Why ephraim and manasseh

Joseph held out his sons to Jacob, and Jacob crossed his hands to bless Ephraim with his right. He then blessed them both. Shortly thereafter, Jacob called together all his sons and laid out his impressions of each and what was to befall them all.

Joseph received an extra portion of land which Jacob had won from the Amorites, and the tribe of Ephraim would be landed in what is now central Israel, between the west bank of the Jordan River and the coast of the Mediterranean.

There are times when Ephraim is referred to as a son of Jacob. Now, about the fused bones. There is a story in 1 Chronicles that the descendants of Ephraim were killed by the men of Gath natives of the land for planned cattle thievery, and Ephraim mourned many days and his brothers comforted him.

And the story goes on that their bones the remains of some , individuals were left by the roads, as a warning, and that is one reason that the Jews trekked the long way around after leaving Egypt. At first, Jacob states that Ephraim and Manasseh will be to him like his own sons Genesis Then further on, we read of the biblical practice of placing the adoptee on the new parent's knees Genesis Jacob's adoption of his grandsons is not a new concept in the Torah; in fact, it is mentioned numerous times in Genesis.

Eliezer is named heir to Abraham's fortune in Genesis , Sarah obtains a son through her maidservant Hagar Genesis , and Rachel raises Dan and Naphtali as her own through Bilhah Genesis Jacob himself is adopted by his father-in-law, Laban, in Genesis Other books of the Torah and the Bible contain additional examples, with the adoption of Moses by Pharaoh's daughter as the most prominent example. Rashi's comments on Jacob's adopting of Ephraim and Manasseh in Genesis refer to the share in the Land of Israel that each one will receive: They are similar to the shares that Jacob's own sons will inherit.

In fact, this adoption is the reason that Ephraim and Manasseh are counted among the twelve tribes of Israel, but Joseph is not nor is Levi. Although Joseph wants his father to bless his children, it's unlikely he has any idea that his father would also give them equal status with his own sons.

Joseph may be so moved by this that he, in turn, chooses to adopt his own grandsons later on in the parashah. In Genesis we read, "Joseph lived to see children of the third generation of Ephraim; the children of Machir son of Manasseh were likewise born upon Joseph's knees.

Rabbi Norman Cohen emphasizes the play of the Hebrew words in relation to the adoption. Jacob "placed them on his knees birkav and blessed them Jacob gave them his berakhah. The connection of the Hebrew words "knee" and "bless" is one of the reasons some Jews bow while saying bar'chu , the plural imperative form of "to bless," or baruch , "the singular imperative form of "to bless," in some of our prayers.

Although adoption has a long history in the Jewish religion, it was not until recently that adoption has been officially and legally recognized. According to Michael Gold, "Jewish law does not recognize adoption per se.

It is true that the Talmud does say, 'Whoever raises an orphan in his home, scripture considers him as if he gave birth to the child' Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 19b. Gold goes on to state, "Throughout the Bible we find cases of a child being born to one set of parents and raised by another, a de facto adoption. Yet adoption de jure, adoption as a legal institution, is unknown to Jewish law. Only in modern Israel have rabbinic authorities been forced to establish procedures for the adoption of children" ibid.

It was not until that adoption became legal in Israel, when rabbinic authorities had to establish procedures for the adoption of children. Our own congregations are filled with adopted children, many originally from other lands, cultures, and races.

Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy. Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah. Yom Kippur Yom Kippur. Sukkot Sukkot. Simchat Torah Simchat Torah. Chanukah Chanukah. Purim Purim. Passover Passover. Shavuot Shavuot. Shabbat Shabbat. Yom Yerushalayim Yom Yerushalayim.

Biblical Criticism. Modern Faith. Morality and Ethics. Medieval Interpretation. Series and Symposia. TABS Blog. Torah in the News. Stay updated with the latest scholarship I would like to receive new essays When published Before Shabbat. Schwartz Edit article. Schwartz ,. Categories: Vayechi. Moses instructs and blesses Joshua. James Tissot, French, Judah preempted this difficulty. Who Gave Joseph an Extra Portion? And now, I have given you one portion more than to your brothers, which I wrested from the Amorites with my sword and bow.

This way, the total allotment given to Manasseh was in addition to that given to Ephraim, because of the birthright. Moses then said: I have begun the performance of this command by allotting what I have already allotted to half of the tribe of Manasseh. Therefore, [in order to complete the task,] I have ordered Joshua and the twelve land-dividers to give Ephraim the same amount as every other tribe and to give [the other] half of Manasseh what he has coming to him.

Moses gave to them, to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph , the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of the Bashan. Published January 12, Last Updated October 24, Previous in the Series. Next in the Series. Footnotes View Footnotes.

Judah repeats this in his commentary to Deut Therefore he says And God spoke to Moses, saying to him as if he were speaking about another person. Thus throughout Deuteronomy he is like one who narrates things in the exact language in which they were spoken. The reason for the Torah being written in this form is that it preceded the creation of the world, and, needless to say, it preceded the birth of Moses our teacher.

It has been transmitted to us by tradition that it [the Torah] was written with letters of black fire upon a background of white fire. Thus Moses was like a scribe who copies from an ancient book, and therefore he wrote anonymously.

However it is true and clear that the entire Torah — from the beginning of Genesis to in sight of all Israel — reached the ear of Moses from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He. Moshe Zaltman. Related Topics: R.