped/killed by bandits!
Years later, in standing in front of Yosef with the interpreter between them [42:21] the brothers say “we are being punished because we didn’t have mercy on him” (in other words that they threw him into the pit despite his pleas). Why do they not say “for having sold him”?
Maybe the brothers didn’t want to admit in front of Reuven what they had done! (that they had sold him, or allowed him to be taken from the pit by others and sold as a slave).
In fact we see from Reuven’s statement in response to this [42:22] “his (Yosef’s) blood is being demanded of us” that indeed Reuven seems to believe that Yosef is dead!
· It isn’t clear from the passages where everyone was at each point, almost a deliberate obfuscation: Reuven’s leaving is not mentioned, only his return, so when we initially read the story we don’t know that he was not there, until later on we are told of his return;
· although the brothers stated their intention to sell him to the arriving Yishme’elim, those who actually drew Yosef out of the pit and sold him to the Yishme’elim were not the brothers.
According to Rabbinical commentary, “Yakov didn’t die”. Various interpretations are given for his unusual statement[6]. In this context I offer the following three related pieces:
Yakov is about to die (47:29), and asks Yosef to swear to bury him in the family burial spot (in Israel). Yosef swears to do so. The Torah then says: “And it came to pass after these things happened, that Yakov was sick”, an unexpected anticlimax; after being told this was some time after he was near death, we expect to be told that “he died”, not “he became sick”. And then comes a long section in which he is not so very sick, rather he gives out very detailed, prophetic and poetic blessings! But then he dies abruptly, immediately after giving the blessings.
It would seem that in some sense Yakov lived longer than ‘originally intended’ – maybe to provide time to give the all-important blessings to Yosef, Efrayim and Menashe, and the messages (an ‘ethical will’) to the tribes. In this sense it is significant that “Yakov didn’t die”.
In a very graphic description, the Torah tells us that immediately after giving the blessings from his bed, he pulls his feet up onto the bed [49:33] and dies!
From the fact that already beforehand Yakov was close to death and already had commanded Yosef regarding his burial, and the fact that he died immediately so abruptly and dramatically after concluding the blessings, we can see that at this time Yakov was so ill, so close to death, that had Joseph and the other brothers not been immediately notified of his state they would have missed the opportunity for the blessings. How did they find out about Yakov’s condition, to be able to come at the right moment?
The Torah says:
“And it came to pass after these things, and he told Yosef ‘your father is ill’ ” but the Torah does not say who told him this!
· Right after this the Torah says:
“And he said to Yakov: your son Yosef is coming” but it does not say WHO told him that.
Clearly the Torah is hinting (broadly) at something[7], and given that it is about Joseph it’s probably hinting again at divine intervention[8] - that in the natural course of events they would not have known to come right then.
1) Yakov on his deathbed tells his sons that he will reveal to them matters concerning “the end of days”. Why did Yakov intend to reveal these matters, and how did he know of them? It has been suggested that as he was on his death-bed, he was partially in “the world to come” and so had access to knowledge which he wanted to share it . The Sages teach that it was not meant to be, and so prophecy was removed from him at that moment, and therefore what Yakov actually then says to his children is more of an ethical will than a prophecy of the future. Perhaps one can expand on this idea by proposing that Yakov was not initially ‘meant’ to give any of the blessings!
2) How did Yakov have the strength to give these penetrating detailed blessings to his children a few minutes before death?
The Torah implies [48:2] that had his beloved son Yosef not come to him, Yakov would not have had the strength to give the blessings that day; he would have died without giving them. And so God arranged for the blessings to occur by ensuring that Yosef was informed of Yakov’s imminent death.
The Midrash teaches that Ahron (next parsha) used to tell both sides of a conflict that the other was sorry… by being creative about what he told both sides, and approaching them simultaneously, they were both ready at the same time to forgive each other, and this brought peace. By starting the loop with both people simultaneously, Ahron achieved his goal.
Similarly there was no one to know that Yakov was to die that day, and Yakov had no strength left to give brochos in any case. So, to start the loop God stepped in and created the simultaneous messages: notifying Yosef to go, and Yakov that he was coming.….. this gave Yakov strength and he was able to give the blessings, and brought Yosef and his children there to receive the blessings: Yakov was technically dead, he was just staying alive through God’s intervention - indeed “Yakov didn’t die”. In that state Yakov was connected to the higher realms, however it was not up to him to decide what to say – God arranged all this in order for a very specific message – the ethical will recorded in the parsha - to be delivered to his children and all posterity.
And this is also why immediately after delivering the message, he dies so abruptly.
as he was about to double-cross his grandchildren
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Yayechi always semed anticlimactic too much detail aout not so relevant matters, after the end of the ral story. So I am glad to be ale to tie this in:
Vayechi has story re Yakov apologizing to yosef re not burying rochel his mother in k arba m hamachpela, and long story re the mumificaiotn/emblaming of yakov and the great amount of people in the burial procession travelling all the way to cnaan! Why is this story important enough to be in the chumash?
Answer: Yosef continues to display his special mida - of NOT bein g mida knegend mida of retribution (as per my vort on prevos arsha): although Yakov asks Yosef to bury him in m hamachpelah despite not burying ROchel there, osef is medakdek to follow this request event though after yakov is dead he can do as he pleases. Indeed the brothers recognize this (that with Yakov dead, yosef is free to act as he wishes)and plead for his mercy, trying to leverage a fake claim of clemency request from Yakov.
CHazal provide the reasons Yakov didnt bury rochel in chevron - it was far and would have to leave the boy unburied for a day or two, and also because of the large maount of poepl in the family and th possesisons etc it was difficult to travel.
Yosef does the opposite of Yakov. He makes sure to embalm the body to rpeserve it so that it could be transported a few days journey to cnaan, and he takes along agreat entourage! exactly the two things chazal meniton re yakov's reasons for not doing it!
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Separate vort:
Also: note that Jews leave only the little children and their sheep etc in Egpyt and go off to cnaan to bury Yakov - and this is exactly what Paraoh in a later generaiton suggests they do re God's request' that he free them ostensibly to worship God ofr a few days in the desert/
This prefigures, or is a harbinger (or causes?!) the later event....Just as was the case with the slavery itself: the brothers sell Yosef as a save so the Jews enter egypt as slaves, and then Yosef turns all of egypt into slaves of paraoh, and then the jews all become slaves of paraoh,
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Other vort quesiotn:
If it was 17 years after coming to egypt, then it ws 12 years after the end ot he fmaine years, so yosef ws not needed as urgently in egypt.
why didnt the jews take the opportunity to leave/ chazal say the egyptians didnt really let them, that was the reason fro the military escort, ike with esav;s offer. ut if tha tis the case, it means this is the begining of the servitude.
[maybe like poland , start by invitaotn to fill a need, and end in up ...]
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1) Why is this worth mentioning at all?
2) We are told that Joseph died at the age of 110 – is it not likely that at that age he should have great-grandchildren!? (Many people today who are 80 or even less already have great-grandchildren.)
Answer:
Abraham’s son Yishmael was exiled, his grandson Yakov ran away to escape his brother Esav’s wrath, and his great grandson Yosef was kidnapped and missing for many years. Yitschak saw his son Yakov run to exile to escape Esav, and his grandson Joseph went missing. Yakov mourned his son for many years. Even Yehuda lost his sons. It wasn’t until Joseph that the main family member peacefully had – and saw - grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.
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Why does Yakov suddenly talk of the burial of Rachel in his conversation with Yosef [48:7]?
Rashi brings commentary to the effect that Yakov was deflecting implied criticism: that Yosef wondered why his father hadn’t bothered to transport Rachel to burial in the family plot that he himself was asking to be transported to. However one could offer an alternate but related reason: Yosef was a child when his mother died but he presumably knew why she was buried where she was; if he didn’t know as a child then certainly later on. Rather, Yosef, knowing that Yakov had loved Rachel so much, wondered why he was not asking to be buried next to her.
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Ysroel blessing bnei yisroe, can't take this for granted, it is the culmination of a whole set of challenges and ch=struggles, setitng the stage of rh enext set of chaenges and struggles, of the bnei yisroel now ntos o much of individuas (other than MR, pinchas etc).
only due to the zchus of yosef that all the shvotim mad eit to the finish line etc.
chaal tell s that the flaws fauts we see in others are a refeciton of our own faws, and the shvotim saw in yosef a refleciton of their OWN flaws and cast HIM out when it was THEY who were ot be cast out. Yosef saived the situaiotn enabling them to do teshuva before going beck to yaakov, and in so doing he miself did teshuva etc,.
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Also, Yosef mad eit clear via yaakov that there are situaiotns we accept without understanding ., this is the background for naaseh venishmah later on.
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Yakov seems maybe to reference selling yosef, though this is not necessarily pshat, but if he did, it was when he was in the prophetic state, and he didnt consoiconsly realize wha the was saying, like avrham "veani vehanaar nashuva aeichen' dnibeh veloh yaday shenibeh etc.
Yosef said two things that are actually deeply related: God will take ou out of here (this is a prophecy, and also admitting a strangemness, why woud they need God to take them out?), and to take out his bones.Why not take out his bones no, when the jews are free and powerful and Joseph revered?
Answer: this too was via prophetic level. Yosef 'knew' that they would need the zchus of taking his bones in order to get acroos the yam suf. (chesed shel emes instead of sinas chinom etc)
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There is much in the interaction of Yosef and Yakov here that is reminiscent of Yakov’s reconciliation with Esav [33:3 –11]:
· Yakov, Rachel, and Yosef star in both:
· There Yakov bows to Esav, here Yosef bows to Yakov:
· Esav sees Yakov’s children and asks who they are; Yakov sees Yosef’s children and asks the same:
· Esav and Yakov kiss and embrace and here Yakov kisses and hugs Yosef’s children:
· Yakov tells Esav how significant it is for him to “see his face” is, and here Yakov tells Yosef the same;
· Esav and Yakov there, and Efrayim and Menashe here, are an older brother and a younger, with the younger rather than the older having receiving the blessings.
· Yakov implores Esav to “accept his blessing” [33:11], ironic since he took the blessing from him creating the enmity: here Yakov is giving blessings, Yosef asks him to please change the placement of his hands, presumably to prevent future enmity between the brothers.
Clearly these are fateful events, shaping history, and Yakov and Yosef, being very aware of the undercurrents, are operating in accordance, to hidden higher purposes.
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[Note] Yitschak was involved in two seminal moments: in both cases he did not know what was actually occurring: when his father was bringing him for sacrifice (without telling him, and actually hinting that there was an animal that was being brought), and his giving the blessings to Yakov (when he was misled to believe that it was Esav).
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Similar to the exodus prelude, where Pharaoh tries to get the jews to leave their children and flocks behind: maybe the later Pharaoh remembered this? or maybe it was some metaphsical effect of this?
רַק, טַפָּם וְצֹאנָם וּבְקָרָם--עָזְבוּ, בְּאֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן. ט וַיַּעַל עִמּוֹ, גַּם-רֶכֶב גַּם-פָּרָשִׁים; וַיְהִי הַמַּחֲנֶה, כָּבֵד מְאֹד.
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Hearing the impression it made on the Knaanim, it makes one wonder what the people living near the mearat hamachpelah thought of all this!
י וַיָּבֹאוּ עַד-גֹּרֶן הָאָטָד, אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן, וַיִּסְפְּדוּ-שָׁם, מִסְפֵּד גָּדוֹל וְכָבֵד מְאֹד; וַיַּעַשׂ לְאָבִיו אֵבֶל, שִׁבְעַת יָמִים. יא וַיַּרְא יוֹשֵׁב הָאָרֶץ הַכְּנַעֲנִי אֶת-הָאֵבֶל, בְּגֹרֶן הָאָטָד, וַיֹּאמְרוּ, אֵבֶל-כָּבֵד זֶה לְמִצְרָיִם; עַל-כֵּן קָרָא שְׁמָהּ, אָבֵל מִצְרַיִם, אֲשֶׁר, בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן. יב וַיַּעֲשׂוּ בָנָיו, לוֹ--כֵּן, כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּם. יג וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֹתוֹ בָנָיו, אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן, וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֹתוֹ, בִּמְעָרַת שְׂדֵה הַמַּכְפֵּלָה: אֲשֶׁר קָנָה אַבְרָהָם אֶת-הַשָּׂדֶה לַאֲחֻזַּת-קֶבֶר, מֵאֵת עֶפְרֹן הַחִתִּי--עַל-פְּנֵי מַמְרֵא.
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Ysroel blessing bnei yisroe, can't take this for granted, it is the culmination of a whole set of challenges and ch=struggles, setitng the stage of rh enext set of chaenges and struggles, of the bnei yisroel now ntos o much of individuas (other than MR, pinchas etc).
only due to the zchus of yosef that all the shvotim mad eit to the finish line etc.
chaal tell s that the flaws fauts we see in others are a refeciton of our own faws, and the shvotim saw in yosef a refleciton of their OWN flaws and cast HIM out when it was THEY who were ot be cast out. Yosef saived the situaiotn enabling them to do teshuva before going beck to yaakov, and in so doing he miself did teshuva etc,.
.....
Also, Yosef mad eit clear via yaakov that there are situaiotns we accept without understanding ., this is the background for naaseh venishmah later on.
....
Yakov seems maybe to reference selling yosef, though this is not necessarily pshat, but if he did, it was when he was in the prophetic state, and he didnt consoiconsly realize wha the was saying, like avrham "veani vehanaar nashuva aeichen' dnibeh veloh yaday shenibeh etc.
Yosef said two things that are actually deeply related: God will take ou out of here (this is a prophecy, and also admitting a strangemness, why woud they need God to take them out?), and to take out his bones.Why not take out his bones no, when the jews are free and powerful and Joseph revered?
Answer: this too was via prophetic level. Yosef 'knew' that they would need the zchus of taking his bones in order to get acroos the yam suf. (chesed shel emes instead of sinas chinom etc)
....
From file "Vayeshev...Some combined parshas"
There are very very many parallels between the two stories:
· a time of trouble [Vashti’s rebellion/famine];
· a consultation by a king with his advisors [Achashverosh/Pharaoh consult their ministers;
· a Jew who saves the king/kingdom (Mordechai saves Achashveros from the plotters/Joseph saves Egypt from famine)
· a Jew (Esther/Joseph) becomes second-in-command and saves the day;
· parading in special clothing as a sign of honor (Mordechai/Joseph)
· the beginning of a period of exile (Egypt/Persia);
and many other parallels, even in the wording.
Next Parsha: Slavery
D) Yosef instituted mass-slavery in Egypt (!) [the end of the previous parsha: (47:25)]: and his descendants become slaves there.
Joseph remained a slave, in prison, because the minister “didn’t remember Joseph and forgot him”; his descendants remained as slaves imprisoned in Egypt because [Exodus 1:8] “there arose a king who didn’t know Yosef”. [15]
[1] “And he [Yakov] lived” [47:28].
[2] Assuming that the brothers in [50:16] are not telling the truth. We can even add: Did the brothers actually ever admit they were wrong to sell Joseph? They never actually say so in clear words! (They knew they were being punished for it, but they never clearly say they were wrong. When they do speak of transgression its in a statement they attribute to their father [50:17])
[3] 48:21 Yakov tells Yosef “God will be with you, and will return you to the land of your forefathers” . Yakov himself lived in Egypt 17 years, long after the end of the famine! Why not just return to Israel, why the need for God to redeem them from Egypt? 50:24: Yosef tells his brothers “God will take us out”: why did they need God at that early stage! Why not just leave?!
Why did Yakov not make Yosef swear to return to Eretz Yisrael?
[4] Eg: 47:27: the last words of the previous parsha can be interpreted as intimating that the Jews simply were too successful, had it too good to leave: [“Vaye’ochzu boh vayifru vayirbu me’od”] Maybe because it took many years for the effects of the famine to be rectified? Or because [50:11] the cna’ani were there [“yoshev ha’aretz”]. Or just as Yosef ensured that elements of his dreams would be fulfilled, the Jews were ensuring that God’s words to Avraham re a sojourn in a foreign land, oppression etc, were fulfilled.
[5] INTRO: SUMMARY: Yakov blesses Yosef’s sons Efrayim and Menasheh: he deliberately crosses his arms in order to place his right hand on the head of the younger son (48:14)! Among the founders of the Jewish people, the father-to-son blessing is not automatic, and does not simply always go to the firstborn son simply by virtue of his being older – he has to deserve it.
[6] See eg http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/dafyomi2/bkama/insites/bk-dt-039.htm
[7] The implication is also that these two ‘tellings’ happened almost simultaneously [One can also speculate that if death was imminent then Yosef rushed to his father, and so there was no time or need for a messenger to run back and tell Yakov that he was coming]; also, the one who told Yosef was not sent by anyone, nor was the one who told Yakov that Yosef was coming: only Yakov would know he was so close to death, but he did not send the messenger, and in any case he was so ill he was beyond communicating. This ‘someone’ somehow knew he was about to die and took the initiative to tell both Yakov and Yosef.
[8] In a previous portion the Torah tells us that Yosef would not have encountered his brothers at the time they wanted to kill him without the intervention of “a man” who found him wandering lost and directed him to where his brothers were [37:15-17]. The fact that the Torah bothers to tell us this detail means that it was important, and the fact that the person is not named but just called “a man” is reminiscent of other times “a man” or “men” appeared: three “men” who were clearly angels appeared to Abraham, and Yakov was named Yisrael after wrestling with “a man” – clearly an angel - all night. The implication is that it was fated that Yosef have this encounter with his brothers.
[9] Yosef was told that Yakov was ill [48: 1- 2:] ; As a result Yosef sets off to go (run) to his father’s side; Yakov is told that Yosef was coming; This news gives him strength and he sits up on the bed [47:2] ; He then gives out many blessings, and dies abruptly at the end.
[10] Yakov says “she died on me”, possibly he was to blame: his statement to the effect that the one who stole Lavan’s idol/magic divination object would die caused her premature death, as she was the one who had taken it. So, she died before her mission was complete, and Yakov is attempting some rectification of this.
[11] Of course Yakov saw them earlier when he still had vision, and could be referring to then.
Furthermore, ‘seeing’ can be meant idiomatically (blind people have told me ‘see you’ meaning ‘goodbye’).
[12] That the same word is used is even more of a clue since the meaning is somewhat different and so another word could have been employed: the first time it is “He ‘approached’ them” = Yosef brought them to Yakov, the second time it is: “he approached to him” = Yosef approached Yakov, while holding his sons.
[13] We aren’t told of such in the transmission of blessings by Abraham and Isaac (25:5, 27:27, 27:39) nor even a bit later in Yakov’s blessings of his own sons – but these were not classical blessings, as also with Abraham and Isaac [25:5].
[14] (conspiring to trick the Schemites into weakening themselves by undergoing circumcision, which then enables Shimon and Levi to kill the Schemites without harm to themselves.).
[15] Also of course Yosef is sold by his brothers as a slave to Egypt: After the death of their father, the brothers fear Joseph will take revenge and offer themselves as slaves to Joseph [50:18] (also when the goblet is found in their possession)]
When God tells Moses to ask Pharaoh for their freedom, Pharaoh makes it more difficult for the Jews, removing the straw used to make bricks but still demanding they make the bricks - when they are the descendants of Joseph who saved Egypt by making wheat available (straw is the by-product, dried?)