Skillful Switch
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
Hands are perhaps the most versatile parts of the human body. Not only are they the instruments through which we physically bring our ideas into concrete form, but they are also the means of holding and possessing, of expressing affection, of communicating through gestures and sign language, of pointing to direction and of emphasizing thoughts. In Parshat Vayechi we see Yaakov's hands bestowing blessings on the heads of his grandsons Ephraim and Menashe, sons of his beloved Yosef. But instead of stretching straight ahead, his hands are crossed, appearing quite unusual and requiring explanation.
Here is the scene: Yosef was informed that his father was dying. He takes his two sons, Menashe and Ephraim, and rushes over to his father's bedside to receive final blessings for his sons. Yosef approaches his father. His older son, Menashe, is on Yosef's left, facing Yaakov's right hand. Ephraim is on Yosef's right, facing Yaakov's left hand. Inexplicably, Yaakov crosses his hands, placing his right hand on the younger son, Ephraim, and his left hand on the older son, Menashe. Yosef tries to correct his father, but Yaakov insists that he has the correct positions, for although Menashe will be great, Ephraim will be greater still.
Yaakov sikel es yodov, crossed his hands with sekhel, with wisdom. What was the wisdom in Yaakov Avinu's action? And, if there was a reason, asks Rabbi Frand, why didn't Yaakov just ask the boys to change places? The hands themselves are necessary, writes Rabbi Wachtfogel, because they are the conduit through which the blessing from the mouth of Yaakov will pass to the recipients, and the right hand conveys a stronger connection than the left, explains Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz. Blessings are not random gifts even a tzadik can take out of a box and give to any random person. The recipient of that brachah must be a worthy and an appropriate recipient of that blessing. [You cannot bless a person who is tone deaf to be a great musician or to bless the talented but lazy musician to become famous. CKS] As such, Yaakov's right hand needed to go on the grandson with the greatest potential. That grandson was Ephraim.
It is not enough that the giver believes in the blessing he is bestowing. The receiver must also believe in the blessing. After Yaakov issued the blessing, Yosef thought his father was mistaken, Because Yosef, through whom the blessings were to pass, did not believe the blessings were properly delivered, Yaakov, after reassuring Yosef that indeed he was blessing each grandson properly, blessed the boys again, writes Rabbi Miller zt”l.
A blessing is not bestowing something new, but giving the one blessed the ability [perhaps as confidence] to develop the abilities already within him. That is why the brachot Yaakov Avinu and the brachot Moshe Rabbenu give the brothers and their descendant tribes mirror each other, writes the Sifsei Chaim. That is also why pointing out a negative character trait, as Yaakov does for Reuven, Shimon and Levi is a blessing, for it guides them into working on themselves to grow into their best selves. More than a division of a material inheritance, these blessings constitute an ethical will to preserve the legacy as true sons of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.
It is customary on Friday night for the parent to bless the sons, saying, "May God make you like Ephraim and like Menashe." However, while reciting these words, the parent should focus on the attributes of that child, energizing him to develop his personal best self. Put your hands on him and create an emotional and physical connection, as Yaakov did by hugging and kissing Ephraim and Menashe after he blessed them. [Perhaps by laying hands on the one he is blessing, he is infusing some of his self into the other and creating a bond similar to the one a sinner creates when he lays his hand on the animal he is offering on the altar in his stead. In both cases, the connection extends to Hashem. CKS]
But we still need to explore why Yaakov Avinu crossed his hands for the blessing. What was the wisdom in this crossover? Rabbi Wolbe zt”l.notes that our limbs, especially those of tzadikim, have an innate sense of where they should be. Interpreting the verse from Tehillim, "I considered my ways and returned my feet to Your commandments," Rabbi Wolbe suggests that no matter where Dovid Hamelech was planning to go, his feet always intuitively ended up in the halls of Torah study. Symbolically, the 613 mitzvoth are represented by the parts of the body, 224 bones representing the positive commandments, and 365 sinews [tendons and ligaments] representing the negative commandments. Therefore, it is important to train ourselves to use our bodies correctly, to refrain from "infecting" the tongue with loshon horo, for example.
It is in this vein that one should use his dominant hand to hold the object when reciting a brachah. It is related to this reason that Ephraim whose descendant would be Yehoshua, needed to be on Yaakov's right hand, while Menashe, whose descendant would be Gideon, needed to be on his left. As the Mesehech Chochma notes, Yehoshua, of the Tribe of Ephraim, led all of Bnei Yisroel into the Land, conquering it. His victories were miraculous, supernatural [the fall of the walls of Jericho, the sun standing still in Givon]. Gideon, a judge from the Tribe of Menashe, was a warrior through more natural means [although still with Hashem's providence]. Even though they both received the same blessing at the same time, the right is invested with more greatness.
As such, the right represents more than just greater strength, but the realm of the supernatural, while the left represents the physical and temporal. When Hashem split the Sea, the Torah says, "And the water was a wall for them, on their right and on their left." Rabbi Bernstein, adapting the works of the Meshech Chochma, explains that these walls represented Torah on the right and tefillah/prayer on the left, for prayer is usually association with physical, temporal needs whereas Torah is spiritual and eternal. Yaakov needed to invest Ephraim's blessing with the energy of the supernatural, and he therefore placed his right hand on Ephraim.
Although Yaakov knew that he needed to put his right hand on Ephraim, he wanted to spare Menashe embarrassment. Asking the brothers to change places would be highlighting the lower level of Menashe even though he was the elder. Yaakov used his sekhel to find a more subtle way, thereby minimizing any pain or embarrassment Menashe might feel. This is a lesson for us, teaches Rabbi Frand. When we have no choice but to cause pain to another, find a way to limit and minimize the pain, and certainly keep it as private as possible.
Rabbi Sternbach, citing Rav Chaim of Volozhin zt”l., approaches our discussion from a completely different perspective. When two people face each other, the right side of one is opposite the left side of the other, and vice versa. Psychologically, this refers to the human tendency to minimize the qualities of the other while maximizing his own qualities, and doing the opposite for faults, portraying himself as the more important. Ephraim and Menashe were opposite him, but Yaakov, the man of truth, was "leveling the playing field." By crossing his arms, his right would be parallel to the right facing him, and his left would be to the left facing him. There would be no ego involved to raise or lower the importance of anyone. This is a gesture of loving your neighbor as yourself. And, as Rebbetzin Smiles points out, perhaps this is the reason a handshake is crossing the right hands toward each other rather than shaking the closer, left hand.
Actually, notes Rabbi Bernstein quoting the Alshich HaKadosh zt”l., Ephraim and Menashe were in the exact position they were meant to be in. Since Yosef was to be the conduit for the blessings, each was at the appropriate side of Yosef. In order to align the blessings with the positions they were in in relation to their father, Yaakov had to cross his hands, placing his right hand toward Yosef's right and his left hand toward Yosef's left.
If we realize these blessings are also prophecy, we will be aware that the Egyptian diaspora was in the process of unfolding. Moshe, who would bring the Torah down to Bnei Yisroel, was their leader while that entire generation lived a miraculous life. Their food was literally heavenly, they were protected with heavenly clouds, and they witnessed Hashem's presence at Sinai. But their forty years in the desert was not meant to be permanent. They would enter the Promised Land and be thrust into living according to natural law, planting crops and fighting battles. Rabbi Goldwicht zt”l. points out that Yehoshua was the point of transition between these two existences. He was literally Moshe's right hand man, learning Torah directly from him, and moving into the leadership role at Moshe's death. Yehoshua formed his character and psyche within the supernatural world, and his mission was to take that spirituality and infuse it into the natural order as he led Bnei Yisroel into the Promised Land. Ephraim needed to stand on the left but to receive his energy from the sanctity of the right.
In an interesting expansion to these ideas, Rabbi Milevsky zt”l., citing Haamek Davar, notes that the position of the feet was also significant. While the hands represent man's relationship to God, the feet represent his relationship to the real world. Ephraim would be greater spiritually and Menashe, whose left foot was closer to Yaakov, would be greater in the corporeal world, as validated by the large number of his descendants.
In truth, we want our children to have both blessings, but the spiritual blessing must be dominant. As Koheles says, everything is hevel/vanity, ephemeral and passing, of no value, but if you fear Hashem, you have uncovered true meaning n the world. Unfortunately, our generation has put too much value in the material trappings of religious rites, of the most expensive caterers, decor, for example, and giving minimal thought and attention to the deeper essence of these rituals. [As we used to say, the essence should be the mitzvah, not the bar. CKS]
Rav Chanan makes a subtle but beautiful observation. When Yaakov Avinu placed his right hand on Ephraim, he then placed his left hand on Menashe, putting the left hand over the right. The upper hand, then, was on the bechor; both sons were given equal dignity and honor.
May we merit having all our children emulate the character of Ephraim and Menashe, and may Hashem bless them all accordingly.