Rabbi Howard Morrison

At the Shabbat table, it is customary to bless our children. For daughters, we invoke the names of the founding matriarchs as role models. For sons, however, we do not invoke the names of the founding patriarchs as role models. Rather, we invoke the names of Ephraim and Menashe, who are Joseph's sons, and Jacob's grandsons. Why ? The answer is rooted in the last Parsha of Sefer Bereishit, the book of Genesis.

Upon his deathbed, Jacob remarks that his two grandsons are deemed to be as if they are actual sons to him. In subsequent history, Ephraim and Menashe would be among the twelve tribes of Israel with their own flags and land allotments.

Jacob's two grandsons are the only ones who spent their entire lives outside of Israel. The founding patriarchs as well as Joseph and his brothers spent all or part of their lives in the promised land. Tradition has it that if Ephraim and Menashe could remain pious to their heritage given their secular surroundings, then any Jew can do the same. It is said that the sign of a healthy fish is if it can swim upstream against the tide. This can be said of Ephraim and Menashe who lived their entire lives in Egypt.

Except for one case, every sibling situation in Genesis is fraught with rivalry, jealousy, and tension. The exception is the relationship of Ephraim and Menashe. Given the brevity of text regarding them, tradition has it that they got along with each other. While Jacob still feels after all the years the need to bless the younger child before the older child, there is no mention of resentment from Menashe to Ephraim. They remain united in relationship and in purpose.

Lastly, it has been suggested that the strength of a multigenerational family's commitment to its values rests not only on the generation of the children, but that the values are successfully transmitted and received by the generation of the grandchildren.

Thus, we find some powerful lessons in blessing our sons in the meritorious names of Ephraim and Menashe.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Howard Morrison