This is the last Torah portion for Genesis. It is the denouement to Jacob’s stormy life. It ends in peace, in typical patriarchal style, with his children and grandchildren around him. Jacob blesses his twelve sons, making some telling points about Simeon and Levi, and pointing to Judah’s sovereign royal future. (i.e. the Davidic line)

The biblical author is not yet done with origins. According to scholars, in the 9th century BCE, the tribe of Joseph was really two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. This made 12 tribes, since Levi was to have no land but to live off the produce and proceeds of the Jerusalem sanctuary. The origin of these two tribes is underlined in chapter 50. Joseph has two sons, and both receive a final blessing from the patriarch Jacob.

From biblical and midrashic writings, we know that Ephraim is the dominant of these two tribes. In fact, the name Ephraim is used as a synonym for Israel, that is, the Northern Kingdom. Although Manasseh was the older boy, Jacob crossed his arms and placed his right hand (the crucial hand) on Ephraim’s head, and his left on Manasseh’s head. Even today, on Shabbat evening, Jewish parents bless their sons with this phrase: “God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh.”

Join us for an exciting Torah discussion this Shabbat morning at 9:30.