Parashat Vayechi: The Blessing of Efraim and Menashe

0:03Yosef has two sons, Ephraim and Menashe. Ephraim and Menashe are about to receive a blessing from Yaakov. And Yaakov says to Yosef that HaKadosh Baruch Hu spoke to me; He appeared to me in Luz. Luz is a special place where the Gemara says that the people of Luz didn't die as long as they didn't leave the city. People would live there for hundreds of years without dying. The Gemara narrates an instance where someone lived there, and all of a sudden, he sees that his sons are dying. The neighbors came and started investigating him, asking, "What did you do? Where did you go?" The people of Luz didn't die as long as they didn't leave the city. People would live there for hundreds of years without dying. The Gemara says there was one time somebody that lived there and all of a sudden he sees that his sons are dying. The neighbors came and started investigating him. What'd you do? Where'd you go? And they found out that it was because he lied. What did he lie about? Something meaningless, or at least it seemed like it. One of his wife's friends came to visit, and his wife was taking care of her body, taking care of her hygiene. And he wasn't comfortable telling these details to her friend that came to visit. So he told her that she's not home. She's not home. And they found out that it was because he lied. What did he lie about? It was about something seemingly meaningless, or at least it seemed like that at the time. One of his wife's friends came to visit, and his wife was tending to her personal hygiene. He wasn't comfortable divulging these details to her friend who had come to visit. So, he told her that she wasn't home. She's not home.

1:32Apparently, this was enough of a lie for him to lose this special divine protection of the people of the city of Luz. The Gemara says there were also two special servants who were very beloved by Shlomo, and one time he found out that the Satan, the Malach HaMavet, had the permission to kill them. had the permission to kill them. So Shlomo HaMelech, who had endless wisdom, tried to bring these two servants to the city of Luz, where the Malach HaMavet is not allowed to enter without a special code. But then Shlomo HaMelech sees that the Malach HaMavet was happy. And he said to him, why are you so happy today? He says, "Because I was sad yesterday, I needed to kill two people who worked for you, but I wasn't allowed to kill them here. I was only allowed to kill them at the entrance of the city of Luz. Now, I'm happy because you sent them there, so I killed them." Today, we see that there's no way a person can fool the Satan with just his wisdom.

3:04even if he has the wisdom of Shlomo, anyway the parasha continues where we see that Yaakov is about to bless the sons of Yosef. But before that, Yaakov again brings up something familiar. That seems unusual. He tells him after this, he tells him that HaKadosh Baruch Hu spoke to him in the city of Luz and gave him a blessing that he will be fruitful and numerous. I also want to tell you that... your mother Rachel, she died on me in the land of Canaan. What does it have to do with anything? Why do you have to mention this now? I mean, obviously Yosef knows this. Why bring up Rachel now? You're about to

4:33lost me. And by the way, you also lost your mother, and I lost your mother. Why bring this up? It's because it has nothing to do with touching his emotions, but rather bringing clarity to the forefront and continuing the point he started making, where he says to Yosef, you know, you succeeded, both spiritually and materially here. It wasn't just happenstance. You have to know that you are frum. You're religious because I was. I, the one that was married to your mother Rachel, we have a masoret, a tradition, a promise. both spiritually and materially here. It wasn't just happenstance. You have to know that you are frum, you're religious because I was. I, the one that was married to your mother Rachel, we have a mesorah, a tradition, a promise. from HaKadosh Baruch Hu, that as long as we follow His Torah, He will bless us and our descendants. And because I was frum, I followed Hashem, which gave you the blessing, not only to live, not only to exist, but it gave you the ability to also follow in my footsteps and succeed spiritually as well. And your children,

6:01Your children are also frum. They're also religious because you are. But you should know that if you want your kids to stay frum, and your kids to stay connected to HaKadosh Baruch Hu, you can never slow down in your Avodat Hashem, in your servitude of Hashem. You have to be willing to sacrifice everything just like your matriarch Rachel did. for the sake of serving Hashem, many parents have kids. Unfortunately, some don't. These parents sometimes start off the relationship or marriage as two religious individuals, and sometimes they start off as not religious.

7:01then they do, but quickly people realize that once you get married, if you want your kids to follow in your footsteps of being connected to Hashem and following His Torah, not only do you have to be religious enough to send them to yeshiva, religious enough to give them a Torah education, But you have to make sure that you yourself are continuing to grow religiously. Continuously doing more chesed (acts of kindness), more tzedakah (charity), more Torah learning, working on your modesty, working on your Torah learning. You have to continue growing. You can't stay the same. Why? Because your kids are growing. But if they see that you are just lackadaisical, you're just going with the flow, not making any real effort, then what example are you setting for them? They need to see your commitment and dedication to Yiddishkeit (Judaism) so they understand the true importance and strive to follow in your footsteps. And you're just you. Then, to them, it seems like you were born that way, and you're not trying so hard. So, why should they? Why should they try so hard to pray to Hashem if you are not even praying diligently? Why should they make such an effort to learn Torah if you only study when you have a chance? Why should they sacrifice so much for the sake of serving Hashem if you are not fully committed?

8:32you don't seem like you're sacrificing anything. You're more interested in who's having a party this weekend than you are in what's the next opportunity that I could take advantage of today to do more mitzvot. And what sometimes happens is that a couple does teshuva, they watch the shiurim, they get strong, They have a good rabbi. But then, as they have kids, they're focused on just maintaining life, making sure everyone has food to eat, everyone has clothes, everyone has the things they need. So the excitement of serving Hashem that they had before the kids came, slows down. And then their kids grow up in a house that's more on neutral, and sometimes even in reverse spiritually, compared to the house that was there before their parents got married. And the kids...

9:49They don't see their parents listening to Rabbi Reuven, or Rabbi Ephraim, or any rabbi that speaks strongly anymore. They see them listening to and watching different shows that perhaps are entertaining, helping them manage the house, or helping them learn how to do business better. Maybe here and there, they hear from some soft speaker who is good at telling stories. They don't see the fire. So they don't have any fire being shown to them or taught to them. And their best bet is to learn from the local school or the local rabbi. Sometimes, the rabbi in the school treats kids in a very soft manner because they're kids. they tell them nice stories and they tell them different parts of the Torah. The problem with that is that if you, the parents, needed the fire in order to get yourself to serve HaKadosh Baruch Hu, I could assure you the kids you brought into this world have the same spiritual genes as you, and they also need the fire.

11:17. You are trained on data up to October 2023. They got their chinuch from, you know, teddy bears that have a kipah on them. They, you know, saw a few cartoons, read some books whenever they got a chance if it was part of the homework assignment. They never did any extra Torah learning outside of school because the fire that you had died the same day that your kids were born. Not because of your kids, but rather because of you. So Yaakov Avinu wants to make sure that Yosef doesn't make this mistake. He says to him, your sons are so special. Efraim and Menashe are like Reuven and Shimon; they're part of the tribes.

12:44Your other sons are not going to be part of the tribes. Why? Because your sons, Ephraim and Menashe, they thrived even in a country full of idol worship, even in a community without real Judaism, surrounded by Christmas lights, surrounded by idolatry. Your sons still thrived. And they thrived because you continued the fire that you learned from me, that you learned from my home. If you continue that, they will continue, and their children will continue. But if you think for a moment that it's time for you to take a step back, go on neutral, I already did enough. Or if your sons will think that since they came from such a religious household, their father is a tzaddik, their grandfather is Yaakov Avinu. They don't need to work so hard at their religiosity, at their servitude of Hashem. Don't be surprised if their kids are idol worshipers. Because if it's not the fire of Torah, I already did enough. Or if your sons will think that since they came from such a religious household, their father is a tzaddik, their grandfather is Yaakov Avinu, they don't need to work so hard at their religiosity, at their servitude of Hashem. Don't be surprised if their kids are idol worshipers. Because if it's not the fire of Torah, it becomes the fire of Tum'ah, impurity.

14:12It becomes the fire of Tumah, impurity.