This week’s parshah, Vayechi, contains the last chapters in Genesis that describe Jacob’s blessings to his sons from his deathbed.  Remember, because Joseph had interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and saved Egypt (and his family) from famine, Pharaoh rewarded Joseph by allowing his entire family to immigrate to Egypt and granted them land.  As the years went by, life went on, and Joseph married a nice Egyptian girl by the name of Asenath. Together they had two boys, Ephraim & Menasha. From his deathbed, Jacob called for his two grandsons, whom he had never met.  When the two boys approached him with their father, Joseph, Jacob exclaimed, ‘mi aleh?’/Who are these two guys?  For you see, to old Jacob, his grandsons did not ‘look Jewish’.  They did not dress like Jews, but rather like Egyptians.  They did not speak ‘Jewish’, but rather Egyptian.  Even their mannerisms were foreign to Jacob.  This makes sense as the boys were born in Egypt to an Egyptian mother.  They had grown up in the … [Read more...]