Recognizing Grandsons

 

Then Israel saw Joseph's sons, and he said, "Who are these?"                                                               Genesis 48:8

            At first glance, Jacob's question is strange, since he had already blessed Joseph's sons, proclaiming "Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon." [Verse 5]

            This problem brought various Midrashim [Midrash Aggada, Sechel Tov and Lekaḥ Tov] to offer the homiletic interpretation that Jacob prophetically saw that the evil kings Jeroboam and Ahab will issue from Ephraim and Yehu and his sons from Manasseh, thus asking "Who are these," meaning "Where did they come from, these who are not worthy of blessing?" [Rashi's wording]

            While the reason for the homiletical interpretation is clear, the question which begs asking is how does Joseph's response, "They are my sons, whom God gave me here" address his father's reluctance to bless his sons?

            Rebbe Natan, the spiritual successor of Rebbe Naḥman of Breslov, explains that the content of Joseph's answer is that by virtue of being his descendants (and, of course, descendants of Jacob himself), the evil kings still have within them a spark of sanctity and are therefore worthy of Jacob's blessing. In Rebbe Natan's words:

Joseph responded: "They are my sons, whom God has given me here," showing his father that he sought and found a meritorious point even within these evil people who will descend from him. Immediately, Jacob agreed and instructed "Bring them to me that I may bless them."

            Despite the fact that Jeroboam, Ahab, Yehu and his sons were evil, they carried within themselves a spark of sanctity, since they are descendants of the Forefathers of the Nation of Israel, and due to those sparks, they are indeed worthy of Jacob's blessing.