DECEMBER 28 • 2023 | 53
J
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SPIRIT

Blessings & Heritage
W

hen this was 
originally written 
(in 2018), we had 
just completed the celebra-
tion of Chanukah. Our con-
gregation had held its annual 
Chanukah/Shabbat 
dinner. The social 
hall was overflowing 
with members of the 
congregational family 
and community.
We began with the 
blessing of the chil-
dren. To listen to so 
many parents bless 
their children with 
the words of our tra-
dition was beautiful 
and heart-warming.
The idea of bless-
ing the children comes from 
the blessings that Jacob 
offered to two of his grand-
sons and sons (in that order) 
in this week’s portion. After 
17 years of living in Egypt, 
Jacob is on his deathbed. 
He blesses his son Joseph 
through the blessing of 
Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and 
Ephraim. “And he blessed 
Joseph saying, ‘The God 
in whose ways my fathers 
Abraham and Isaac walked, 
the God who has been my 
shepherd from my birth to 
this day, the angel who has 
redeemed me from all harm, 
bless the boys. In them, may 
my name be recalled and 
the names of my fathers, 
Abraham and Isaac, and may 
they be teeming multitudes 
upon the Earth,’” (Genesis 
48:15-16)
Joseph does not receive a 
direct blessing from Jacob as 
do his brothers; through his 
sons, Jospeh is blessed by his 
father. The portion contin-
ues, “So he [Jacob] blessed 

them that day saying: ‘By you 
shall Israel invoke blessings, 
saying, God make you like 
Ephraim and Manasseh.’” 
(Genesis 48:20). To this day, 
we use these words to bless 
our sons.
You may wonder why 
we offer blessings in the 
name of two biblical fig-
ures whom we know next 
to nothing about. You 
would be in good com-
pany. Throughout the 
ages, scholars have asked 
the same question.
Two main reasons are 
offered by commenta-
tors. The first is that 
Manasseh and Ephraim 
were the first siblings 
who did not fight with 
each other. There are many 
instances of sibling rivalry 
in Genesis, but the rabbis say 
that those two did not fight. 
(Since we do not know any-
thing about them other than 
their births and blessings in 
this text, I find this reason 
difficult to understand.)
The other reason given is 
that while they were born 
in Egypt, to Joseph and his 
Egyptian wife, they remained 
faithful to their father’s 
Israelite faith. Although they 
lived in the diaspora, they 
remained, in modern termi-
nology, faithful Jews.
We know well the chal-
lenges of living as Jews in a 
non-Jewish world. Manasseh 
and Ephraim are credited 
as having done so. We, too, 
must remain true to our-
selves and our heritage. 

Rabbi Amy B. Bigman is rabbi at 

Congregation Shaarey Zedek in 

East Lansing. This article originally 

appeared in the Jewish News on Dec. 

20, 2018.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi Amy 
Bigman

Parshat 

Vayehi: 

Genesis 

47:28-50:26; 

I Kings 2:1-12.

Solution to puzzle in 12/21 issue.

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