It is a costume of many communities for the father to bless their sons on Shabbat night after Kidush “May you be like Ephraim and Menasseh.”
Manasseh and Ephraim were the two sons of Joseph who were born in Egypt. Before Jacob passed away,as told in this Parashah “VAYECHI”, Jacob blessed them and says to Joseph that he feels like if they were his sons and gives them part of the Land of Israel and makes them into a tribe. What did they have that made them so special? In contrast with Jacobs other children who were born in the Land of Israel these two were born in exile. The others never had to struggle against their identities. But Menasseh and Ephraim were different from all the rest, and their incredible strength to keep committed to Torah and Mitzvahs, even if the world around them professed something else gave them such a high status in the eyes of Jacob.
In our own lives we also have this struggle to keep committed to our true selves. In a world that allures us to take the easy way out is very hard to stand strong to our values and traditions and much more to pass the strength to our children.
These two brothers had another quality and that is that they never fought against each other, which we hadn’t seen before.
So may we be like “Ephraim and Menasseh” keeping our true selves true to us and everyone around us.
Shabbat Shalom
livealittlehigher.com
