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Rabbi Andrea's Sermon 11th January 2025/ 11th Tevet 5785

Updated: Jan 20



"May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh"


The Book of Genesis, which we conclude reading today, tells the story of a family. In contrast, the Book of Exodus, which we will begin reading next Shabbat, narrates the story of a people. This week's Torah portion highlights the crucial moments in this transition.


At this point in the story, the family - Jacob, his children, and his grandchildren - is well established in the Goshen region of Northern Egypt. They do not live close to one another, which helps maintain a healthy distance amidst underlying tensions. 


Despite this, they are all thriving, mainly due to their connection to Joseph, a powerful state officer.  Jacob is elderly and seriously ill, so he sends someone to summon Joseph. Joseph arrives to visit him, accompanied by his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.


So far, so good. This is a moving family scene, the final days of the Patriarch, as we have seen many times in movies and paintings. But then the narrative takes a strange turn. 


First, Jacob repeats to Joseph the promise he has received from God: "I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will give this land to your descendants". 


Then he announces to Joseph that Efraim and Manasse - Joseph children - will be counted as his own sons. 


In other words, Jacob adopted Joseph's two children as his own sons. He made them entitled to a portion of the common heritage. Then Jacob mentions Rachel's, Joseph's Mum, and recalls Joseph that she is buried in the very same place she passed away, "on the road to Efrat, in Beit Lehem" [Gen 48:7]. 


And the tomb is still there. 



All of this is surprising. 


Why does Jakov mention Rachel's death and burial (a sad topic) in such a detailed way, precisely when he is giving his son such as delighted news that Ephraim and Manasse are elevated to the exact status of Joseph's brothers?


Are the two things related? 


According to many commentators, Jakov here is apologetic. He feels guilty because he buried Rachel very quickly, along the way, rather than honouring her with a proper ceremony. The other Patriarchs and the Matriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Sarah,  Rebecca and Leah) are indeed buried  in Hebron, in the Maarat HaMachpela, where all and that tomb is still there indeed, in Hebron.



The classical commentators, Rashi, Rashbam, and Ibn Ezra, elaborate on guilt.  Jakov suspected Joseph resented him for not tributing Rachel, his mother, a proper burial in a sumptuous tomb - like that in Hebron. Hence, we should read Jakov's words as an apology or an explanation. 


Hizkuni, another classical commentator, provides a more profound explanation. Rachel and Leah never reconciled, and Jakov did not want to offend Leah by burying her next to her sister, with whom she nurtured a deep rivalry.  Indeed, the relationship between the two sisters is fascinating and worth unpacking.  It is, after all, an unfortunate story. Rachel was beautiful, and Jakov loved her. But she had only two children, which caused her many aggravations and bitterness [Genesis 30:1].


On the other hand, Leah -which the Biblical text does not praise for her beauty- had several children, six boys and a girl. She desperately wants to be loved by Jakov and resents her sister for stealing the husband's love and attention [Gen 30:14]


In other words, Leah wanted to be loved, and she was not, but she had many children. Rachel wanted to have children, and she did not, but she had love. Each of the two sisters had what the other wanted, and none of the two managed to have what she desperately wanted. It is truly a sad story. The two sisters never reconciled in life. 


But in death, things are different. Jakov's final resting place is in Hebron, in the Maarat HaMachpela, next to Leah. What Leah has longed for all her life, having Jakov all for himself, is what she has achieved in the end: to rest next to him. And Jakov, by elevating the two sons of Joseph to the status of his own sons, increases the number of Rachel's sons. Joseph is indeed one of the two sons of Rachel, and now his sons achieve the prestigious status of sons of Jakov—and of Rachel! 


This is already a profound teaching. How many stories do we know about people who desperately want something, people with a vision or an ideal and never achieved the goal they envisioned, but because of their work and vision, the following generation has it. 


Think of the history of the Zionist movement. It is full of visionaries who could not see the materialisation of their dream. Their children and grandchildren saw it!  Theodor Herzl passed away in 1904. Eliezer ben Yehuda, who turned Hebrew into a modern language, died in 1920. Vladimir Jabotinsky, who devoted his life to Jewish statehood, died in 1940.  The fact that they could not see the realisation of their dream is a reason not to pursue any dream. Does it make these giants less worthy of our admiration? Of course not!


In this passage, the last dialogue between Jakov and Joseph, there is something even more profound, which is something for us to Leah and meditate about.  When Jakov elevates Manasse and Ephriam to the status of "sons of Israel", he also blesses them.  He blesses Ephraim ahead of Manasse, despite Manasse being the older. 


And this may easily be one of the oyoyoyoy moments...  Because we are familiar (and Jakov should be!) with these blessings given to the wrong son.  The story of Esav and Jakov and the following chain of revenge and violence come to mind.  Further back in time, the fact that Isaac was the favorite of Abraham, and this caused pain to Ishmael and Hagar, literally sent to die in the desert, not to mention the tensions between Rachel and Leah. The story of this family is all marked by sibling rivalries, wounds open for generations. 


For a moment, it seems that Jakov is making the same mistake by blessing the minor ahead of the older, triggering enmity between brothers and passing the trauma along the generations.  Joseph tries to stop his father and move Jakov's right hand from Efraim to Manasse.  But Jakov persists. He blesses the younger ahead of the older. 


And guess what? There is no rivalry between Efraim and Manasse.  In the Bible, they are the first couple of brothers who do not argue, the first pair of siblings who never try to kill each other. Isn't it extraordinary? 


The story of this family has been tainted by violence and literally by blood. And back to the world's origin, think of Cain and Abel, two brothers. That was the story of the first murder in human history! That was the pattern that we saw repeating at every stage of the history of our patriarchs and matriarchs' families. The hostility between Isaac and Ishmael will never end. The enmity between Jakov and Esav: they manage to end it but never become friends. 


As per the women of the family, we have already seen the problematic relationship between Rachel and Leah, who had to share the same husband and the same house but ended up divided in death.


None of this happened with Efraim and Menasse. The cycle of violence, the chain of revenges, the violence is over. It does not happen anymore.  The two will get along as brothers, and their descendants, the tribe of Efraim and Menasse, will have friendly relationships in the Land of Israel. 


And even now, those of us who do Friday night Kiddush at home and are blessed by having children wish them to be "like Efraim and Menasse" - note the order of words, first Eftraim, the Manasse despite being the senior [in our Siddur see p. 450] These two sons of Joseph first, and then sons of Israel, are the models for sibling relationships, and we wish our children to be like them. 


From the story of Rachel and Leah, we can learn the importance of perseverance in pursuing our dreams. Even if we cannot be certain that we will witness the results of our efforts, our children will benefit from them. This makes our dreams and visions more meaningful than ever.

From the profoundly moving story of the blessing of Efraim and Manasseh, we learn that healing intergenerational trauma is possible and that cycles of violence, abuse, and revenge can be broken. This is the dream that Jewish parents hold for their children. Every Friday night, we bless our children in the name of this dream, wishing for a life filled with peace and safety. 


May this dream come true soon, and let us say Amen


Rabbi Dr. Andrea Zanardo, PhD


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