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We complete the book of Genesis with the parsha of Vayechi and one of the more beautiful features is the blessing Jacob gives to his grandchildren Menashe and Ephraim. It is this feature upon which we base our custom to bless our children every Friday night. The question is asked what was it about these 2 grandchildren above and beyond all the others of their generation and the generation before them that Jacob saw fit to confer this special blessing?
Rabbi Elie Farkas of Cleveland recently proposed a new approach stating that when one considers the human condition from creation until that point in history, there seemed to be one negative constant of sibling animosity, and even violence. Beginning with Cain and Abel and continuing to Isaac and Ishmael and then Jacob and Esau and finally Joseph and his brothers. Ephraim and Menashe were the first brothers who truly wanted the best for each other, like it says in Avot-Ayin Tova. Even when the older brother is being passed over for the younger, their conviviality was not compromised.
It was this relationship that Jacob wanted to memorialize as a deep wish for all future generations of the nation that would be called the Children of Israel.
With the end of the secular year, as our President Eli Weiss recently conveyed, we remind everyone of the important work we do and of what we have accomplished in the face of the great challenges of 2020. As such we hope that everyone will do the best they can in supporting the synagogue financially in any way they can. Dues renewal on any level or just a general donation of any size will be helpful in ensuring the continuity of the vibrance of our synagogue's fabric of life, both virtual and in person.
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