Tag Archive for Efraim

I want the Bracha First!!!

January 30, 2014 Jewish Values No comments

This article was constructed with the help of Dr. Robert Goldman, Psychologist of Yeshiva Chaffetz Chaim and Rabbi’s Baruch Dopelt, Eliezer Finkleman, Yitzchak Aminov

Who doesn’t want to receive a bracha from their beloved father or grandfather? It’s a big honor. One gets a feeling of warmth and an awareness that the bracha has been passed down for many generations, for thousands of years. It’s beautiful!!

 

 

Interestingly, though, what happens when the beloved patriarch wants to give a more important bracha to your younger sibling? How would you feel? Would you feel slighted?  Does one still have that warm feeling?

 

 

We have an ancient tradition, and many would say, one of the most beautiful customs in Jewish life is for parents to bless their children at the start of the Friday night Shabbat meal. What makes it more important is it’s done at Shabbat table which is designed to be the grand stage for family communication and family love, especially in todays fast pace lifestyle where one doesn’t communicate with his family all week.  Girls receive the blessing: “May God make you like the matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.” Boys, meanwhile, are blessed “to be like Ephraim and Menashe.”
What happened to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?! Why were Ephraim and Menashe chosen instead as the subjects of this important tradition?

 

 

In this week’s parsha, the last in the book of Sefer Bereshit, we see a very interesting pattern, the rejection of the first-born. When Yosef brought his two sons for a blessing from Yaacov, his father, who was old and ready to pass on, he did something very peculiar. Yaacov crossed his arms so that Efraim, who was the youngest, would be under his right hand and Menashe, who was older and purposely placed by Yosef at his grandfather’s right, got the left. Yaacov, who emphasized that Menashe also received a nice bracha, gave the more important blessing to Efraim.

 

We see through history that the first born, the well-respected elder, receives double the inheritance, losing, on many occasions, the status in which he inherited. This was apparent in the first generation of the world; Cain was the oldest; however Hevel got the reward. We know that Shem, (where our ancestors come from) one of three sons of Noach, was not the first-born. Abraham passed the baton to Isaac, the youngest, and not to Yishmael. The same is said about Isaac’s sons, Eisav, who was the bechor, but Yaacov was the brother chosen. Reuben, the eldest of the twelve tribes, neither got the first-born rights, the kingdom nor the kehuna (high priest).

 

 

First and foremost, the Torah is trying to emphasize that even though the first-born has changed the status of man and has made him a father of this precise bechor, nevertheless, the bechor has to earn the benefits that has been bestowed upon him. There’s no freebee; no job is safe. Apparently, it’s a demanding role and has to be maintained to the highest standard, or else he loses it.

 

 

There is a puzzling question: Okay, we learn “one has to earn his brownie points and nothing is a freebee” from the tragic story of Cain and Hevel, but the Torah keeps on harping the same pattern over and over. Why? We learned the lesson. Perhaps one didn’t get it the first time, so the Torah wants to accommodate those slow thinkers and present similar storyline; possibility?

 

Ephraim and Menashe represent a break from this pattern. This explains why Yaacov purposely switched his hands, blessing the younger Ephraim before the older Menashe:  there was no
resentment from Menashe. He was ok with it!!  There was no jealousy; he didn’t feel slighted. This was a tremendous revelation. Yaacov wished to emphasize the point that with these siblings, there is no rivalry. For this reason Menashe and Efraim both received their own tribe. They were the only grandchildren to receive this recognition. It was a tremendous act of respect on Yaacov’s part to give them such honor. He knew what refined character they both had.

        The book of Bereshit concludes with the positive unity of Menashe and Ephraim as one of its lead story. After all the sibling rivalry which we encountered, mankind finally got it right. For this reason, the Torah goes out of its way in the beginning of the second book of Shemot, to relay a conversation between G-d and Moshe pertaining Moshe’s appointment  as leader of the Israelites. Moshe was concerned that his older brother will be slighted. He was afraid he would be humiliated. After all, he was the leader of the nation until that point. Although Aharon did nothing wrong as leader, it was evident, one didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to realize Moshe was born with unusual gifts and was destined to be the redeemer.  We see Aharon’s greatness was to recognize Moshe’s ability and to realize he would be best for the nation of Israel. Aharon was happy to step down. It was totally a selfless and courageous act.

        One has to realize that it’s not so simple to overcome such a test. In fact, it’s one of the CHULSHAT ENOSH human weaknesses. There are a number of very interesting stories in our history pertaining to this test.

        The great HILLEL came to Israel from Babylonia. His activity of forty years likely covered the period of 30 BC to 10 AD. As soon as he came, everyone realized how great he was. He answered all the questions that was presented to him and knew all the Jewish discourses that was presented to him cold. It seemed like Shmaya and Avtalyon, the leading Rabbis, also realized that he was far greater than they. In response to his presence they resigned their position as leading Rabbis, relinquishing the mantle of leadership to him. A generation later the famous Rabbi Yehuda the NASI-prince, the leader of the Jews of his generation and the author of the Mishna said it would be most difficult, for me, to give up the position of president. I would not be able to relinquish the honor. Kol Hakavod to Shmaya  and Avtalyon for placing the welfare of the Jewish people in front of their life time achievements, goals and pride.

        Being the leading Rabbi has always been in the forefront throughout our history. In every corner of the world the head Rabbi was traditionally always recognized as the authority. It commands tremendous respect but with it he takes upon himself tremendous responsibility.

 

        In the 1700’s, there was a large Jewish community in Prague headed by Rabbi Yechezkel Laundau. The position of head Rabbi was traditionally chosen by vote. Rabbi Laundau narrowly beat out Rabbi Zorach, who was also tremendous Torah scholar. Rabbi Zorach was not satisfied. He felt he would be the better choice in serving the community. On the first Shabbat of Rabbi Laudau’s new position, Rabbi Zorach asked him a question in front of the congregation that he could not answer. It was clearly an embarrassing moment right at the start of his tenure. He came home and cried himself to sleep. His father, who had passed away some time ago, came to him in a dream where Rabbi Laundau disclosed to him his anguish over the question asked by Rav Zorach. His father said “Son you will find the answer of the question in the Tosfot in this particular tractate of the Talmud,” disclosing the page. The next morning sure enough the answer was there. He then showed it to Rav Zorach who himself was not aware of the Tosfot answer. He then asked him “how did you figure out the answer?” When he found out about his father coming to him from the next world to give him the answer and save face in front of the congregation, he rationalized if the other world is interfering with matters of this world and providing answers so Rav Laundau can keep his position then perhaps this is what the heavens want; this is what is suppose to be. He then gave up the quest to overthrow Rabbi Laundau and eventually became a staunch supporter of him.

        Rav Zorach could have rationalized the situation differently. We tend to look at everything to our favor. If man develops a liking to a certain view, he can make a straight line look crooked.

        It’s too simplistic to blame the individual alone for being selfish. It’s a lot more complex. One has many pressures. On occasion, the wife and other family members get involved, egging the person not to give up. Perhaps they would feel slighted by the individual not being chosen. One, at times, succumbs to pressure.  What starts out as a sincere project often ends up as an egotistical struggle; it’s scary, however, we tend to be drawn in to this natural human nature deficiency.

        One of the most sensitive person that I have ever met, who worked and stressed good character traits was the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Chaffetz Chaim Rav Henoch Liebowitz t’zl.

        At his Eulogy, one of the eulogizers said something mind boggling. He quoted Rav Henoch saying that “the toughest decision that I ever made was to pass over the position of Rosh Yesiva to his own chosen heir apparent.”

        Here is a man well into his eighties knowing well he cannot function as the head Rabbi because of health issues, has difficulty giving up the mantle.

        It’s not so easy!!

        We now can appreciate and acknowledge that Menashe was a remarkable human being and the same can be said of Aharon.

First Born

September 1, 2013 Uncategorized No comments

In this week’s parsha, the last in the book of Sefer Bereshit, we see a very interesting pattern, the rejection of the first-born. When Yosef brought his two sons for a blessing from Yaacov, his father, who was old and ready to pass on, he did something very peculiar. Yaacov crossed his arms so that Efraim, who was the youngest, would be under his right hand and Menashe, who was older and purposely placed by Yosef at his grandfather’s right, got the left. Yaacov, who emphasized that Menashe also received a nice bracha, gave the more important blessing to Efraim.

 

We see through history that the first born, the well-respected elder, receives double the inheritance, losing, on many occasions, the status in which he inherited. This was apparent in the first generation of the world; Cain was the oldest; however Hevel got the reward. We know that Shem, (where our ancestors come from) one of three sons of Noach, was not the first-born. Abraham passed the baton to Isaac, the youngest, and not to Yishmael. The same is said about Isaac’s sons, Eisav, who was the bechor, but Yaacov was the brother chosen. Reuben, the eldest of the twelve tribes, neither got the first-born rights, the kingdom nor the kehuna (high priest).

 

First and foremost, the Torah is trying to emphasize, even though the first-born has changed the status of man and has made him a father of this precise bechor, nevertheless, the bechor has to earn the benefits that has been bestowed upon him. There’s an express, no job is safe. Apparently, it’s a demanding role and has to be maintained to the highest standard, or else he loses it.

 

Let’s examine the first-born. The obvious question asked, is there a general personality?

 

When the Jews were about to enter Israel, the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Menashe, wanted to settle outside Israel proper in trans-Jordan for financial gains. Moshe reluctantly agreed, but felt it was beneath them to make such a request. It just so happens that Reuben, Gad, and Menashe are all first born. In the old world, whether Jewish or not, the first born were not only the head of the family but regarded as the high priests, the ones closest to G-d. However, the spiritual status changed with the sin of the golden calf. The first born, the high priests, were responsible for the actions of the people and they failed to lead by example. Therefore, the status was taken away from them and given to the Levites who were not part of the sin.

 

Rabbi Yisroel Reisman quotes the Niztiv. When Yaacov was giving the brachot before his death, the passage quotes Yaacov in describing his dethroned bechor, Reuben, as ‘pachad mayim’ – rushed waters. This typifies Reuben’s character, as well as many first born, of one of tremendous energy, and when given the chance and the ability to focus, have tremendous drive to accomplish. Apparently, on occasions, they get so involved in what they are doing, they lose control (what happened to Eisav). Rabbi Reisman calls this type “A” personality – capable of achieving tremendous strides, very competitive under pressure, but the impulsive nature could be problematic.

 

Rabbi Reisman stresses that the key to the successes of the bechor is what history has designated him to be. His mission can only be fruitful if he goes through spirituality. This is what the first-born was meant to be. If his drive for materialistic needs is primary, then he is doomed for failure; only through spiritual channels will he succeed. If any one of those mentioned above would have dedicated more time to G-d, the Zohar says the scope of our history would have been different.

Parsha Vayechi

August 30, 2013 Highlights on the Weekly Parsha No comments

 

 

First Portion: I’d like to ask the reader a question. Are You the Same Person You Were Five Years Ago? My wife has always said that I still have scars from my days when I was single. I got married late and I had a difficult time finding the right one. BARUCH HASHEM! My wife says that I’m very cynical. I tried to explain to her that I’ve always been cynical; it’s me! In this week’s parsha we find the SAME O’L YOSEF. Yaacov wanted his son Yosef to swear that he would take his remains to Israel. Those who are buried there are privileged to be resurrected first when the MASHIACH will come. Those buried outside Israel will have to go through a very painful and delayed process of rolling underground towards the holy land. For this reason, burial plots today are prime real estate in Israel.

 

By Yosef swearing, it reaffirmed and reassured Yaacov’s belief that Yosef remained a tzaddik even though he went through the trials and tribulations of being captured as a slave as well as being a leader (involved in politics) of a non-Jewish nation. Both are major obstacles. One (being captured) was depressing and the other had the pitfalls of tremendous desire. Nevertheless, Yosef remained Yosef. Yaacov noticed a very important consistency in his attitude. Only a truly righteous individual can weather any storm and not say ” ahh what does G-d want from me? No matter how good I am I’m still getting the short end of the stick!” The attitude that Yosef had was that I am a servant of G-d and this is the situation G-d wants me to be in now; nothing should get me down”. This a very difficult test for all of us. However, this is the optimal attitude that G-d wants from us and one that we should all have.

 

The Divrai Chaim, one of the Chasidic greats of many years ago, once said that he was jealous of Rabbi Hershel, who was one of the Torah Giants of his generation. Doing kindness is of major importance in our religion and the Torah Greats would be front and center in accomplishing this MITZVA. “I am jealous because when an opportunity to give charity comes and Rabbi Hershel doesn’t have the funds, he does not feel bad in saying I don’t have; I do. I feel bad. He has the proper, but most difficult, attitude of saying “this is the situation G-d wants me to be in today”; NO FUNDS, CAN’T GIVE. CAN’T DO A KINDNESS. He felt no pain because this is what G-d wants. It was for this reason that the Divrai Chaim was jealous. One has to be consistent in his attitude towards any situation that comes his way, because at the end of the day, we have to weather all storms and say to ourselves that this is the situation G-d wants me to be in!!

 

Second Portion: Yaacov tells Yosef “your two sons will be added to the list of the tribes”. In other words, Yosef gets a double portion, which is what all first-borns get. The first-born status was taken away from Reuben and transferred to Yosef, who actually was the first-born to Yaacov from a different mother (Rachel).

 
* Yaacov crosses his arms as he is giving the bracha to Yosef’s sons. His right hand crosses over to Efraim, the younger son, and on Menashe, the eldest, he placed his weaker hand, his left hand.

 

Third Portion: Yosef alarmingly informed his father that his right hand is not on the first born, fearing more rift and jealousy among the offspring. Yaacov reiterated “I know, he will also be great”. Apparently, Yaacov saw through Divine powers that Yehoshuah will come out of Efraim. Therefore, Efraim needed an extra boost, an extra “jolt”, of Bracha.

 
* Yaacov gave the city of Shechem to Yosef as an inheritance. Yosef received a double portion because he was now the first born ever since the status was taken away from Reuben.

 

Fourth Portion: Yaacov wished to reveal to his sons the time of the arrival of the Moshiach. However, G-d had a different plan. The redemption had to remain concealed because G-d was afraid that future generations would despair during their exile if they knew that the destined time was a long way off. G-d therefore made the Divine prophesy departs temporarily from Yaacov. However, Yaacov not knowing this, was afraid that the prophesy departed from him because one of his sons were unworthy of the Divine blessing. He therefore asked his sons, ” How can I know if your hearts are fully with G-d?” They unanimously responded “SHEMA YISRAEL HASHEM ELOKANU HASHEM ECHAD” -”Hear Yisrael (Yaacov), Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is one”. Yaacov bowed in thanks to G-d and answered quietly “BARUCH SHEM KEVOD MALCHUTO LEOLAM VAED” -”Blessed be his name whose kingdom is forever”.

 
* Yaacov then proceeded to give each one of his twelve sons a bracha. They were not ordinary brachots; they were composed with divine assistance.

 
* For acting impulsively and moving the main bed of Yaacov to his mother’s tent, Reuben lost the first-born status. This occurred after the death of Rachel, Yaacov’s favorite wife. For after Rachel died, he proceeded to put the bed in the tent of one of the other wives. Reuben wanted to protect the honor of his mother. Reuben was out of line by trying to direct his father and instruct him where to sleep.
* Levi received the Kehuna, while Yehuda received the kingdom.

 

Fifth Portion: Yaacov continues to bless his sons.

 
* A question arises – why wasn’t Yosef chosen to be the leader of the Israelites? Why did it instead come from Yehuda? Yosef proved he could lead as he was the viceroy of a superpower nation. However, Yaacov was concerned that as noble as Yosef was, he would provoke jealousy. (Abarbanel)

 

Sixth Portion: * Yaacov again instructs his children that he wants to be buried with his fathers in the Mearat Hamachpelah in Chevron, Israel.

 
* Both Yaacov and Yosef anticipated the problem that Pharaoh might not let them proceed to take Yaacov’s body to Israel. Yaacov was a good- luck charm for the Egyptians. The famine stopped immediately after he arrived. This is a pattern in history, wherever the Jews are, there is blessing. Still, the gentiles hate us and want to see us suffer. They want us to suffer and stay. When my wife left Bukhara, the natives (Uzbeks) would often say to her “we need to have ten Jews here or there is no good luck for us” (Jews traveled in groups of ten- a minyan). “While you are here, the country flourishes” the Uzbeks continued.

 

Yosef had a protective plan. Anyone who was royal had to know 70 languages; Yosef knew them. However, Pharaoh did not know Hebrew. Yosef used this as leverage and told Pharaoh that he would not divulge his secret if he would let Yosef bury Yaacov.

 

* Yosef reassures his brothers that he has no ill feelings toward them. They were concerned that after their father’s death he might retaliate for selling him.

 

Seventh Portion: After many years, Yosef passes on. Before his death, he instructs his brothers that when the time comes, he would also like to be buried in Israel.