On Shabbat night, after the father says Kidush it is a costume to bless our children.
The blessing for the boys is given in this Parasha “Vayechi,” when Yaacov is blessing Yosef’s sons Menashe and Ephraim.
Menashe was the first born son, but when it came to bless them,Yaacov put his right hand on top of Ephraim giving him the blessing of the first born instead of his older brother.
These two brothers, are the first two brothers recorded in the Torah, which were able to not feel jealousy or resent towards each other, they had no sibling rivalry.They were able to reverse the tragic trend since the times of the first two brothers Kayin and Abel followed by Yitzchak and Ishmael, Eisav and Yaakov, and Yosef with his brothers.
We see here, that although Yaakov switched the blessings, Ephraim and Menashe were able to live in complete harmony and respect towards each other.
So every Shabbat, we bless our sons to be able to always be connected to their families and your people, no matter where you live, no matter how physically distant you might be.
As my mother in law Sarah Bat Shalom z”l used to say:”blood is thicker than water.”
Some excerpts taken from the writings of Rabbi Shmuel Golding
#shabbatshalom
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