When Jacob recalled the vision he had had at Looz, he tells Joseph that he had learned two things on that occasion. Firstly, that there is a connection between the blessing and residence in the land of Israel. Secondly, that at least part of that blessing applied to him personally, not only to his future issue (vayevarech oti, He blessed me). Therefore, the promise of possession of the land applied only to the future. For this reason, Jacob starts once more "He said to me" as a separate communication from God (48,34). Jacob realized that the meaning of the second part of the blessing was that just as his children would remain "alive," so would he remain "alive," which is part of the meaning of our sages' statement that "Jacob did not die."
4) On that occasion, at Bet El, we find that God blessed Jacob by saying, "Nation and community of nations will stem from you" (35,9-13). Apparently, this referred to children as yet unborn. Since only Benjamin had not been born yet at that time, Jacob was entitled to apply the second part of that blessing to himself having been promised more children. Joseph's two sons therefore could rightfully be considered as belonging to Jacob. Although they had been born in Egypt, the promise to Jacob had been made while he was in the land of Israel. Future events which dictated that the tribe of Levi would be separated into a separate unit with special functions, thus depriving the encampment of the children of Israel of one of their twelve armies, necessitated that Levi be replaced. Since Jacob allocated a double portion to the firstborn in the inheritance, he thus appointed Menashe and Ephrayim to represent the share of Joseph. Jacob did not discuss future children of Joseph then, but the words "And your offspring," refer to his grandchildren and his great grandchildren. We find the latter being counted as heads of tribal families in Numbers Chapter twenty-six. This shows that Menashe and Ephrayim, though belonging to a later generation, are given the same status as Reuben and Shimon. There cannot, therefore, be a question of non-fulfillment of a promise of future children for Joseph.
5) The fact that Rachel died almost immediately after Jacob had received that blessing, made it clear to him that this blessing could not have referred to his having any more children. The line, "When I came from Padan Aram, Rachel died etc.," is introduced as justification for appointing Menashe and Ephrayim as sons in the forthcoming distribution of the land of Israel.
6) Jacob saw a number of people around his bedside, not recognizing them. The Torah reports that they were Joseph's sons, but Jacob had not realized this until told by Joseph "these are my sons,” the ones born to him in Egypt, prior to Jacob's arrival. He had now brought them so that they could receive the blessing discussed previously. Jacob asked that they come closer so that perhaps he could recognize them despite his failing eyesight. The kissing and embracing substituted for his inability to see, just as in the case of his father Isaac, when Jacob had received the blessing (Genesis Chapter 27). Jacob expressed his satisfaction at having been granted not only reunion with his son Joseph, but at having seen his children also. When Joseph saw his father like this, in a happy frame of mind, he removed the children from his father's knees to position them so that they could receive the blessing in order of their seniority.
7) After Joseph had already heard his father give Ephrayim precedence when he compared his position to that of Reuben, although Ephrayim was the younger, Joseph, thinking his father had erred, placed Ephrayim on his right side. When, despite the way Joseph had positioned the children, Jacob crossed his hands, it became clear that Jacob could not have erred previously when he mentioned Ephrayim ahead of Menashe. The words of the Torah "And he was the younger," in describing Ephrayim, are not to be understood as "although he was the younger," but rather as "because he was the younger." It is clear that God did not intend for Jacob's left hand to come to rest on the head of Ephrayim. Jacob was presumably inspired by the order in which God had blessed him at Looz "be fruitful and multiply; the "be fruiful" came first. Since the name "Ephrayim" is derived from the same root as the word "fruitful," Jacob took this as his cue. The fact that the right hand represents the more important activities and achievements is well known and already documented in Proverbs 3,16, "Long life from its right, wealth and honor from its left." The word
sikel seems the same as we find in connection with Achitofel (
Samuel II 15,
31), "Please make foolish the advice of Achitofel." It does not seem to matter whether the word is spelled with the letter
sin or
samech. The Torah tells us that the fact that he crossed his hands indicated that Jacob himself had not known who the firstborn was. He blessed Joseph." Being blessed in the name of God is a three-stage process:
1) The wish for successful spiritual development.
2) The wish for the material blessings which enable one to devote oneself to one's spiritual progress.
3) Protection against negative influences that stand in the way of one's achieving one's spiritual objectives.
8) Concerning the first portion of the blessing, Jacob said, "The God before whom my fathers have walked." Concerning the second portion of the blessing, he said, "The God who has been my shepherd." Concerning the third portion of the blessing, he said, "The angel who has acted as my redeemer etc." The line, "May my name be proclaimed through them in the name of my fathers," is confirmation that Ephrayim and Menashe are going to be treated like the other tribes.
9-10) "My name will attach to them." Joseph's objections were not based on begrudging Ephrayim the blessing; rather, he believed his father had erred in placing his right hand on Ephrayim, and that if so, the blessings might not be fulfilled since they had been given based on a mistaken premise. He felt that just as his father had remained unaware of what the brothers had done to him, so he might be unaware now as to which of the sons standing in front of him was the firstborn. Jacob's answer, stressing twice, "I know, my son, I know," reassures Joseph on both counts, tells him that his father is well aware of what the brothers had done to him. He also tells him that he is aware that Menashe would become a tribe on account of his being the firstborn, however the younger one would achieve even greater status, though not at the expense of the older one.
3) Apparently, Joseph was mollified, and when Jacob said, "With you Israel will bless," this indicates that Joseph joined in that blessing. Jacob's saying to Joseph, "I will give you one Shechem additional to your brothers," refers to the city that had been conquered by Shimon and Levi. When the Almighty gives territory to Israel, no one can claim it as his own, since they have not conquered it. Shechem, however, had not been given, but had been conquered. It, therefore, became the property of the conqueror and his to dispose of as he saw fit, seeing it was not part of the land promised to the children of Israel as a whole, as a gift from God. When David mourned Saul, he mourned the fact that it had become necessary to fight against Israel's enemies militarily, i.e. "to teach the sons of Yehudah the use of the bow" (
Samuel II 1,
18). This need had first manifested itself when Israel had been attacked by Amalek, and Moses had to tell Joshua to go and select fighting men. When at the end of that episode, the victory is described as, "He weakened Amalek by the sword;" the reference is to all conquests based on merely military superiority. Human conquest, by definition, is "weak," as compared to territory that is acquired by the direct intervention of Providence on our behalf.
