True Happiness (Parashat VaYechi)

"Whisper it in my ear so I can hear it."  These are the instructions that my children give me every Friday night when I bless them. 

When it is time to bless my sons I utter the words "May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menasheh."  This blessing, however, has a slight fault to it.  Yaakov himself feared the reprocutions of "stealing" the blessing of his older brother Aisav.  Why then would he take away Menasheh's blessing and give it to Ephraim (Menasheh was the older brother of the two)?  Furthermore, why would Yaakov decree that this "stolen blessing" should be recited by an entire nation on a weekly basis?

The answer to the first questions is fairly simple.  Yaakov switched the order of Ephraim and Menasheh because he understood that one son would be greater than the other.  This is similar to Rivkah - his mother - allowing him to take Aisav's blessing.  Rather than "learning from his mistake" in taking Aisav's blessing, Yaakov learned from the success.  Perhaps if Yaakov hadn't been allowed by his mother to take the blessing, he would think it was inappropriate to bless Ephraim first - even though he knew Ephraim was meant to be greater.  The fact that Rivka not only allowed but instructed him to take Aisav's blessing taught Yaakov that sometimes age is not a "right" - sometimes we have to look deeper into a situation.

The answer to the second question is much more profound.  While we may now understand why it was ok for Yaakov to bless Ephraim first, that still doesn't explain why he would decree that all fathers would do this for the rest of eternity!!

Let us - once again - reflect back on the incident between Yaakov and Aisav.  When Yaakov took Aisav's blessing, Aisav became furious!  At the same time, Yaakov was hesitant and unsure about taking the blessing.  However, we don't see any of this by Ephraim and Menashe.  Neither of them seems to care about the order in which they are receive their blessing.  Ephraim is not arogant about the fact he is being blessed first and Menashe is not angry about the fact he is being blessed second.  Both brothers are content with the blessing they are receiving.

THIS is the blessing that Yaakov decrees should be given throughout the nation.  When he instructs a father to bless his son saying "Hashem should make you like Ephraim and Menashe", he doesn't mean in greatness.  The blessing a father is giving to his son is that, like Ephraim and Menashe were, the son be content with whatever he receives in life and that he never desires more.  Indeed, if one were to achieve this level of Ephraim and Menashe, they would achieve true happiness!

Shabbat Shalom!