Right and Left
No matter how great, glorious and spiritual it was when we had the Holy Temple in Jerusalem; we have now reached even greater heights in exile. We have thrived and been fruitful in spite of all the obstacles and tribulations that we encountered throughout the last 2,000 years of exile. Particularly, in the last few decades when we have gone through both the fires of persecution and the temptations of assimilation, have we grown by leaps and bounds. All of our trials have prepared us for an age, the Messianic age, which will make even the Temple era appear insignificant by comparison.
Reversal
Joseph brought his two sons Menasheh and Ephraim to be blessed by his dying father Jacob. Jacob placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim and his left hand on the first born Menasheh. When Joseph realized that Jacob had reversed the normal procedure of giving precedence to the older and first born son, he told his father that he had erred and requested of him to put his right hand on the head of Menasheh.
Jacob’s response to Joseph was:
“I know my son, I know, he too will become a people and he too shall become great, however his younger brother will be even greater than him.”
In the end, the Torah relates, Jacob prevailed and placed his right hand on the younger son Ephraim.
How do we reconcile Jacob’s preference for the younger son with the Torah’s general preference for the first born? And what lesson does this episode have for us, inasmuch as every story in the Torah must serve as an eternal message for all times?
Different Approaches to Exile
Menasheh and Ephraim were not only brothers, sons of Joseph, but they also represent different ideals and approaches to life. And since they were both born in exile – unlike all the other grandchildren of Jacob – they symbolize two different ideals within the context of exile.
When Joseph names his first born, he calls him Menasheh because “G-d has made me forget (nashani) all my toil and all my father’s house.”
Some commentators explain that Joseph was expressing the fact that although living in Egypt would make him forget his father’s house; he did not want to do so. Menasheh was Joseph’s anchor to the past. Hence the very name Menasheh focused on his relationship with his father’s home.
Ephraim, conversely, was so named because “G-d has made me fruitful (hifrani) in the land of my affliction.” Ephraim does not deal with his past but with the progress he makes in the land of exile.
These two names reflect two attitudes we can take towards exile. The first approach is to work at not being influenced by this new environment; by not allowing the new circumstances in which we find ourselves to sever our ties with our father’s house.
A second approach, however, is to focus attention on what we can accomplish in the land of affliction; to try to make the most of exile; to grow and thrive despite the hardships and obstacles. On the contrary, it is the adversity that elicits a greater measure of positive energy from within.
Both Right
Which of these two approaches is preferable?
The answer is that the first approach (the “Menasheh” approach) is “the first born,” i.e., it is the first step and prerequisite towards reaching the second level. Before we can view exile in a positive way and “be fruitful in the land of my affliction,” (the “Ephraim approach”) one must first make sure that s/he remembers from whence they come. By being anchored to the past, one can become impervious to the negative and alien influences of the exile condition in which one is now situated.
That was Joseph’s approach. When one enters into a new and foreign land, one must put all one’s efforts – one’s right hand – on the head of Menasheh, on the approach of insulating oneself from the hostile influences, by keeping in touch with one’s spiritual past. We should never forget who we are and from where we have come, if we are to survive in exile.
Jacob, however, realized that the goal is not to remain afloat in the turbulent waters of exile. That is not enough. Ultimately one must reach the level of Ephraim; to thrive in exile. There must be an ascent precisely because we have experienced a descent. There is a time when our growth in exile outshines anything that we had when we were still in the security of “our father’s” insulated home.
Thus Jacob places his right hand – his stronger hand – on the head of the younger son Ephraim. Even though Ephraim must be preceded by the approach of Menashe – one must have the ability to insulate oneself and be connected to one’s past – it is clearly not the goal. The goal is to reach a level where one’s stay in exile leads one to a level that transcends that of the past.
Thrived in Exile
And indeed, our sages have told us that no matter how great, glorious and spiritual it was, when we had the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, we have now reached even greater heights in exile. We have thrived and been fruitful in spite of all the obstacles and tribulations that we encountered throughout the last 2,000 years of exile.
Particularly, in the last few decades when Jews have gone through both the fires of persecution and the temptations of assimilation, have they grown by leaps and bounds and have prepared themselves and the entire world for an age, the Messianic age, that will make even the Temple era appear insignificant by comparison.
Ultimately it is the Ephraim approach that will be vindicated and become the pre-eminent one.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Vayechi by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
