As we near the end of the first book of the Torah we also near the end of our forefather Yaakov’s life. Yaakov calls to his two most beloved grandchildren Menashe and Efraim to give them a blessing before his death. Yosef arranges the brothers so that Menashe, the elder one, is on Yaakov’s right and Efraim is on Yaakov’s left. He does this because the older one shall be blessed by the right hand, which is stronger and dominant. However, as the Torah tells us, Yaakov crosses his hands over and gives the “stronger” blessing to the younger son, and the prediction is made that Efraim will actually yield the greater nation in the future. This stirs a big question: If Yaakov knew that Efraim would be the greater son, wouldn’t it be better for him to give Menashe a greater blessing to help him out? I want to relate this to the following story: There was once a man who was davening in shul every day as hard as he could for Hashem to let him win the lottery. After weeks and weeks of intense prayer G-d finally calls out to this man, “Okay, okay, but at least buy a ticket!!” You see, Efraim was destined to be great, but he was not yet great. The idea of effort in Judaism is essential. No matter what fate or destiny a Jew might have, it is never set-in-stone, and effort is always required.
I wish you all a Shabbat Shalom and remember, don’t hesitate to be great! Chazak Chazak V’nitchazek!
Jonathan Levine