2020/5780

On most Friday nights for the last eighteen years of our lives, we have had our parents place their hands over our heads, like their parents before them, and fulfill the words of Ya’akov Avinu in this week’s Parashah: “BeCha Yevareich Yisrael Leimor Yesimecha Elokim Ke’Ephraim VeChiMnasheh,” “With you, Israel shall bless, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Menasheh’” (BeReishit 48:20). The Torah notes that Ya’akov Avinu’s ordering of the children is deliberate, commenting, “VaYasem Et Ephraim Lifnei Menasheh,” “And [Ya’akov] placed Ephraim before Menasheh” (ibid.). This is a continuation of his placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head and his left on Menasheh’s, despite Yoseif’s objection. Why did Ya’akov see fit to elevate Ephraim over Menasheh? What message are we supposed to derive from this story? Ephraim and Menasheh are both named after Yoseif’s experiences in Egypt, and yet their names could not convey more disparate messages. Menasheh is so named “Ki Nashani Elokim Et Kol Amali Ve’Eit Kol Beit Avi,” “For God has made me forget all of my suffering and all of my father’s house” (BeReishit 41:51). Yoseif has forgotten his past travails and has shed his ancestral identification; he is an Egyptian prince. Ephraim, meanwhile, receives his name “Ki Hiphrani Elokim Be’Eretz Onyi,” “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction” (ibid. 41:52). Yoseif acknowledges that Egypt is not his homeland, but the land of his suffering; though his fortunes may have turned, the location is fundamentally hostile. Menasheh is born to an Egyptian vizier with a Hebrew past; Ephraim is born to a Hebrew in the land of Egypt. Perhaps the message Ya’akov is trying to convey is that an Ephraim worldview takes precedence to a Menasheh worldview. We are meant to hold on to our father’s houses, not forget them. This is a common theme of Ya’akov Avinu’s life. Witness his oath to Lavan: “VaYishava Ya’akov BePhachad Aviv Yitzchak,” “And Ya’akov swore by the Dread of his father Yitzchak” (BeReishit 31:53); witness his description of Hashem: “Ha’Elokim Asher Hithalchu Avotai Lefanav Avraham VeYitzchak Ha’Elokim HaRo’eh Oti Mei’Odi Ad HaYom HaZeh,” “The God before Whom my fathers, Avraham and Yitzchak walked, the God who shepherded me from my beginning until this day” (BeReishit 48:15); witness his earnest request to be buried next to his forefathers: “VeShachavti Im Avotai UNesatani MiMitzrayim UKvartani BiKvuratam,” “And let me lie with my fathers, and carry me from Egypt and bury me in their graves” (BeReishit 47:30). He fully justified Lavan’s phrase, “Nichsof Nichsafta LeVeit Avicha,” “You whole-heartedly yearned for your father’s house” (BeReishit 31:27). Ya’akov certainly made his way in the world and forged his own path, but he was dedicated to the ancestral legacy he carried in his bones. As we prepare to leave Beit Avinu, both in the narrow sense and the wider sense, after eighteen years, we would like to tender our gratitude to TABC for providing us with the opportunity to profoundly engage with our glorious ancestral tradition, the Mesorah of our holy Torah. We are grateful for all that we have learned and all that we have taught, all that we have absorbed and all that we have shared, in the classroom and in the pages of Kol Torah. Additionally, we are grateful for you, dear reader, and all the time, attention, and thought that you have given to the fruits of our labor over the past twelve months. Finally – “Acharon Acharon Chaviv” – we would like to thank Rabbi Jachter Shlit”a for guiding us in our first venture in Harbatzat Torah and imbuing within us the Mesorah of Bnei Yisrael. Each time that we step foot into your Shiur, we feel your hands upon our heads as you teach us and bless us with your knowledge and appreciation for HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s Torah. As we prepare to venture out of Beit Avinu, TABC, we would like to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts, and wish you a Kol Tuv from Kol Torah.

Sincerely yours, Ephraim Helfgot (’20) Ezra Seplowitz (’20)