vaYehi 5766: Jacob’s Legacy
There are two stories in this week’s parashah about the blessing of Ephraim and Menashe. In the first story they are blessed by Jacob:
where that Jacob’s blessing is 48:4 ‘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. Then Israel blesses the younger before the older:
This is something that has bothered me since I started reading the bible. Why do we still call Jacob “Jacob” even after God changes his name. Now, I don’t know which JEPD source wrote each one of these sections, but I do know that the first one intended Ephraim and Menashe to be like two full tribes in place of Joseph’s tribe. The would get a blessing just like any of the other brothers. This is pretty good. In the section where Israel blesses (and Israel is the name for the northern kingdom where Ephraim was the dominant tribe), they get a special blessing from Jacob, arguably better than the other brothers, in which Ephraim, the younger is to be greater (48:19). So, staying within the Bible, I can see two strains where one makes Ephraim better than any of the other tribes (probably of northern origin). As an application, I would consider how adopting your grandchildren as your heirs is inherently problematic in creating jealousy by creating a sense of special privilage in the grandchildren. I’ll work on my profound insight and update this later (hopefully). I appreciate your comments Shabbat Shalom |
