Table Talk

Today we will talk about Parashat Vayechi, the last Parasha in the book of Beresheet. After 17 years in Egypt, Jacob knew he would soon pass away. He asked Joseph to bury him in the Cave of Machpelah, where Avraham was buried.

After he asked Joseph to bury him in the cave he called all of his sons to give each one of them a special blessing. First Joseph brought his sons, Ephriam and Menasheh to be blessed by Jacob. Joseph put the oldest child, Menasheh, on the right side of Jacob and Ephriam on the left. He did this because Menasheh, being the oldest, was supposed to get the greater blessing. However, Jacob crossed his arms and put his right hand on Ephraim. Joseph thought that Jacob was confused so he switched his fathers hands, but then Jacob crossed his hands again. 
                     
Jacob blessed Ephraim and Menashe saying:

"בְּךָ֗ יְבָרֵ֤ךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר יְשִֽׂמְךָ֣ אֱלֹהִ֔ים כְּאֶפְרַ֖יִם וְכִמְנַשֶּׁ֑ה".

“By you shall Israel bless saying, may God bless you like Ephraim and Menasheh.” Parents bless their sons with this blessing before every Shabbat dinner.

The Rabbis ask why we bless our sons with this blessing? After all, the girls are blessed with “May you be like Sarah, Rivka, Rachel, and Leah," so why are the boys not blessed with, “May you be like Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov"? What is so special about the lives of Ephraim and Menasheh?

The Rabbis answer that Ephraim and Menasheh were the first siblings who didn’t fight. They treated each other with respect and weren’t jealous of each other. It seems like in Joseph’s house there was shalom bayit - peace in the home, because everyone made sure there was no fighting or arguments.

That is why every parent wants their children to act like Ephraim and Menashe so there can be Shalom Bayit in our own homes.

At the end of the parasha Jacob died and Joseph and his brothers buried him in the Cave of Machpelah. After 30 days of mourning, the brothers were afraid that Joseph would take revenge for all they did to him. But in the end Joseph forgave them and told them not to worry because everything that happened to him was part of God’s plan.

When I was studying for the SSAT my sister was always interrupting me. Instead of yelling at her or losing my temper I played with her for five minutes and she stopped bothering me. In the end I forgave her for disturbing me because I knew she did not do it intentionally. If I had lost my temper then I wouldn’t have been able to study well because we wouldn’t have had Shalom Bayit.

Everyone loves Hanukkah, right? Well last Hanukkah I got this Lego set that I worked on for many hours a day. After 3 days, I finally finished the amazing set. But my sister came into the playroom that we shared and she accidentally stepped on it. I was so upset with her but I knew it was an accident and I forgave her. I did this because it is important to always have Shalom Bayit.

We learn from this parasha that it is very important to respect and always be kind to our siblings.

Thank you, Shabbat Shalom, and Happy 2023!

Written by Hudson Lubow and Max Pinsly (Grade 5)