Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.com

Yaakov Blesses Yosef and His Sons cont'd

Yosef sees that Yaakov had placed his right hand on Ephraim's head and was unhappy about this, he moves Yaakov's hand to Menashe's head and says to his father, "No, this is the firstborn".

Yaakov replies that he knows, and that indeed Menashe will give birth to a great nation (Gideon, who wiped out the Midianite army of 135,000 soldiers with only 300 men), Ephraim's lineage will be even greater, with Yehoshua coming from him. (Yehoshua's greatness was that he divided up the land for the tribes, taught Torah to the Israelites and he became known across the globe when he made the sun stand still in Gibeon and the moon stand still in the Valley of Ayalon.)

So Yaakov blessed them that day, saying that when Jews bless their children in the future, they will bless them to be like Ephraim and Menashe.

Yaakov mentions Ephraim before Menashe to indicate his superior position in terms of his location in the desert (The tribe of Menashe camped under The tribe of Ephraim's banner in the desert) and the princely offerings (the prince of the tribe of Ephraim brought his offering before the prince of the tribe of Menashe's did).

Yaakov then turns to Yosef telling him that he (Yaakov) is about to die and that G-d will be with Yosef and bring him back to his forefather's land (Canaan/Israel).

Yaakov says that in return for Yosef taking care of Yaakov's burial, he is giving Yosef a place for him to be buried, namely "Schem", which Yaakov acquired with his"sword and bow" from the "Amorite" (AKA Esav - this was Esav's portion of the land which he rejected). With this, Yosef well have an extra portion of land than the rest of the brothers.

Rashi gives a few explanations as to what this last part of the blessing might mean:

Shchem means any of these things:

* Literally means the town of Shchem which Yaakov and the brothers conquered

* An "additional portion"

* The birthright of the firstborn who gets a double portion, the way Yosef got two portions through Menashe and Ephraim.

With his "sword and bow" is referring to any of these three things:

* Seven years after Shimon and Levi took over Schem, the nearby Canaanites rose up in retaliation and Yaakov defended his family with a "sword and bow"

* The reason why the Canaanites did not immediately pursue Yaakov and his family is they saw Yaakov girded for war and fear came upon them.

* "Sword and bow" are figurative references to Yaakov's "wisdom and prayer"

Esav is called the Amorite because

* He acted in an Amorite (the most sinful of the Canaanite nations) way.

* He trapped his father with the sayings of his mouth (the root of sayings in Hebrew is אמר, the same as the root of Amorites).