spirituality

n the last
day of
Jacob's life,
our forefather called his 12 sons
to his bedside, each to receive a bless-
ing. Each son would give rise to a tribe
bearing his name. The blessings were
prophetic, clearly defining the unique
role that each tribe would play.
Jacob understood his sons, their
characters and attributes, clearly
and deeply. He crafted each blessing,
therefore, for the individual; and it
suited only the son for whom it was
intended.
Yet it was very significant that Jacob
summoned his sons as a group. He
might have called them one by one
to receive their blessings.
Why did he beckon the
entire group to his bed-
side?
Our sages teach us that
Jacob's method was delib-
erate and meant to impart
important lessons to his
sons — and to all of us.
Jacob wanted each of
his sons to listen as well to
the blessing of each of his
brothers. And you might
guess the reason why if
you've ever heard someone else being
praised and suddenly felt inadequate.
It is a common trait among us humans
to feel diminished when listening
to someone else being praised. Such
feelings, of course, are misguided:
Praise for one person doesn't detract
from another's fine qualities one iota:
Because someone else is great doesn't
mean I am not great!
Jacob wanted his sons to hear
and understand that as individuals
they possessed great qualities and
strengths. By praising what was great
about each one — and doing so in the
presence of all — they could under-
stand that every one has a specialty
and a mission. Also, as they heard
Jacob praising their brother's attri-
butes, they could learn and acquire
those same attributes for themselves.
Jacob had even a deeper and even
more important lesson to convey.
Before him stood the entire Jewish
nation in kernel form, the 12 tribes
together. Not only were they physi-
cally together, they were also united
in their commitment to God and to
the destiny of the Jewish nation. It
was here that all the sons of Jacob said
in unison for the first time: "Shema

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Yisrael, HaShem
Elokeinu Hashem
Echod."—"Hear, our
father, Yisrael! Just as HaShem is
One to you, so too He is One to us! We
are all committed to all of your goals
and aspirations for the Jewish nation."
Within the Jewish nation a host of
different roles must be played, and
each was embodied in one of the 12
sons. Each of the sons distinguished
himself with different qualities and
had his own path through which to
serve HaShem. The number 12 sym-
bolizes the complete circle of paths
through which to serve HaShem.
Jacob meant to impress upon his
sons that the Jewish nation, which
they comprised, was destined
to function as a unit — not as
separate parts. Each brother
was an integral, essential
component of the Jewish
people. Only when each
tribe contributed its unique
qualities and strengths to
the whole would the Jewish
nation be considered com-
plete and be able to fulfill its
mission in the world.
This concept remains true
today. The Jewish people are
comprised of many different individu-
als and can be compared to the cells
in a human body. There are trillions of
them, with lots of different jobs. But
they contain the same genetic code
and work together harmoniously to
keep the human being alive and well.
All the cells are needed so the body
can function optimally.
So, too, the Jewish nation needs all
of its parts in order to be complete and
optimize its contribution, and thus ful-
fill its mission in the world.
Let us renew our commitment to the
Jewish people and explore the many
ways we may contribute our special
qualities to our Jewish community.

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Conversations

• Think about your family. What are
the different good qualities of the
members of your family?
• How do they complement each
other?
• How can you improve yourself by
learning from a different member
of your family?

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January 1 • 2015

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