The Nature of Blessings

One of the main themes of the parasha is Jacob’s blessings, first to his grandsons Ephraim and Menashe, and then to his own sons. The details of Jacob’s blessings teach invaluable lessons as to the true meaning of a blessing.

Against Joseph’s wishes, Jacob insisted on giving primacy to Ephraim, the younger son, over the first-born Menashe:

“That’s not the way it should be done, Father,” said Joseph. “The other one is the first-born. Place your right hand on his head.”

His father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. (The older one) will also become a nation. He too will attain greatness. But his younger brother will become even greater, and his descendants will become full-fledged nations.” [Genesis 48:18-19]

Numerous commentators ask: why did Jacob not bless Menashe that he be the greater brother?

            Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe explains that a blessing cannot change reality; rather the point of a blessing is that one’s potential be realized.

After blessing his grandsons, Jacob called his twelve sons together and gave each of them an individual and personal deathbed blessing because a true blessing cannot be generic, but must be based upon the traits and needs of the recipient. 

Thus, upon completion of Jacob’s blessings, the verse summarizes:

All these are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each one his own special blessing. [49:28]

It is to be noted that the first three sons (Reuven, Shimon and Levi) were not blessed, but reprimanded, yet the verse states that each of Jacob’s sons received a blessing. The Holy Or haHayyim comments that a well – placed reprimand can be the greatest blessing. If Jacob’s rebuke positively influenced his older sons, it was indeed a great blessing.

We can note as well that the verse explicitly states the individual nature of each son’s blessing. Rashi points out that the language of the verse presents an anomaly. The literal translation of the final clause is: “each according to his blessing, he blessed them (otam),” while we would expect the singular (oto). The intent of the verse, explains Rashi, is that each blessing, while geared towards the specific qualities and needs of the recipient, has an impact on all twelve tribes.

Malbim expands upon Rashi’s point by stating that each blessing is necessary for the collective as well as for the individual.

Yet, Rabbi Wolbe stresses that the order is of crucial significance: the collective cannot be blessed without the individual being blessed first, since only one who has individuality can make a contribution to the collective.