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Vayechi: The Next Generation · A Thought for the Week

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to a Thought for the Week, a Torah in
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  Speaker 1: Motion podcast. I'm Jake Hellman, founding director of Torah in Motion,
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  Speaker 1: and it's a pleasure to have you here with us.
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  Speaker 1: It is customary in many homes to bless our children,
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  Speaker 1: to bless our sons that they should be like a
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  Speaker 1: frime amanasha, and to bless our daughters that they should
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  Speaker 1: be like Sarah, Rika, Rachel and Lea. The simple explanation
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  Speaker 1: why we bless our children that they should be like
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  Speaker 1: a prime immanashians, not, for example, be like Avramuk and
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  Speaker 1: Yakov like we do for the woman is that it's
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  Speaker 1: because this is a verse. In Rumash, Yakov Avinu on
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  Speaker 1: his death breadth roclaims that the way we should bless
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  Speaker 1: people is beka yevareki israli. When you want to bless
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  Speaker 1: Jewish people, you say ya seem elohim kif frei ukumanasha,
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  Speaker 1: that God should make you like a prime manusha. So
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  Speaker 1: clearly that's what we pick up. Jako Mavino told us
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  Speaker 1: that's what we're gonna bless everybody. What's very interesting about
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  Speaker 1: this verse is Yakov is actually talking to a frim
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  Speaker 1: imanasha when he says it like if Raimanasha. He's talking
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  Speaker 1: to them and he said, this is how the Jewish
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  Speaker 1: people should be blessed. He's like talking to them in
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  Speaker 1: third person. You seem khalahem kif Ukumanasha. That's quite an
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  Speaker 1: amazing blessing. He's telling them his grandchildren that the best
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  Speaker 1: blessing one can give is that people should be like you.
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  Speaker 1: You guys are great. Everybody should be like you. Now,
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  Speaker 1: to the wrong person, this is a very dangerous blessing,
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  Speaker 1: as we can imagine. But for the right person, the
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  Speaker 1: right people like if Imamanasha. It's basically a challenge and
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  Speaker 1: a charge to raise children to create a legacy, a
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  Speaker 1: dynasty of people who will follow in the footsteps, in
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  Speaker 1: their footsteps and the footsteps of Yakov. A few verses earlier,
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  Speaker 1: Yakov gave yo Safe, his own son a very similar blessing.
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  Speaker 1: Hamalaka I was redeemed the angel messenger redeem me. Should
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  Speaker 1: bless these young people, should bless the naren bay ikrebehem Shami,
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  Speaker 1: and they're my name should be called upon them again.
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  Speaker 1: He's referring to Amanasha and the shame the name of
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  Speaker 1: my parents and grandparents, shame of Avramkak, so he's blessing
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  Speaker 1: Yo saf that Yosa's children I amanasha should be worthy
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  Speaker 1: of the blessings of Avramtuk and Yakov a very similar idea.
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  Speaker 1: And of course, that is the greatest blessing that we
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  Speaker 1: can give to someone, is that their children be worthy
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  Speaker 1: of blessing. There's no greater joy for a parent than
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  Speaker 1: to see their child passing them, living beyond them, living
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  Speaker 1: up to the goals that they have set for them. Now,
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  Speaker 1: what's so special about afrim amanasha of all the people?
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  Speaker 1: That's what Jakob said, and that's why we say it.
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  Speaker 1: But why if prime manasha? This is a well known question.
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  Speaker 1: But let's see. Let's talk a few ideas that hopefully
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  Speaker 1: are relevant and meaningful. It's interesting Ifrimanessha don't speak ever.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, I'm sure they speak, just no words that
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  Speaker 1: they speak are recorded in the Torah. That's actually quite fascinating.
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  Speaker 1: We don't know anything really about a primeamanasha. Just reading
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  Speaker 1: the text of the Khumish, we know very little. But
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  Speaker 1: maybe perhaps that's the first secret, not to speak speaking
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  Speaker 1: very little, you know, And morma At, let's say, speak
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  Speaker 1: little and do much. Our Rabbi Is of course say
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  Speaker 1: that they play very important roles, but those are not
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  Speaker 1: mentioned in the Torah. So I think on the one level,
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  Speaker 1: this is an idea of salivation develops at great length
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  Speaker 1: that they are the first people to have a relationship
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  Speaker 1: with their grandfather, or is the rb develops it. Yakov
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  Speaker 1: is the first one of the Avot to have a
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  Speaker 1: relationship with his grandchildren, which is why Yakovavino is the
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  Speaker 1: father of the Jewish people, but no, Ysrael is not.
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  Speaker 1: Is the children of the person you know, Yakov Israel,
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  Speaker 1: But it's also of course the Jewish people. And that's
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  Speaker 1: because from Salibachik said, he merited that because unlike Avram
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  Speaker 1: and Yeskaku were alive when their grandchildren you know, we're alive,
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  Speaker 1: Yabram was alive for Yakov, and as of up to fifteen,
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  Speaker 1: Yosef was twelve when Yskak died, so that means rub
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  Speaker 1: must have been, you know, twenty two or twenty five
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  Speaker 1: years old. So when you have three generations committed to
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  Speaker 1: the same values and ideas, that gives it permanence. An
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  Speaker 1: idea that is reflected in our tradition that the triple
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  Speaker 1: court cannot be broken number two with Prime of Nasher,
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  Speaker 1: the first Jewish children to grow up in exile, and Yakov,
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  Speaker 1: of course is the expert on exile. The exile really
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  Speaker 1: began when Yakuv goes down to Egypt, and Yakov understood
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  Speaker 1: the great danger of exile. It's rather amazing. It's you
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  Speaker 1: look in the text of the Chromis. She finds out
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  Speaker 1: Joseph is alive, and he hesitates at bear Cheva. God
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  Speaker 1: has to tell him, good eachy I don't be afraid.
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  Speaker 1: I'll be with you. He's very nervous despite his desire
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  Speaker 1: to see his son. Maybe he's nervous what happened to
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  Speaker 1: his son, because exile takes a toll, and a Minsha
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  Speaker 1: maintained their Jewish identity with children, grandchildren. It was their
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  Speaker 1: grandchildren who desired the land of Israel more than any other,
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  Speaker 1: but not slov Good come from the children of Minashia,
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  Speaker 1: and they were the ones who show that you can
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  Speaker 1: maintain a committed Jewish life while living in the royal palace,
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  Speaker 1: while going up the rope house. The best at both worlds,
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  Speaker 1: so to speak, and our rabbis kind of each give
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  Speaker 1: each one their place. One was more focused on the
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  Speaker 1: spiritual one on the physical but Afanasha the team. They
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  Speaker 1: are the first children to grow up and remain committed
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  Speaker 1: to Judasm in exile. Of course, the most important reason,
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  Speaker 1: and perhaps the reason people are most familiar with, is
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  Speaker 1: they are the first brothers who did not fight, beginning
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  Speaker 1: with canaan Abel and you know, I don't know Yetskoch
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  Speaker 1: and Eshmahl and Yakov and Asav and of course Joseph
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  Speaker 1: and the brothers are the worst of the worst fighting
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  Speaker 1: and even Rachel and Leah. Saber Bray Sheet is basically
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  Speaker 1: the fight in many ways is the book of people
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  Speaker 1: who don't know how to get along, and we have
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  Speaker 1: to learn how to get along. That's one of the
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  Speaker 1: key messages in saber Brace Sheet. And of course that
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  Speaker 1: is why we are in exile. When we fight among ourselves,
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  Speaker 1: we're very weakened. Obviously, we wear small people and we
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  Speaker 1: have to be united, and if we're in fighting, we
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  Speaker 1: are easily defeated. Minasha is the tribe that unites the
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  Speaker 1: Jewish people when the tribes of Reuven and God later
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  Speaker 1: on did not want to cross in the Jordan. Couple
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  Speaker 1: of hundred years later, so Mosha says, it makes the
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  Speaker 1: deal fine you can stay on this half of the Jordan.
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  Speaker 1: But he takes the tribe of Manasha and he splits
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  Speaker 1: them in half. He says, I'm going to send with
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  Speaker 1: you half of Minasha. Half of the Nash will be
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  Speaker 1: in Israel. Half of the Nash will be on the
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  Speaker 1: other side of the Jordan, because they are The goal
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  Speaker 1: of Minash was to unite. That Reuben and Got shouldn't
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  Speaker 1: be lost to the Jewish people, should join with the
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  Speaker 1: people in Israel. That's the goal. That's their role, and
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  Speaker 1: that's why we bless our children, our sons every Friday night,
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  Speaker 1: to be like I Fraim and Minasha. This is the
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  Speaker 1: message of the Book of b ra sheet. This is
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  Speaker 1: Apara sheet ends pretty much the blessings of Jacob. That's
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  Speaker 1: what Parshapayafi is all about. That the Jewish people have
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  Speaker 1: to not fight. We're our brothers. Whether we're our names
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  Speaker 1: are Prime or Manessha, Ruven Orshima or Uncle orn Bero,
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  Speaker 1: doesn't matter what our names are. We have to learn
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  Speaker 1: how to get along. And that, of course is a
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  Speaker 1: message not only of Safer Beat Sheet, which is the
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  Speaker 1: foundational book of the Torah, but that is the message
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  Speaker 1: of the entire Torah. It's why Rebiyakiva teaches that the
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  Speaker 1: most important vers is ahafta lay and to love our
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  Speaker 1: neighbors as ourselves. He of course is picking up on
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  Speaker 1: Hillel who said that we summarize the entire torah what
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  Speaker 1: is hateful to you do not do to others. All
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  Speaker 1: the rest is commentary. All the other six hundred and
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  Speaker 1: twelve meets foot our commentary on the idea, what's hateful
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  Speaker 1: to you do not do to other people, and go
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  Speaker 1: and learn. So let us learn the path a piece.
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  Speaker 1: Let us follow in the ways of Nasha and frim
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  Speaker 1: Orr Minasha, as Yako put it. And that's also part
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  Speaker 1: of not fighting that Ifrian was younger, and in all
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  Speaker 1: many of basically all the patients, the younger superseded the elder.
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  Speaker 1: And that's what a lot of the fights were about.
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  Speaker 1: It's merit that counts. It's not to be jealous of
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  Speaker 1: the young and the older. Arn is not jealous of
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  Speaker 1: motion emotion. Arn continue on this theme of working together
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  Speaker 1: together with Miriam and let us merit to follow in
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  Speaker 1: their path, so the goals of the redemption that began
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  Speaker 1: when we left Egypt can meet it's full fruition in
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  Speaker 1: the near future, but you love. We hope you enjoyed
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  Speaker 1: a thought for the week at torah in Motion podcast.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you very much, looking forward to learning with you
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  Speaker 1: next week.