2021/5782
At the beginning of the Parashah, right before Yaakov Avinu blesses Ephraim and Menasheh, Yaakov has a strange conversation with Yosef. First, Yaakov recalls Hashem’s blessing of “והרביתך ונתתיך לקהל עמים ונתתי את־הארץ הזאת לזרעך אחריך אחזת עולם,” “I will make you fertile and numerous, making of you a community of peoples, and I will assign this land to your offspring to come for an everlasting possession” (BeReishit 48:4). Then, Yaakov Avinu adds in a strange comment about Ephraim and Menasheh: “ועתה שני־בניך הנולדים לך בארץ מצרים עד־באי אליך מצרימה לי־הם אפרים ומנשה כראובן ושמעון יהיו־לי,” “And now, your two sons that were born in Mitzrayim, before I came to you in Egypt, they are mine, Ephraim and Menasheh will be mine just as Reuven and Shimon are mine” (48:5). This is an incredibly odd thing for Yaakov to say; what does Yaakov Avinu mean when he says that Ephraim and Menasheh are his?
Rashi explains that Yaakov says this to show that, along with the other Shevatim, Ephraim and Menasheh will receive their own Cheilek of Eretz Yisrael. Now, a new question arises: why did Yaakov Avinu place Ephraim and Menasheh on par with the Shevatim?
It seems like Yaakov Avinu was giving Yosef’s sons preferential treatment. Did Yaakov forget all the suffering that he caused by favoring Yosef? The Gemara (Shabbat 10b) even uses Yakov’s favoring of Yosef as the source for the principle of not displaying partiality towards your children. How could Yaakov Avinu be so naive?
Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky offers a potential solution. He suggests that Yaakov Avinu believed that Yosef’s sons required special attention because they were born in Egypt. Unlike Yaakov’s other grandchildren, who grew up in their grandfather’s holy household, Ephraim and Menasheh grew up in the unholy atmosphere of Mitzrayim, which Yaakov feared would have a lasting impact on them. By saying “אפרים ומנשה כראובן ושמעון יהיו־לי,” Yaakov hoped to show Ephraim and Menasheh that they were his children, and they did not belong to the immoralities of Mitzrayim. Yaakov wanted to instill in them the understanding that they were part of Bnei Yisrael and part of an ongoing Mesorah.
This goal is why Yaakov placed Ephraim’s name before Menasheh’s, suggests Rav Kamenetsky. Ephraim was an Egyptian name; this indicates that Ephraim was farther away from the ideals Yaakov was trying to impart to his children and grandchildren, making Ephraim in greater need of Yaakov Avinu’s encouragement and support. Yaakov, therefore, thought that it was necessary to give Ephraim extra attention and mention Ephraim’s name first in Yaakov’s Beracha.
There may be times where we see members of Klal Yisrael who are headed on the wrong path in life. Instead of scolding or ignoring them, we should try to be like Yaakov and support them and help them understand that we are all part of a bigger Mesorah.